5 Ways You Might be Paying “The Stupid Tax”
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Life has a hidden fee. It’s one we all pay from time to time, and it’s the only “tax” in our lives that is completely within our control. I call it “The Stupid Tax,” and trust me, if you could learn to live your life and never pay this tax again, it would bring so much peace, regardless of how much money or success you ever achieve.
So what is The Stupid Tax? It is any price you pay (loss of money, resources, time, etc.) because of your actions, your choices, and factors completely within your control. It can never be blamed on anyone but YOU.
There are 5 ways you pay The Stupid Tax…
1. Carelessness
A late fee on your credit card when you had the money sitting in the bank, and you knew about the bill. You just were careless and didn’t get it paid on time. You now have to work more or sacrifice something else to pay this fee.
2. Laziness
Milk or ice cream going bad because you didn’t take the time to put it immediately back into the fridge/freezer and then you forgot and left it out overnight. You have to go to the grocery store to buy more milk, costing money and time.
3. Recklessness
You have road rage and are whipping through traffic because you are frustrated. In your frustration, you rear-end someone and are now paying the price. Paperwork, meeting with a claims adjuster, money, and again your time!
4. Procrastination
You’ve had an assignment for school for 3 weeks now, you wait until the night before it’s due, and you inevitably get a bad grade because the project was rushed and sloppy. You have to work harder on other assignments to try and get your grades up, if you are even able to.
5. Impatience
When you really want a new car, (you don’t need it, you just want an upgrade) but you haven’t taken the time to save up any money. You finance 100 percent at a high interest rate and pay $125 a month as a total loss on interest alone. Americans often pay over $7000 a year on interest for various things – some are needs, but many are NOT. That is just money down the drain because of impatience and needing to have the latest thing right now even though you can’t afford it.
The Stupid Tax is the price you pay for anything that could have been avoided if you had just taken the time and effort to be responsible and rational with your choices.
What The Stupid Tax is NOT: It is not paying a late fee or interest on a credit card because you have no money and are struggling to make ends meet. It is NOT having groceries spoil because your power went out while you weren’t home. It is NOT having medical bills from a car accident that was not your fault.
Please understand, some expenses in life (although burdensome) are not always avoidable, and you are not being stupid to have to pay these life expenses.
The stupid tax refers strictly to the things that are avoidable when you take the time and effort to be mindful of your choices and properly manage your time and available assets.
Let’s be honest, everyone has paid a price related to some of the above factors, most likely MANY times in their lives. I know I have, and I hate it!!! I could pay $10,000 to the government for income tax and not be upset. This is out of my choice or control. It’s a part of living and working in this great country. BUT if I waste $15 worth of spoiled groceries because I didn’t properly plan my meals, I am more upset.
I absolutely HATE waste! I am not against having nice things. You work hard for your money and can spend it the way you choose. I just appreciate my added blessings so much more when I know I am being smart and a good steward of all that I have been given.
How much more could we all have if we avoided waste and careless stupid tax expenses? How many people could we help?
“Work smart not hard.” This is probably a saying you have heard before. Well, if smart is the opposite of stupid, then working smart will always bypass the stupid tax. You have to work harder to make up for the losses you acquire due to The Stupid Tax.
Be mindful of your time, your resources, your decisions.
Evaluate needs over wants and exhibit patience.
Use wisdom and don’t be lazy.
It will be less work in the end if you work smart.
Truly the most financially successful people I know are not always those who make the most money. They are those who work smart, avoid The Stupid Tax in life, and are good managers of the resources they’ve been given, regardless of how many or few. You will prosper when you take the extra time and effort to be mindful of what you have available to you.
Your only resource is not your money. Your time is the most valuable resource available to you (and we all have the same number of hours in a day), as well as your intellect, mindfulness, and work ethic.
“A stitch in time saves nine.” Another common saying I’m sure you’ve heard. Think about this for a moment. Doing one thing NOW can save you 9 TIMES the amount of total work that it will create if you procrastinate. Now every task has a different outcome when you procrastinate, but the principle remains.
When something HAS to be done, it rarely gets easier, cheaper, less stressful, or goes away if you put if off. Usually the opposite occurs.
My challenge to you: Pick one of the 5 areas that you think is your weakest link and inadvertently costs you the most – carelessness, laziness, recklessness, procrastination, or impatience. Work on this area in your life and wait to reap the inevitable rewards from mastering this weakness.
After mastering one, move on to the next. As you master these things, you will pay less and less of life’s stupid tax. You will have more time, money, and resources, and you will have less stress.
We can’t always control making more money, avoid devoting our time to certain responsibilities, or save money that is allotted to our bills and needs. So, take charge of what you CAN control, and let the resources and blessings in your life grow as they are now allotted to something other than paying The Stupid Tax.
~ Kristin ~
