I thought paying for a separate business bank account was a pointless tax until my accountant yelled at me.
For my first year freelancing, I just used my personal checking account for everything. My logic was, 'It's all my money, why pay a monthly fee?' My accountant, a very patient woman named Linda, finally sat me down last quarter and showed me the mess. It took her 4 extra hours to sort my expenses from my personal groceries and vet bills, which cost me way more than the $15 a month a basic business account would have. She literally said, 'Mark, you're making my job harder and your life harder. Stop it.' Opened one the next day, and reconciling everything for this year has been stupidly easy. Anyone else put this off and regret it?