Well, I did my federal and state taxes while proctoring an exam this morning. (I regard it as a challenge to do my taxes myself. Sort of, why should I hire someone, there's something wrong if someone with taxes as simple as mine should have to hire someone).

the good news is, if I did things right, I get a small federal refund.

the bad news is, I have to pay that - and more - in state taxes. (Mainly because I have dividends and capital gains. And there's the nasty little "we know you bought stuff out of state, so we're going to make you figure up an estimated sales tax and pay that on your income taxes" line. (It's $35 for someone in my income bracket. Not a lot, but it still rankles. The other option? Save all my receipts to prove exactly what I spent. [I'm d****d if I'm going to save every stinking Target receipt, or every receipt from when I order yarn online, or every ticket from eating out when I'm on vacation]. But it still irks me - if the place where I live does not offer the shopping options I want, I feel like I am being penalized for going elsewhere.)

Although I suppose the Grand Scheme of Things good news is this:
1. I make a large enough income that my federal and state governments feel entitled to claim taxes on it
2. The $200 or so that's going to my state isn't going to break me. It's not even going to necessarily mean a month of eating rice and beans.