Forking over money, sometimes big money, to the IRS stirs up a lot of anxiety. Here’s how to deal with that.
Financial advisor Rick Kahler, president of Kahler Financial Group in Rapid City, S. D., knows that paying taxes, as well as parting with money in general, has an emotional side. Recognizing this reality is vital for anyone who pays anything, which is everyone. Larry Light: How does paying taxes affect a person’s psyche? Rick Kahler: If you don’t think paying taxes is emotional, try this. When you read, «money and taxes,» what are your first uncensored thoughts? Are they words like happy, excited, fun, invigorating? Or maybe drudgery, obligation, boredom, anger? Light: I understand that people’s reactions to events are called “scripts,” in psychological parlance. How does this translate into financial matters? Kahler: The average person has 50 to 200 money scripts that are often subconscious. There are four general categories of money scripts—Money Avoidance, Money Status, Money Worship, and Money Vigilance—and most of us have one that’s dominant. Light: Tell us about them. Kahler: Money Avoiders believe money is bad and anxiety-provoking and rich people are greedy. Their main emotion is fear, and they may believe they don’t deserve money. Their thoughts around tax filing may include: «I’m incompetent,» «I don’t understand,» «I just don’t want to deal with it,» «I don’t earn enough to spend much time on this,» «Those who don’t pay their fair share are greedy and evil,» or «This is too much work.
