When You Pay, Are You Grateful?

In the US, today is the deadline for paying (if you’re required to) 2011 Q4 estimated taxes to the fine folks at the IRS.

I know a lot of people really hate paying taxes, and probably won’t pay estimateds, or will wait till zero hour to make it happen. So many people I know wish we could all pay less than we do. Without a doubt, that would be nice.

I, personally, used to struggle like mad with paying estimateds. In my mind, if my taxes weren’t due till April, why did I have to give them money in advance? Wasn’t I already paying enough? How was it fair, I reasoned, that they got my money and got to use it, interest free, even before my taxes needed to be prepared and reported?

And then, my fabulous bookkeeper and money teacher, Jessica Reagan Salzman, shifted it for me. We weren’t even talking about taxes. We were talking about bill paying in general. And she suggested that instead of feeling annoyed by having to pay, I consider how grateful I am for services I get that allow me to do the work and live the life I do.

That really got me thinking about how grateful I am to live where I live and do what I do and have access to all sorts of amazing and wonderful services. Other people aren’t as fortunate, as we all know.

I realized that living here in the US, and having what I have in order to do what I do and live the life I live comes with an exchange—in most cases, of money. That includes the fact that if I live here in the US, I pay taxes.

I don’t have to like paying taxes, but I have to pay them. Of course, like with anything else, if my despising reaches a fever pitch, I can always choose to leave—that’s also my right. But if I want to live here, I pay taxes. If I want high-speed Internet access, I pay for it. If I want phone service, I pay for it. If I want anything that I can’t create for myself, I pay for it.

It is what it is, you know?

And I could have lived with that ("It is what it is"). But to better it for myself, I decided to go on a biz-related-spending gratitude journey (I do it for personal, too). I started writing “thank you!” in the comment area on checks I’d mail, and if there was a comment blank when I’d pay something online, I’d write it there, too.

Paying became not only a way for me to make sure my services stayed on, but an opportunity to thank the vendors for providing amazing things to me.

Even the IRS. As I doled out my money for Q4 estimateds, I thanked them. Deeply.

We celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. here yesterday. I was five when he died, so most of that era escaped me until I was well-grown up. His fight for civil liberties--the looking back on where we've come from, and forward to how far we have to go--reminded me with laser focus that I can’t imagine leaving the freedoms I have here to live elsewhere. I don’t believe the grass is ever greener—I believe that it’s just a different shade of green. And I believe that it’s likely that whatever gain I might find on the other side would be met with something I was sorry to have lost. So I stay. And I pay. And I’m grateful for the opportunity--for what feels to me like a privilege.

The upshot of all of it? I’m happier (didn’t actually know that was possible!), I’m more free, it feels so much better than grunting and groaning about it as I used to, and I feel far more relaxed with the entire system and exchange. I’m also far more at peace about money in general.

Today I’m wondering, as you have the privilege to pay your bills or make this Q4 estimated payment, how do you feel about doing it, and how does that feeling impact your business, or you in your business?

 

Comments

[Jess]

(-: xoxox

[Lynn White]

Great post Anastacia! I used to always complain about paying things and then a couple of years ago, I shifted that mindset. I am thankful that I can pay and thankful for what I have. Every time I hear someone complaining about paying a bill or taxes, I say, "well, you could be in a situation where you can't pay them and don't have the luxuries you do. Which would you prefer?"