You know, last week I got to write the government shutdown had ended, and I thought that I might not have to really speak of it again …

You know, last week I was wrong.

So first, when the agency reopened, it warned of phone delays. Phone delays are always a part of dealing with the IRS, so if it found them worth nothing, then that is a promise of some serious delay.

Second, there is word that when the IRS fully opened up for business again, there were five million pieces of unopened mail to deal with. How that matches up with the claim that there would be no delay in getting refunds, I cannot quite comprehend. Heck, I cannot quite comprehend five million pieces of mail in the first place.

Then there is the IRS’s rather large list of FAQs for taxpayers following the shutdown. There was too much there for me to even go into in this space. But if you have any questions, click here to visit the agency’s website and see what they posted (under numerous headings, so further click through to the area that addresses your interest). If you need any further guidance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

At least this is all happening early in the tax season where we have time to navigate it before the time crunch gets heavier. At the same time, though, I urge you to use it as a reminder to not procrastinate starting your prep work, even this early.

I do want to move away from the IRS now, though, and write about what we can do beyond taxes. Consider this an urging to not only get ready for tax season, but get ready for what you want to do after tax season.

This is the time of year when almost everyone is paying more attention to their finances. These early months see us recovering from the holiday season, possibly making some resolutions for how we will handle our money, then looking at some year-end numbers when it comes to taxes.

But come May, it is so easy to let all of that fade into the background.

So if you are reading this and thinking about what you need to gather for when we meet to discuss your tax return, why not also bring something that we can talk about for beyond tax season. We will already be discussing your financial picture, so why not look toward its future?

We may not have the skills to help you with every question that comes up in this realm, but we are confident that we can at least connect you with people who can help. It is likely, though, that we do have the skills to help you with those issues and get you where you need to be. And at that point, we are already breaking down some numbers, so it could be that the work has already started.

So what is there to lose? Bring us something extra about your future, and we will endeavor to add some comfort to that future.