Sharon 5

After nervously quadruple-checking the arithmetic, I staple the myriad papers together, seal the envelope and hope for the best. It'll be a month before I find out from Revenue if I did it right. Still, I don't worry, most of the time I do.
Yeah, I know, you can go to those so-called professional tax preparers. They charge a lot and make a lotta mistakes, from what I hear from people.
And I happen to be low income enough I could qualify to get it done for free by the volunteer program. Now there is an exercise in masochism and time consumption. Open weekdays in the lobby of the Federal Building, you get one of those number tickets for your place in line. Count on being there most of the day.
And there are of course benefits in doing it yourself. Since you then understand the mechanism, you can play with math and answer the what-ifs. If I did this, what is the effect? What would be the effect of buying another $100 of RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) and so forth?
As I sip coffee, stare out the window, I reflect how ironic life really is. A half dozen so-called friends will descend upon me now, assuming I'm an expert and ask for help with their forms. Sad or what, me an expert? Still, I suppose everything is relative. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.