We’re all still basking in the World Champion US Women’s Soccer Team over here in the Pronto Income Tax Team offices. Pretty amazing to see so much excellence on behalf of our country. Let’s make sure the victory leads to more unity and good spirit within our culture!
There’s lots of conversation about different pay scales for the men’s and women’s national soccer teams, and rather than get into that debate, we thought it might be worthwhile to step back and consider what’s underneath all of these salary/payment/money conversations.
Because what lies beneath these conversations is a deeper conversation about what it is we really value.
And THAT conversation is one that we think every family and every American should engage in, as well.
Because wer can spend your life chasing the brass ring of “better income” … but what if it actually doesn’t make us any happier? Many people have experienced the sadness of that illusion. We’ll have the best chance at happiness when we look at spending in a healthy way…
Spending That Actually Makes You Happier
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn
Creating a budget really shouldn’t be the place where financial decisions begin.
Instead, a comprehensive look at what you most care about and how you want to live your life is the best place to start, even before budget categories are determined.
This becomes especially clear when we consider how to raise our children with a proper financial mindset. We want them to learn how to earn, how to save (and invest), and how to spend. Unfortunately, this doesn’t spring up for them from the womb, we have to teach and MODEL the right behaviors to our kids!
When speaking with our clients about their financial decisions, these are the sort of conversations that ultimately prove to be the most meaningful — often life-changing.
We get the opportunity to help you discover not only how you want to use their money, but perhaps even more rewardingly — how to align that spending with the things you care most about.
Many Americans use our money to accumulate so many items, and we are often forced to make payments on them (too-expensive cars, boats, etc.). Listen, if having a great car is your thing, go for it! But let’s just make sure we’re thinking about spending in a healthy way, right?
Because, if you ask us, YOU are far more beautiful than your car ever could be! 🙂
There is a book by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton (called The Science of Happier Spending) which chronicles the “research distinguishing spending that satisfies from that which disappoints”.
The authors give us five principles of the kind of spending that actually produces satisfaction:
1. Experiences satisfy more than material things.
2. Too much indulgence wears down. Making it rarer makes it more satisfying.
3. The best investment is usually in your time.
4. Flipping the credit game — “pay now, use later” versus “pay later, use now” — gives a sense of anticipation which is far better than immediate pleasure combined with the later pain of paying for something already consumed.
5. It is happier to spend on others rather than on ourselves.
Those 5 principles are a great place to start in having these conversations!
For example, recognizing that time is in much more of a limited quantity than money (as the adage says: “We are each only given 24 hours in a day”) means that it makes sense to evaluate how you are approaching the “spending” and stewardship of your time — and that it often makes sense to pay money for more of it.
The wealthy see the value of their time, and they regularly invest in it by paying others to free it up. This could range from paying for lawn care and cooking — or even sometimes paying for someone else to drive them to and from work. And this often forces them to think about using their time in the most valuable way possible.
You are the only one who can be a mother or father to your children. You are the only one who can be a spouse to your partner. You are the only one who can be an amazing friend for your friends.
You are the only one who can do the things that only you can uniquely do!
Bringing your money in line with the things you most deeply care about isn’t always easy … but it is worth it.
And this is what my team and I are here for: to help you with this kind of stuff, to be a resource and a friend.
Let’s keep hope alive and let’s keep moving forward–and let’s celebrate our amazing American women’s soccer team’s worldwide victory! 🙂
Warmly,
Pronto Income Tax Team
www.Pronto4Tax.com
Pronto Income Tax Team
(310) 577-7530
Pronto Income Tax Team
