In 2003 I made so little I didn't report any income to the IRS. In 2004 I reported an income of $20,000. That was a supposed to have paid rent for and fed me, my daughter, and my girlfriend for an entire year. That breaks down, after taxes, to a net of $15000, which was $1250 cash each month. There was $450 for rent. $300 for food, $200 for utilities, $100 for credit cards, and $500 to pay restitution.
2 things there: 1 you do the math you'll realize that that all added up to $300 more than I made, and that didn't even consider emergencies and all the rest of the miscellaneous and unforseeables. I was digging a hole, see?
and
2. what restititution? this restitution: in the winter of 2001 I broke into several offices in the middle of the night and stole computers and sold them on the internet and then got caught. I wasn't a very good criminal.
I was a 27 yr old divorced single dad and I spent the night in jail and then was sentenced to 5 yrs of probation, and ordered to pay back $100k of property that I stole.
There's a whole raft of events that led up to me doing something so wacked out. But that's a topic for another post (or you can read the book when it comes out). Suffice it to say for now then that I served my 5 yrs, paid my debt, and was spat back out by the state in April of 2006, a free and completely redeemed man. Because while I had struggled in '01 '02 '03 '04 and '05, in 2006 I reported a gross income of $360,000, and paid more just in taxes than I had made in the 7 years previous combined.
I've made as much already this year as I made last year, so it's probably reasonable to assume that I'll double what I did last year.
I'm not saying this to brag. I'm thinking that you're smart enough to be thinking that anyone who admits to being such an abominable f**kup couldn't possibly hope to convince them of how ultimately and underneath it all they are a slick and smooth million dollar cat.
You're right. I am only and ever just incredibly lucky.
