The Problem with Valentine's Day
I love the concept of Valentine’s Day — do something nice and special to remind the ones you love how much you care!
But I don’t love how some people use Valentine’s Day.
Let’s go overboard to make up for the lack of time we put into our relationship the rest of the year! Even better — let’s paper over all our issues with some super staged photos on social media and witty hashtags! #Blessed
You all know the people I’m talking about. Heck, you might be one of those people if you’re being honest with yourself.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m a card carrying member of Team Love. I’m just not on board for Team Lie to Yourself.
So what’s this got to do with your finances?
How much stress and strain in your relationship can be traced back to disagreements around money? Are you proactively checking in on your financial well-being together as couple? Or with tax season right around the corner, are we approaching the one time a year you give it a glance?
How’s that working out for you?
“Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.” - Epictetus
Whether we’re talking about our relationships or our financial well-being, both situations require making the time and effort for them on a regular basis.
I know how tough it can be because I struggle with it, too.
For example, the easy choice for my wife and me after a long work day and after putting our daughter to bed can be to unwind and watch different shows on separate floors. The investment in our relationship only occurs when we first make time to catch up on each other’s day, listen to any struggles and frustrations, and provide reassurance and support. (Note to self: Do this more.)
The easy choice when it comes to your financial well-being is to wait till tax time forces your hand. You pull all your numbers together right before the deadline and promise you’ll do a better job next year. Maybe you even make a plan. But what happened to last year’s plan?
Plans aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on if you don’t act on them. You have to hold yourself accountable or get some help to make sure you get your tasks done.
But you’re busy, right? It’s easy to find 75 good reasons why right now isn’t the best time but…
Now is always the best time to take the first step.
To put more effort into our relationships — financially and emotionally.
To stop lying to ourselves. To stop letting “busy” be our built-in excuse.
Let’s start taking action together. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our financial well-being, and we owe it to our relationships with the people we care most about.
There’s no better return on your time than making these investments. And you don’t have to tackle this alone. Schedule a call and we’ll make it happen together.
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