Depending on what context this question is asked, it can be a very positive experience or a sickening experience. I hear this question asked in real estate offices when people find out you just sold a huge listing. This would be an opportunity to be excited about answering it. However, if this question is asked anywhere around the April 15th timeframe….this can be a sickening question to have to answer. Of course, I am speaking of how big the check was you had to write To the federal government. I can imagine everyone is letting out a huge sigh of disgust even now!
On average, the agents I work with are paying roughly $50,000 per year to the Federal government in taxes. If I ask you, to whom do you write a check that big to throughout the year? Anyone? Not usually. If I asked you another question, how much of that $50,000 check do you intend to get back? At any time in the future? None is the resounding answer. A follow on question would be how much interest do you intend to make on that money throughout your career as you pay the government? This is the point where I normally see people look back at me and slightly cock their head to the side as if to say, “what?!” The final question I ask to that would be “ Why not?”
If we add up all of the money that we spend as we pay the federal government over our careers (lets say for instance just $50,000 per year for a 30 yr time frame) we are talking somewhere in the ballpark of $1.5 million!!! That’s a staggering number especially when we consider the fact that that amount of money has flowed through our hands at one time or another. What if there was a way to gain interest on that money over our career and have it compound for our use in retirement? What if as we pay the government we were actually putting money aside to fund our future needs for income? Wouldn’t that be powerful?
If there was a way to do this, would it be worth figuring out how?
Let’s think differently about our money and work smarter, not harder.
By: Joey Mure
The Get A Real Estate Life Financial Coach
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