Thinking about tax doom again, and how unperturbed I am by it, especially compared to the last time I screwed up tax stuff - only half a year ago, really.
Generally speaking, it's easy to say "It's only money" if all the following conditions are true.
- It's your money, alone.
- The time between your realizing your mistake and your having to pay for it is sufficiently long to avoid surprise and panic.
- The mistake is one that you need never make again, by way of a minor lifestyle change.
The change I must make involves creating a new bank account, and henceforth methodically shifting a third of each fresh deposit into it. It is not hard. It's even a little fun, if you're me.