This weekend, I completed my own tax returns, as well as the return for a neighbor whose returns I have been doing for over a decade. The neighbor's return (which is super-easy) I did yesterday, and they fed me dinner on Friday night too when I went to pick up their tax documents. I also got to see the men's final in ice skating and Ilia Malanin's heartbreaking long program while I was visiting.
I drafted my own return yesterday and reviewed it and submitted it today. I owe about $200 for the federal return and $10 to the state, which I have set to be auto-deducted from my checking account on April 15. The next few weeks are super-busy on the client side with the extra administrative work of contacting clients and their CPAs about tax documents or things that they should remember when filing (like making Qualified Charitable Distributions from RMDs) or donations of appreciated securities or Roth conversions. Technically we have work off tomorrow, but I'm planning on spending the day in the office finishing a spreadsheet of all the information I need to convey to clients and their tax pros. If it's just the basic tax documents to download from Fidelity or Schwab, I don't need to notify them, but if there's any complexity of the type mentioned above or if the client has any K-1s coming from investments in private equity, private credit, or partnerships, I'm the one who needs to communicate that to the tax pro. So it's just an extra administrative burden, while the pace of client meetings doesn't slow down one bit. I'm always so relieved each year by the time we get to the end of March when most of this adminsitrative task is complete.
On another note, I've been struggling with a decision that I am making more based on inertia rather than anything else, and I'm not sure but that I'm going to regret it. I was invited to attend a reception honoring one of my grad school cohort members in Chicago on February 27th. Another cohort member is President of the professional society this year, so I'm sure lots of my grad school friends will be there. I was very excited to get the invitation, and priced the plane and hotel fare, which are not cheap but do-able, but I've not actually signed up for the event. The deadline is tomorrow. Chicago on February 27 is certainly one disincentive. If the conference were, for example, in Austin, Denver, San Diego, or Atlanta (some of the other recent locations), it would certainly be a much easier "yes."
Also, while many of my friends would be there, they are also going to be busy with the conference. I don't currently belong to the society, so I couldn't go to any of the sessions. Back when I first was starting out in the field, membership in this particular organization was by invitation only, and I never was invited, so I never joined. Apparently it's changed, so that I could belong if I were willing to pay. It's not an outrageous fee but also not cheap. In any case, next year's convention is in Philly, which is a 75-minute drive away--and then in 2028, it's in New Orleans, 2029, in Long Beach, and 2030, in Pittsburgh. So I think that I'm going to think about going next year, when it's in Philly. There won't be the reception for that one particular friend, but I know that at least a couple of other friends will be there, since the friend who is currently President will be there since the Past President is on the board. It's also gotten me thinking about ramping up my involvement in psychology again as I plan ahead for retiring from my financial planning career--which has always been the plan. It's a lot easier for me to think about spending a long weekend in Philly next February (or one in New Orleans in March 2028, after Mardi Gras) than it is to wrap my head around going to Chicago in a couple of weeks.
It's also one of those jolts of a reminder that my friends are now the senior professors in the field. Our professors are either Emeritus (fortunately, most of them) or, in a few cases, deceased. It really doesn't feel all that long ago. And yet, at this point, I've completed one 20-year career as a psychology professor (1989-2009) and am now in year 17 of a second career in financial services (tax accountant then financial planner) (goal 2009-2029). It's amazing how quickly it all has gone, in retrospect.
[P.S. re Mystery Benefit--I'm being sent down a rabbit hole. After delaying a week, the college referenced in the plan merely told me to confirm the benefit with the SSA, while the SSA notice says, "we don't have any information about this benefit other than what is on this form." The people at the college HR department are new employees and I imagine are not thrilled about having to dig into their books from 2013. So frustrating! I'll try, but I am expecting that this benefit is going to come to naught other than a waste of time.]
February 16th, 2026 at 07:16 am 1771226180
And it figures that a finance society would offer their membership… for a price haha.
February 16th, 2026 at 01:40 pm 1771249233
It was a psych society that offered their membership for a price--but I can't think of any professional society where membership would be free, since such societies form for purposes such as establishing a professional journal in their field and negotiating group discounts on benefits. That all takes money to support, but you get the journals and the right to purchase benefits at a discount in return.
February 16th, 2026 at 02:42 pm 1771252946
February 16th, 2026 at 02:50 pm 1771253435
Yes, your two careers, particularly the mid-life switch and your commitment to some pretty rigorous advanced education to make that possible, are very impressive to me.
PS I found that it's cheaper to buy Anyday direct from Andyday rather than Amazon.
February 16th, 2026 at 03:30 pm 1771255837
February 16th, 2026 at 03:31 pm 1771255880