My mom was laid off. It wasn't the first time. Turns out, it wouldn't be the last either. But a company she had been loyal to for eleven years didn't hold that same loyalty towards her, and turned her out into the cold. Thing was, in those many years of service, she had accrued some stock in the company.

As our luck would have it, we were finding ourselves soon to be out of a place to live just about the same time as this layoff occurred. Mom could have rolled that stock out into something else and save for her retirement, but circumstance wouldn't allow it. She didn't have a car - she needed one. She didn't have a place to live - she needed one. So she cashed it out, taking about $80,000 - more money than she'd had in hand in her entire life.

Bought a car. A nice, new Kia. Her first new car EVER. And when the family members we were living with decided to sell their house right out from under us and move out to God's country, she bought us a trailer to live in. I was still in school in those days, working part time and barely scraping by, but it was Mom who told me to go ahead and follow my collegiate dreams. She would provide, and I should stay in school.

I know it sounds like a lot of money, but it whittled away easily. I have two sisters and a brother. They needed money for this or that. We needed furniture for our new trailer. It drifted so easily. But Mom was vigilant! She knew that she would have to pay taxes on that money, and she saved for it, guessing it would be about a 1/4 of what she had cashed out. By then she had found another job, and she stockpiled that little bit of money left, ready to pay what she owed Uncle Sam.

When tax time came, she did what millions of Americans do every year: she went to our local chain of tax experts, a company that shall herein be referred to as H&R SUCK. The young man, Daniel, who did her taxes, walked her through the process and lo and behold, she only owed $1,200! What luck! Mom was skeptical - but the taxman assured her it was all okay - "Don't Worry!" he kept repeating. Just in case, she took out H&R SUCK's little insurance 'guarantee', that assured her if any mistakes WERE made, they would be held responsible, and she paid the $1200 she was told.

Time passed. That little bit of money left whittled away even more. Someone needed money. Someone had bills to pay off. Mom is the kind of person who will give and give until there is nothing left - and she did. But we didn't have to worry, right? We had H&R SUCK's guarantee!

Then the letter came from the IRS. Guess what it said? Our happy go luck 'don't worry' taxman had SCREWED UP. Mom now owes around $26,000 more. We have nothing left.