We dread filing taxes, so we reward ourselves with a date night

I have always hated filing taxes, and doing it as a couple made it worse: our first time filing jointly took more than four hours. There is more paperwork to manage, and the vibe can turn tense and anything but romantic when we confront our finances together. To make the task bearable, we now gather our tax documents in advance.

Getting organized beforehand cut hours off our usual slog, and when we each come prepared it only takes about an hour to file online. After we hit "submit," we keep a yearly tradition and celebrate with a date. The early rewards were takeout and a movie night with "Gilmore Girls"–level treats, a nostalgic echo of the pandemic era when our first dates were takeout dinners and TV nights.

This year, with my work cut back for health reasons and household income reduced, we tightened the budget and swapped restaurant takeout for a simple home-cooked reward: my husband made his favorite tacos while I indulged in Talenti gelato and Publix bakery treats like guava pastelitos and black-and-white cookies.

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