Introduction to String Theory
WHY ARE WE EVEN DOING THIS? When you could be using an automated tool for mileage…
IF you mix personal driving and business driving it’s (1) ALMOST GUARANTEED you’ll be claiming trips that are not deductible and (2) MISSING TRIPS THAT ARE DEDUCTIBLE because they are not captured at all.
IT’S IMPORTANT AND IT MATTERS THAT YOU ADOPT A PROCESS OF INTENTIONAL MILEAGE. THAT IS WHY WE BUILT MILEAGE PIE.
This is a story. Of a lovely lady. Who was busy… It’s about a Mileage Pie user named Shawna. We talk a little bit about her driving and tracking experience. Shawna takes trips that look like spaghetti ( or strings) but her deductible trips look like spokes.
Shawna :
“I tried the mileage apps that run on your phone and you have to hook them to your car with bluetooth, or not, and activate them every time you get in the car. And review the trips that you make because, technically, you know you should explain the purpose of the trip otherwise, and… well, blah-blah, and there’s always more ands. If you’ve turned the app on, now later you have to turn it off cuz you don’t want it tracking you every step. Oh, and by the way. It doesn’t detect short trips at all.”
We give her my mean puzzled look.
“Look, it isn’t all that automatic… “ She smiles and shakes her head. “… and if you try… to just let it do it’s automatic thing, you know? it’s probably gonna be wrong.”
“Okay?”
“Look. Here’s how it works. First thing in the morning – yesterday, in fact, I’m going to Sherm’s to pick up some special oil cuz the shop’s out of it. So it’s one of my errands for the day. And I’m driving there, and like, Jiahna calls me wants to get a coffee some new place and catch up. So we get coffee. It’s nice, good coffee, nice coffee. They got scones and kolaches. Quesitos with elderberry jam…. I didn’t even know what a quesito was. Where do they get this stuff?” She rolls her eyes into hers head. “So now I’m going to Sherm’s and there’s nothing left to that quesito, by the way…”
“I get my oil. I decide I should get milk and eggs while I’m out, then another little side-trip to the drug store. Then homeward. And you know what?”
I shrug cuz I don’t know what.
“That easy-peasy automatic mile-tracker thing that’s too smart for its own good didn’t record a single drive that I can use.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can record and I can include mileage driving directly to Sherman’s.
I can record and I can deduct mileage driving directly back from Sherman’s.
But I didn’t actually make any of those trips, did I?”
Mentally, invisibly… I am scratching my head, thinking. Trying to picture it.
“I guess you didn’t.”
“Now what do I do?”
