My first career was in accounting and tax preparation. As a young teenager, I worked in an office with two grumpy old men. One was a tax lawyer, the other an accountant and tax practitioner.
They suggested I take courses in income tax preparation, which I readily did. It was tough hard work, but I mastered the course and passed with the high scores in the class. They also had me do research on their own tax cases. The lawyer was often in and out of court on tax cases while the practitioner had audits to handle. It took me a long time to learn how to read the tax codes. But mostly I just found all the references they needed, so they didn't have to do the hunting. They were also teaching me bookkeeping and accounting. I was also taking accounting and business law courses mornings and evenings in two different towns.
Everyday for nearly two years, at lunch I ate potted meat spread on stale bread. My earnings were meager in the early years and I could only budget $1 for 6 lunches. Stale bread was 25 cents and 6 cans of potted mean were 60 cents, the other 15 cents I saved for Saturdays. The vending machine down the hall charged 15 cents for a soda. It was my weekly treat to myself.
I missed my friends who were leading relaxed lives as high school students, while I was emancipated and paying rent on a crummy apartment I shared with someone else. But by the time I was 21, I was purchasing my second home and became a 40% partner in the business. An astonishing accomplishment at the time. But I had given up my days, nights and weekends to developing a career at an early age.
Now, life is much simpler. You can go online to learn to become a tax preparer.
They suggested I take courses in income tax preparation, which I readily did. It was tough hard work, but I mastered the course and passed with the high scores in the class. They also had me do research on their own tax cases. The lawyer was often in and out of court on tax cases while the practitioner had audits to handle. It took me a long time to learn how to read the tax codes. But mostly I just found all the references they needed, so they didn't have to do the hunting. They were also teaching me bookkeeping and accounting. I was also taking accounting and business law courses mornings and evenings in two different towns.
Everyday for nearly two years, at lunch I ate potted meat spread on stale bread. My earnings were meager in the early years and I could only budget $1 for 6 lunches. Stale bread was 25 cents and 6 cans of potted mean were 60 cents, the other 15 cents I saved for Saturdays. The vending machine down the hall charged 15 cents for a soda. It was my weekly treat to myself.
I missed my friends who were leading relaxed lives as high school students, while I was emancipated and paying rent on a crummy apartment I shared with someone else. But by the time I was 21, I was purchasing my second home and became a 40% partner in the business. An astonishing accomplishment at the time. But I had given up my days, nights and weekends to developing a career at an early age.
Now, life is much simpler. You can go online to learn to become a tax preparer.
Twice in my career, older accountants with separate businesses, retired, sending all their clients to us. Many were of advanced age, or disabled or both, but still had taxable incomes. As a courtesy, I was often dispatched to their homes to pickup their tax information, bring it back to the office, prepare or assist in preparing their taxes, then deliver their tax returns back to them.
If I had known about RV's then, I would have simply set up a mobile office in a small Class C, doing their tax returns in their driveway, right in my motorcoach.
For someone energetic, taking an income tax course, could launch you into nearly fulltime RVing. Just spend four and a half months preparing taxes, then go travel the other seven and a half. If you end up working the crazy hours I did during tax season, you surely won't have time to spend much money, making it easier to save for traveling.
Share | |
My fantasy would have been a sailing bum all my life, but tax expert sounds more reliable.
ReplyDeleteI kind of split the difference and spent 30 years in the Coast Guard:) Then became a sailing bum and then an RV bum:)
If only I had a head for numbers. I don't.
ReplyDeleteSo why don't you do this now?
I have no desire to revisit that career at this point and time in my life. Besides, Tax law requires ongoing continuing education to maintain your credentials. I have a small 22 year gap of no continuing education because I was working around the Caribbean in the hospitality industry. Besides, I am loving my latest adventure, shoestring budget and all!
ReplyDelete