Giving to the IRS on Giving Tuesday (Not what you think).

It's Giving Tuesday! And here is what I am giving:

1. My time to the IRS...(hours already this year- and now still sitting on hold on the phone while typing this) to verify my identity because someone hacked my taxes earlier this year and filed a fraudulent tax return in my name (maybe this has happened to you?)

2. Myself more time by unsubscribing from mailing lists that I just plain don't read, but take the time to pretend I will eventually - AND unsubscribing from social media (and platform emails) that cause brain rot. Less constant distraction for a dopamine fix = less brain rot. Oh wait, wasn't "brain rot" in the news recently?

3. The commitment of more quality time to others because of the time I will save not letting my brain rot. This includes family, friends, and charitable organizations that are working to make the world a better place.

And yes I will put a little $$$ where my mouth is to those organizations. But this year, being unemployed I have had a lot more time to focus on physically doing things with some wonderful people to rekindle the understanding of just how important it is to do so, for all of us.

As we get older we start to realize the value of time. It is OUR KEY resource. Without it here on this microscopic dot of a microscopic dot in the cosmos, it means we are, well... deceased, poof, gone, kaput... No Garmin will save us... No new whatever...

I successfully avoided Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But will admit I wasted some time looking. Fortunately the internal mantra of asking "Do you REALLY need that?" resulted in the answer, "Nope. It's just another blindfold, keeping me from seeing what I should be focused on. Use what you have. You don't always need the next thing before you can start doing anything."

Not saying Black Friday and Cyber Monday are bad. But they can be if one lets the brain rot rule the decision making.

So as I am still on hold with the IRS, and you spent your time reading this... effectively on hold with me, I encourage you to, yes, donate your time to good people in your life AND to worthy causes.

Commit to using your time wisely.

Focus on the task at hand. Don't waste time. Give time.

Give your time to understanding and appreciating more... quality time.... and to making informed decisions... including that of donating time and/or money to good organizations, if that is what you choose to do.

For after all "'Time is money'....Money is time... and the only constants in life are death, taxes, and us trying to figure out how to deal with both while leading a good life."*******

PART II *******Update (with heartfelt humor):

I finally spoke to an IRS agent. Was a long call (total time 2 hours 5 m). Very cordial. I took the time to gather all the information I needed to verify my identity, and she professionally and meticulously verified so that my taxes could continnue.

As all y'all know, I tend to be a cheerful sort, which often breaks down communication barriers.

Rule of thumb: ALWAYS treat the person trying to help you with a sense of appreciation and positivity. This includes humor (with practice). Do not confront when angry, but be angry on purpose if appropriate, with a specific goal in mind; else waste time ranting with no direction or solution, and giving the service person a bad day, when whatever the problem is is typically not their fault.

The latter is EASIER SAID than DONE (My own stories omitted other than to say had my heart rate been monitored, one would know my state of angst/irateness was able to melt a rubber chicken).

So today the agent started with the expected formality (a little bit of necessary script). After I was on hold for (forgot how long) I immediately said, "Please bear with me as you are the first human being I am speaking to today, and I just started drinking my coffee, so need to get over my social awkwardness."

Our tone from there only got better.

The fact that I spent my time wisely preparing for the call with all the information needed undoubtedly helped. We could quickly get to the point on the items needed, which left time for a little side comment here and there (which I often do with humor to lighten the situation).

She verified in stages, put me on hold each time (and I went back to typing this for y'all readers). And each time she came back online our conversation got a little more free flow, and easy.

When we were close to done, I made a comment about lost time being the worst loss of one's identity being stolen and the tax fraud (the criminals stealing our time).

She opened up about how much of a problem it has become, that she herself has identity protection, and that a little over a decade ago is when a whole IRS department was formed to deal with it (undoubtedly when being able to file electronically became much more mainstream), and how she loves her job because " I get to help people." Her attitude VERY MUCH appreciated!

I forget what we said exactly, but there was a note of wishing her job was not necessary, but, being real, the understanding that it will always be.... reiterating that she likes to help people.

I said my next career move should be in computer security, helping the little people, us individuals, and explained that during a major security breach years ago I locked everything down and dedicated my time to creating documentation to share with friends and family to help them do the same.

Even then the issue with my recent taxes was not me doing anything wrong. I did everything right based on the information/tools I had. But my tax firm got hacked, as did many others.

Cybersecurity is and always will be a cat/mouse game. And the cats are pretty ferocious. As I say with bicycling, I will say now of cybersecurity. When it comes to each we should act like a mouse (or squirrel) on a cat farm. It's a matter of WHEN not IF you will be affected by any one of the major data breaches. YOU need to take matters into your own hands.

If you want to put your time somewhere beneficial, put it into signing up for identity theft protection, get all of your personal information organized, and set up a schedule to periodically check everything, especially accounts, for anomalies. Also periodically change passwords, set up two factor authentication or passkeys. And more.

Give yourself the gift of time by taking the time to protect yourself, so your time will not be stolen later. And once you have done so, give the gift of time to your friends and family. Help them DO what I just told you.

As for kids, even newborns, look into protecting their identity immediately. Even when they go through the teenage stage of thinking you're an idiot, they will assuredly appreciate you when they learn they are protected when they hear what has happened to their friends.

Speaking of infants......at the end of my call with the IRS, I repeated my notes to the agent to verify what she told me. It is not over yet for me. More time needed to get through a few more steps. But I am in better shape than before.

She started with "There will be a 9 week processing time to..."

Later I repeated my notes: "If I don't get ... in 9 months then call this.."

"9 weeks." She interrupted. "You are waiting for a tax refund, not a baby."

(pause)

I lost it laughing! As did she.

"I thought y'all weren't allowed to have a sense of humor!" I said. " Oh and I say that to my tax advisor as a joke!" (Side note: My tax advisor kept the first rubber chicken I gave him years ago hanging in his office wall for all his clients to see).

At the end she asked me if I had any more questions. I said, paraphrased , "No. But I want to say that other than the hold time (no worries, it gave me time to drink my coffee), this has been a really good experience and I want to thank you for being so helpful! I really appreciate it!"

She wished me a good day. I wished her Happy Holidays.

Time well spent with another human being, despite the circumstances.