What Marriage Is Really Like In Comparison To Your Taxes

3 Things Your Tax Return and Your Marriage Have In Common.

Marriage and Taxes?  I know, I know – a crazy comparison.  Before you think I’ve lost my mind, let me just tell you that Marriage has three things in common with our crazy tax system.

Have you ever wondered how much you get out of your marriage?  Sure, most couples do.  In fact, most families think about that.

When working on your marriage or considering getting married, there are several things to consider, of course.  Couples often think about how their marriage is going to make them happy. 

This a real concern, yet it's also an empty and ambiguous consideration regarding marriage.

One of the main objectives of a marriage is not how much you can get out of it, i.e., happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, or whatever.  Rather, it should be:  “What can I bring to this marriage?”  “How much can I invest in this marriage?” 

And that’s what I want to talk about.

There are 3 Things Your Tax Returns and Your Marriage Have In Common.  Click To Tweet 

 Here are 3 things your tax return and your marriage have in common.
 

1.  Your ROI (Return On Investment) is based solely on your investment - not on your good looks. 

In other words, you get out of your marriage (the satisfaction or fulfillment and purpose) that you invest into it. 

I know that in some cases one spouse puts a lot of effort into their marriage only to wind up with pain.  I’ve seen that numerous times.  This is not what we’re dealing with here.
 
What I’m referring to is the idea that both spouses must invest in their marriage, just like the relationship between employer and employee.
 
See, your tax return will be based on what you’ve invested in the American economy by your hard labor through your job or your business. You won’t get anything in return if you didn’t pay anything into it.

Your marriage is the same way - you will get what you invest into it.  Truth is, marriage is a long term investment – for life, and so the longer you invest in it, the greater your rate of return.
 
This leads me to another area where your tax return and your marriage share a common trait showing what marriage is really like in comparison to your taxes.


2.  Learn what and how to invest into your marriage.

There are business owners that often end up leaving a lot of money on the IRS’s table.  They don’t always know what or how to invest in order to be able to write things off at the end of the year.
 
In other words, if you don’t invest much into your business, (like office equipment, tools, mileage, meals, cell phone, etc.) then you won’t have much to write off - hence, no tax returns. Instead, you will end up paying taxes – way more taxes than you might need to.
 
I’m not trying to say that you should be slick in your marriage investment so that you get what you want. That’s a vicious move.
 
My point is, if you want your spouse to love you like crazy and not let anything come between you two – then for crying out loud, be lovely. 

Don’t be grouchy, don’t be stingy, don’t be distant, don’t be selfish, and don’t be weird.
 
Makes sense – don’t it?
 
If you want your marriage to experience high ROI, then you must invest properly into it.

Here are three areas of examples:
 
a.  What are your spouse’s desires? 
Surprise each other with a love note, special dessert, or an unscheduled date, etc.

b.  What are his/her likes and dislikes? 
Then go out of your way to help your spouse.  Or, say a kind word and mean it.

c.  How does he/she want to see you - fixed or messy and sweaty? (believe it or not, this one is a real thing- just not for me or my wife – thank God)  

Be presentable, attractive, and pleasant to be around, both physically and emotionally - as much as possible.


My wife and I have learned to work on the investment of our marriage all the time.  It’s become second nature by now.  But it wasn’t like that at first.  We try to do stuff for each other now to be a blessing to one another.
 
Consideration breeds more consideration.  Love breeds more love.  Kindness breeds kindness and so on.   Get the point?
 
This very important and it leads me to my last point,

Marriage is a long term investment – for life. The longer you invest in it, the greater your rate of return.   - Alex Colon  Click To Tweet

3.  Sometimes you need assistance in your investment.

Much like a CPA or a Financial Advisor can help you with your investments, taxes and all your financial affairs for a wise financial experience, so do marriages often need a little help.

I used to do my own taxes, but in the last 14 years I’ve chosen to hire a CPA. 

Why? 

Well, when you’re self-employed and you’re also a minister needing to file under Clergy status, and schedule C for your business, it becomes a tricky situation.  I didn’t want to mess my tax papers up. 

My CPA knows exactly how to do my taxes properly and both me, my wife and the IRS wind up pleased with the results.  All legal, all fair, and alright!

Likewise, sometimes, we need a coach, a counselor or a friend to help us with our marriage relationships.  Sometimes it’s a must!

Realize one thing – you don’t know everything there is to know about marriage nor about your spouse. 

My wife and I listen to CDs, read books, go to seminars and have had counselor friends who helped us become better equipped in our marriage relationship.  We've invested and boy are we glad we did!

With our backgrounds, our mindsets and different cultural ways, we were destined for failure.  But thank God, we were willing to grow.

Had it not been for those resources, along with much prayer, our marriage would’ve not lasted 27 years and on our way to 27 more.

This is why we’ve put together a 30 minute course to help you lead your marriage and your family with vision and purpose.  It comes with a downloadable pdf vision sheet to help you in your marriage. 

This is must have at no charge to you.  That's right - FREE.

We’ve had a great marriage that was filled with challenges and we’ve worked hard (and still working) at overcoming the obstacles that were going to prevent us from our “happily-ever-after.”

With these three considerations as to what marriage is like in comparison to your taxes is something to be considered. 

When it’s all said and done, your marriage is your greatest investment of all time and you'll always need assistance in order to know how to invest wisely, joyfully and passionately.  

How else can you invest in your marriage?  Share your thoughts below.