It's Time to Take Stock

This sounds like a huge job coming my way, right? But it's not so bad in relative terms. It's not like I've suddenly set up a company. But what it is, yesterday I was chatting via Discord, and during that conversation, it suddenly dawned on me that the end of the year is approaching. Time flies and with a few blinks it's already November. As the days get shorter and the evenings get longer, the time has come again when I have to rack my brains about the financial side of this. Although having a Hive account has advantages, there also is a disadvantage. And that is the income tax. In my country, Hive has to be counted as income, and that means that a tax return also has to be filed. To be able to do that tax return properly, every transaction I make in the year has to be scoured via Hive, and that last one ... I always resolve to keep track of it per month so that I don't suddenly have a shitload to process in December. And for the third year in a row, I've failed at this. Which means that I suddenly have to process an entire year. Sigh! When will I learn?

Well, the positive thing about this is that this year I will realize what awaits me in time and that I don't only think "Oh, it's high time" somewhere in January. But that realization has already sunk in in November this year. I am making progress, one day I will manage to keep track of it per month. But this year it is again a job that I don't necessarily embrace with enthusiasm, but which is still important to do. If I start early enough now, I hope to have some time left for creativity, blogs, and wood projects.

The Reality of Earnings on Hive

If you live in an expensive country with relatively low incomes in comparison, you have to deal with certain financial challenges. And in that respect, I am very happy with the luxury that I can earn a little extra with blogging via Hive. Sharing what keeps me busy, a little glimpse into my thoughts. You will never hear me claim that what I write is of high quality.

But with this bit of extra income, everything becomes a bit more complicated around the end of the year. The Hive stats have to be sorted out because the twist is that not everything counts for income tax. And that has to be filtered out again. Now, given the total earnings, I could suffice with just stating the amount, but that is not how I am. If I have to do it, then I want to do it 100% right, and look at and assess every transaction, with complete overviews. If the tax authorities ever ask for it, I can also submit everything correctly.

This is not a task that is at the top of my list. Even though I do not have a paid job, there are 1001 other things that I have to and want to deal with. Think of the things that everyone has to deal with, a household that has to continue, but also enough other things. My day is filled enough.

Why wait?

So this year November is not only the month in which the year almost unnoticed creeps towards the finish, but also the month in which I remind myself that it is smart to start now. Why should I wait any longer? That only means that I will dread it more and more, knowing that I have to do it anyway. Only the time I have for it gets shorter with every passing day. Starting to make everything clear in November gives me a head start and some peace, so that I have more time in the months after and do not lose entire days to financial hassle.

I know from experience that it takes time to go through all the transactions, Hive and Hive engine, and then make a plan for how much HBD I will need to be able to pay my taxes.

The Year Has Flown By

The fact that this is already flying through my mind is also a confrontation with how quickly the year has flown by! It feels like we have only just started 2024 and now we are already on the threshold of a new year. This realization also makes me think back on everything I have done and achieved in the past year, from projects to personal development. There were peaks, valleys, and unexpected moments, but also great achievements that I look back on with pride.

Although I am early with it, I don't want to look at it only as something that has to be done, but I also want to look back on it with gratitude for the opportunity. Although I have not always been so happy with the performance of Hive in general, and there are plenty of improvements that can be made for Hive, it has also been my digital home. And I am grateful for that.

Still So Much To Do

While that is going through my mind, and I am getting started on that administration, the feeling remains that I have so many other things that require my attention. I will probably be distracted at least 984 times before I have everything ready ... And then, I can continue with all the other things that I have to do, especially things that I want to do.