Consider The Squirrels

Quote of the day: Cheat the government out of a few hundred dollars and the IRS will spend thousands of dollars in resources to hunt you down and make sure you pay. Cheat them out of tens of thousands in taxes and you may end up with a cabinet level position at the White House.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie Life Of Brian is when a crowd has gathered to hear Brian speak. They think he’s the Messiah and he tries to come up with something prophetic to quiet them. After not being able to offer any further explanation on “Consider the lilies…in the field” he tries to quote Jesus again, “Uh, well, the birds then…have they got jobs?”
Confusion ensues and the crowd wonders why he is making the birds out to be freeloaders. You probably recognize the paraphrase of the passage from the Sermon on the Mount Brian was quoting. “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap…” The point that Jesus made was that the Father takes care of the birds and the lilies, so he’s much more likely to see to our needs. Not that God wants us to be a society of parasites. He has just given us the tools we need to provide for our own needs.

Today I want to consider the squirrels. Growing up in the country I was taught a lot about plants and trees and animals, how they behave and why. Much can be learned by watching nature. Squirrels have quite a system of saving that gets them through the cold winter months when the trees are not producing the nuts they need to survive. Squirrels in our yard survived on the acorns that fell from the oak tree. Instinctually they stockpiled enough acorns in the hollow of the oak tree during the summer to have plenty to eat in the winter. That means in the summertime they didn’t overindulge, leaving them to starve in January. The squirrels may have invented living within one’s means. It’s a great system and it works for humans too.

Not coincidentally, the savings account we recently opened for Jackson is called a “Squirrels Club Account” at our bank. Sure, they have a cute squirrel on the cover of the passbook clinging to an acorn. But the squirrel is not just an adorable mascot. It’s a good role model when it comes to saving. Squirrels don’t have proper jobs or pay taxes but they use what God gave them to ensure their survival.

Tip of the day: Don’t forget home mortgage interest and PMI are tax deductible on Schedule A. BUT, you may be better off using the Standard Deduction in the margin to the left of 1040 line 40. It’s $11,400 for joint returns. Weigh the options…