I know from talking with a number of young, exciting persons recently that there is a sort of grand recklessness that has come to be associated with this philosophy. Maybe you drive fast, lie to your family and go in to work hung over once in a while, but there are three extremely important categories where you really, really can’t be careless, and they are; selective service registration, filing tax returns, and answering the phone when collection agents call.
Selective Service Registration
If you are male and over the age of 18, you are legally required to register for the Selective Service System. Another way of thinking of it is that you’re registering for the draft. This hasn’t been used to enlist servicemen since the 1970s, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to sign up. Some states, like West Virginia, have laws in place that say your employment and income can be restricted unless you are properly registered.
Although there have not been any prosecutions for failure to register since 1986, it is still the law, and you never know when this may come back to haunt you.
File Your Taxes
Even if you don’t think you owe taxes, you need to file your tax return each year. If you do owe, and you don’t know it, you’re going to wake up one day in the not-too-distant future and find a massive IRS bill, and you won’t have any grounds to get out of it. Worse still, unlike other debts, you can’t get out of it by doing anything short of dying. It doesn’t matter if you file bankruptcy or move overseas, this debt will follow you for life, and it will grow at rates that would make you sick.
Even if you don’t owe money, it can be a crime to not file a tax return. That means you could have a $5,000 fine and/or go to prison, even if you don’t owe back taxes, because you didn’t file your return. I only share this information because I’ve seen people do it wrong, and it makes me sad to see good people suffer bad fates.
Return Calls for Unpaid Bills & Collections
Most collection agents are terrible people. Maybe they’re made that way because of all the terrible people they have to deal with, or maybe they were born that way, but ignoring the call won’t make it go away. In many cases, being proactive will get you a lower settlement amount, and could even make the whole thing go away.
I had a collection from UW Physicians for a clinic I never even went to. They were difficult to deal with, but it only took a small handful of calls to get the record straightened out and deleted from my credit report forever. Especially if you have a common name, you need to take those calls. You can always ask them to stop calling you (may take a certified letter to their office with your account number), but ignoring them won’t make them go away.
Tags: airforce, army, bills, collections, IRS, marine, military, navy, responsibility, taxes