Money Coach: Do you suffer from taxpayer anxiety disorder?

Are you happy and relieved that April 15 has come and gone? I am! I love tax day, but that wasn’t always true for me. Tax day is a mirror for your relationship with money. For most people, taxes are their biggest expense of the year. 

What was your experience in 2013?

Characteristics of a Healthy Taxpayer

• Maintaining a tax savings account
• A sense of control, calm and peace of mind while preparing your taxes
• An empowering, systematic approach to tracking your personal and business expenses throughout the year
• A positive, easy and affirming relationship with your accountant
• Taking time to reflect on what went well with taxes this year and what you can improve upon
• Taking action now to set yourself up for success next April
• Receiving refunds

Characteristics of People with TAD  (Taxpayer Anxiety Disorder)

• Suffering from behavior related to tax matters: overspending, overeating, overworking, distraction, deprivation, isolation, dishonesty, imbalance, poor physical health, anxiety, loss of sleep, restlessness, irritability or loss of appetite during or around tax season
• Inability to address tax problems in a timely manner
• Owing back taxes
• Remaining disempowered and uneducated about your personal tax strategies and liabilities, a.k.a. “just signing the papers”
• Going into credit card debt to pay taxes
• Avoiding tax related responsibilities: paperwork, mail or phone calls
• Behavioral paralysis with respect to addressing tax-related matters
• A frightening, threatening or disconnected relationship with your accountant
• Doing the same thing year after year expecting different results
• Unexpectedly owing taxes

I used to be the client that my CPA dreaded. Before getting help from a money coach, I was terribly disorganized with my finances, which contradicted the Type-A tendencies in other areas of my life. 

I suffered through the process of cobbling together reliable information based on boxes of receipts, scribbled notes in multiple notebooks, and bank statements. 

Now, I am my accountant’s dream client.

And the best part? The discipline for staying in control of my money takes just five minutes a day. Amazingly, taking this leap of faith and becoming mindful with my money impacted every area of my life from family dynamics to intimate relationships to business growth. 

Account balances aside, a new, sustainable and holistic approach to financial freedom is just a phone call away. 

Happy Spring!

 

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