_Sky, I've tried to cut costs. There aren't enough to cut to make a difference. I KNOW I'm supposed to take out quarterly taxes. I'm not that dense. I'd have to take out $800 every month. I don't spend that much on food, clothes, and putting gas in the car and I can still barely make ends meet some paychecks. We would literally have to starve and be naked in order to pay the amount of taxes I should be taking out. I don't need a damn lecture on not being a responsible business owner, OK? I DO pay my taxes. I just happen to put them on an installment plan agreed upon by the IRS. I'm not trying to skip out on paying taxes. I was doing just fine on my own until I went to a CPA one year who charged me a bundle, didn't get me any deductions that I couldn't find on my own, and then set up my estimated quarterlies, which I paid ON TIME, only to find out he underestimated by 5K when tax time rolled around.

We live in a small town where calling anywhere else is long distance, even the next town 5 miles away, so I can't eliminate long distance from my phone.

I don't have a monthly cell phone bill, and I don't want one.

My business involves uploading and downloading WAV files. I NEED a fast, reliable Internet connection. Going to dial up is not feasible. I'd be spending $35 a month for a second phone line plus the expense of an ISP at another $20 a month. I pay $40 for my cable connection. Where's the cost-cutting in spending $55 for a slow-as-molasses 56K modem connection compared to a $40, 5 meg cable connection?

And as I've already said, I've been working with the cable company to lower my bill. The woman I talked to today said she'd talk to a supervisor, get me the best deal for the lowest price, and would call me back. She got back to me half an hour later with a better deal than the one I was supposed to get. It's going to drop my bill by $35 a month for a full year. I also switched my phone plan to one that offers unlimited long distance for a flat monthly fee that's cheaper than what I spend now, plus I get extra calling features of voice mail and call waiting.

Plus the choices you make only affect you. I have two other people in my house to consider. Two other people who need food, two other people who need clothing, two other people who need to be chauffered around, two other people who need rooms of their own. If it was just me, I'd gladly live in a studio apartment and survive on eggs and spaghetti, sell my car and never leave the house unless it was within walking distance, never make a phone call or use electricity. It's NOT just me.

I'm sure you pay for things that other people might find unneccessary or frivolous, yet you couldn't do without, so it's really unfair to point fingers.

I can give you a short rundown of my monthly expenses, if you like.
$1740 on fixed expenses - rent, electricity, phone, heat, car payment, water, insurance, cable (so I can work to make the money to pay the bills), debt.
$800 budgeted on food, clothing, gas, entertainment, and any unexpected expenses that come up - school fees, doctor/dentist visits, etc. It always comes up short, even though I've pretty much eliminated any sort of weekly entertainment. I guess I could hire a lawyer at $200 an hour again to try and get child support out of my ex husband. That would just about cover what I owe in taxes every month, wouldn't it?

That comes to $2540, and taxes haven't come out yet. I make on average $2540 a month. That leaves me with roughly, um, NOTHING a month to cover $800 in estimated taxes. Math doesn't add up, does it? Oh, that's right, cut costs. OK, I have $800 up there that covers "unnecessary" expenses like food and toilet paper and soap and toothpaste. I'll just take that and, voila, $800. Tax problem solved.

Yeah, right.