A few people called me to task for my last blog and for good reason.  In hindsight, the blog did have a certain accusatory tone to it.  I think this e-mail says it well, ” No… not all of us; he would be hard pressed to find anyone in The Greatest Generation who did this.”

Now, I can’t speak for John Hope Bryant, but I know I intended the we to mean the Big We - in the societal, whole-world sense of we.  But, it’s a good lesson for me andfor us to be careful when we make statements that are all-inclusive.  Not just because we run the risk of alienating some, but more importantly because it can lull us in to faulty thinking.

What do I mean?  Let me give you an example.  When this financial crisis started, it was easy to point the finger at some big institutions that had let us down – Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and now Goldman Sachs – the list could go on and on.  It was easy to think of them as the big we and we got frustrated by the lack of accessibility and accountability.

But, it’s important to remember that behind the big we, there are a lot of individual I’s.  And, ultimately these I’s are the ones that got caught up in faulty decisions from focusing only on potential profits.  It was easy for the I’s accountability to hide behind the big we.  But ultimately, it was the I’s that made the decisions that lead to disaster.

So, next time I point the finger at the big we or the big you, I’m going to remember the I’s that make up our society – the ones that are behind it all – the ones that can really make a difference.

Heading off for a weeklong workshop on Cape Cod – lucky me!

Today I caught the end of Maine Public Radio’s broadcast of John Hope Bryant’s speech at the Commonwealth Club. He called his speech Recession or Reset? The Way Forward. His ideas and concepts were so intriguing that I listened to it in its entirety tonight. There is so much depth to it, I could write a blog on most of his statements.  (I think I tried in the past and I’ll probably try again in the future.)

When asked what caused the financial crisis, he responded –  “We all did a Madoff!  We robbed Peter to pay Paul, we lived beyond our means, we bought two of everything we didn’t need. We paid for everything on credit, and, we had no idea of how it was going to end.” You could tell the audience was more than a little uncomfortable by the silence and the speed with which they moved on to the next question. After all, it’s a pretty big accusation and not anything we really want to admit to.  But, I think he may be right!

We unconsciously bought into a consumerized version of the American Dream and didn’t think anything would stop it. We made decisions based on an end, but didn’t have the means.  And, when our finances didn’t continue moving at the lightening speed we grew to expect, it all came crashing down and we were caught – just like Madoff.

But, what can we learn from this?  Hopefully, we’ll learn that the problem with money, is not about the money!  That it’s what we value and believe about money that gets us into trouble. That when we lose sight of money as the means to an end we only get an end we didn’t mean. And, finally that we all need to be financially conscious to prevent this from happening again.

You can hear this inspiring man at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptWrUVnaCLQ

Wouldn’t life be simple if change was as easy as turning a dime into two nickels? Sure, the first time we made change, it took a lot of thinking and concentration, but now we can do it with our eyes closed and nary a thought.

Not so in life—or, not at least in my life. I can use most any metaphor to describe my behavior during even the smallest transitions. Kicking and screaming, digging in my heels, going around in circles—any and all of those are great images for when I encounter change—doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, my reaction is the same.

My big change this week is going from vacation back to work, from busy tax season with a looming deadline to little projects to finish any time, from empty nester back to hostess of a young adult. All little things that add up to a disruption of my usual routine. And disruption of that routine means I must change.

If only I could remember that today’s “disruptive” change becomes tomorrow’s “usual” routine. Life would be so simple. No emotional tirades, no loss of efficiency, no sleepless nights (writing blogs at 3 am), no worries; I’d glide into new routines with lightness and grace. Any change, even difficult financial change would be easy if we could only remember this.

So next time I’m faced with change (probably tomorrow), ’m going to use this mantra:  “If change is inevitable, I might as well relax and enjoy it.” Because if I do, I know everyone around me will, and life will be simple once again.

Bring it on, I’m ready.

Did you miss me?  You probably guessed that my life (and blog) was taken over by tax season.  It makes me think of all the times my children groaned when they knew it was tax season again.  They’d complain, “I know…it’s tax season!”  No matter how I tried, even though I was with them physically, mentally I was locked in my world of numbers.  And, that left side of my brain just isn’t the side tuned into the softer, more compassionate side of things.

Not that taxes don’t deserve a lot of compassion.  When you think about it, no matter what the results are, we deserve some compassion.  If you aren’t paying taxes, it probably means you didn’t have much income (no one gets away without paying taxes these days).  And, if you owe a lot of taxes, having someone like me tell you it’s because you made a lot of money, still doesn’t feel good.  It hurts to write that check and send it into the great unknown.

So, today I send out compassion to all of us who survived another tax day. More importantly, I send out tons of compassion for my family who watched a semblance of their mother and wife “live” with them from January through April 15^th.  But most of all, I’m showering myself with compassion for giving up a quarter of my life, every year for 34 years.  If I let myself, I could throw a ton of guilt and shame on myself for those lost moments, but what good would that do?

So join me today in a compassion shower – certainly there is some place you deserve to be left off the hook?

Myrtle Beach here I come!  Evan – see the ball, be the ball – you can do it!

Have a wonderful April Fool’s Day!

My budget loves this time of year.  I’m so busy working nights and weekends during tax season that I just don’t have time to spend.  I’ve heard this same from some of my coaching clients who are in the summer hospitality business.  We all express the same thing, our expenses go way down during our busy time of year.  And – we love it! 

Suddenly, our budget opens up, savings start accumulating and our money worries are on hold.  It’s a good thing and we feel great!  But, it makes me wonder – if we feel so good about it, why don’t we keep it going the rest of the year?  Why do we let our spending get the best of us when we’re not busy?

Good question.  I can only speak for myself, but sometimes I think I’m just plain bored.  And, when I’m bored, those media messages and ads get through to me and I fall into that financially unconscious place where all I hear is buy, buy, buy.  That, along with wanting to jazz up my life, results in spend, spend, spend.  You’d think with less on my mind, I’d be able to tune them out, but because that unconscious place is so much stronger, I fall back into the old pattern.

The solution?  I try to focus on the great feeling of freedom in my budget, savings growing and distant money concerns.  By keeping my eye on this positive, conscious place, the spending problems go away.  And, best of all, I’m following what’s important to me rather than those unconscious beliefs planted by others.  Because isn’t that what it’s all about?  Living our life, rather than someone else’s?

Taking that blindfold off – one day at a time…

Indulge Your Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget.  That’s the title a blog talk radio show gave my time with them tomorrow.  It made me stop to think for a minute about what I would do with that unlikely title.  It didn’t seem to be exactly what I was all about.  But then I gave it some more thought. 

Champagne taste on a beer budget is about the classic struggle to have what we can’t afford.  But it goes much, much deeper.  Because first we have to take time to really understand, do we really need it?  Or, do we just want it?  Sometimes it’s a fine line between want and need.  And, sometimes, we may not need it – but who cares, we still want it.

The real conundrum is in figuring out whose idea of want or need it is to begin with.  Was the want or need planted with slick marketing?  As in, “be part of the 4G network.”  Or, did we pick it up with scare tactics – “don’t leave home without it”?  Did we get it because it was something our parents always wanted or needed?  Or, was it our friends who planted the seed.  Before we can make any real changes to that champagne taste or beer budget, we need to be clear:  whose taste and/or budget is it anyway?

So, tune in tomorrow at 11:00 EST to The Sherry and Erin Show from LA and Las Vegas with any questions you have or two cents you want to add.  Should be an interesting conversation.  You’ll find us at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sandeshow/2010/03/18/indulge-your-champagne-taste-on-a-beer-budget-with-jane-honeck.  Or, if you can’t make that time, you’ll be able to log in at any time and find out what it was all about.

One month left till freedom……..

Try as I might, I haven’t been able to come up with any creative money ideas this week – seems I’m stuck in my tax brain. As April 15 comes closer, my analytical side takes over and my creativity goes undercover. So, I thought I’d join it rather than fight it with some tax musings. 

Having been doing taxes for over thirty years, it’s interesting to think back on how things have changed. When I first started doing tax returns, the top tax bracket was 70% on unearned income and 50% on earned income (wages). Now we pay 15% on qualified dividends and maximum 35% on other income.

Back in 1976, maximum employee social security taxes were $895. Now they are $7,956. And, maximum self-employment tax went from $1,209 to $15,090. Huge differences, but top social security benefits received went from $267 a month in 1976 to $2,346 now.

There used to be something called income averaging—people still ask about this one. If you had especially high income in one year, you could average the previous five years to end up paying less tax—it was a beautiful thing.

Not much was officially reported to IRS back then. Banks and brokerages didn’t need to file annual 1099’s to report interest, dividends, or sales of stock. We didn’t get 1098’s to report interest paid on a mortgage—and we could deduct all the interest we paid wanted on any number of home mortgages. We were all on our honor.

My head spins just thinking about all the changes I’ve seen over the years. Were things better back then? I can’t really say, but they sure have changed and that’s one thing we can still count on – tax change.

I hear a tax return calling my name….

High winds and rain took out a lot of power lines in Maine last week. Here in Freeport we were in the dark for two days – not long compared to others but enough to throw a kink into daily activities. On one hand, we saved money (no energy costs) but on the other, we spent more (eating meals out, a hotel for a shower, etc.).

It made me think about how our finances can easily fall prey to unexpected disturbances. Without a safety net, unusual expenses wreak havoc not only with our money, but more importantly with our sense of security. By not planning for extraordinary times, we keep ourselves on the edge of disaster and never having enough.

But, why don’t we plan ahead and have that safety net? We have endless excuses. It all comes down to choices. Somewhere along the line, we made the choice for immediate reward over long-term security. It may have been last night’s dinner out, last week’s shopping trip or last year’s vacation. Or, we made that choice years ago with a purchase of a car or house we couldn’t really afford. Somewhere along the line, we made that choice.

It’s the old story of the grasshopper and the ant. Now I’m the first to say it’s much more fun in the here and now; and living too much in the future can take us out of the present moment. But, there needs to be some kind of balance between the days of want and the days of need. Because if we lose that balance, just like the grasshopper who lay dying of starvation, we’ll learn that same lesson the hard way. It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

One for today and one for tomorrow…

High winds and rain took out a lot of power lines in Maine last week. Here in Freeport we were in the dark for two days – not long compared to others but enough to throw a kink into daily activities. On one hand, we saved money (no energy costs) but on the other, we spent more (eating meals out, a hotel for a shower, etc.).

It made me think about how our finances can easily fall prey to unexpected disturbances. Without a safety net, unusual expenses wreak havoc not only with our money, but more importantly with our sense of security. By not planning for extraordinary times, we keep ourselves on the edge of disaster and never having enough.

But, why don’t we plan ahead and have that safety net? We have endless excuses. It all comes down to choices. Somewhere along the line, we made the choice for immediate reward over long-term security. It may have been last night’s dinner out, last week’s shopping trip or last year’s vacation. Or, we made that choice years ago with a purchase of a car or house we couldn’t really afford. Somewhere along the line, we made that choice.

It’s the old story of the grasshopper and the ant. Now I’m the first to say it’s much more fun in the here and now; and living too much in the future can take us out of the present moment. But, there needs to be some kind of balance between the days of want and the days of need. Because if we lose that balance, just like the grasshopper who lay dying of starvation, we’ll learn that same lesson the hard way. It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

One for today and one for tomorrow…