Taxes hurt more than they should because of loss aversion: losing $40 stings worse than just receiving $60, even though the outcome is identical. Set aside your tax money immediately when you earn income so it feels less like a loss and more like a planned transfer.
Taxes are painful. And the reason is because of a psychology called loss aversion. Imagine you came here to the office and I saw you and said, hey, here's $100. Good to see you. Maybe a little awkward, but it would feel great to receive $100. Now imagine a second scenario where I see you and say, hey, good to see you. Here's $100. Oh, give me $40 back in taxes. Now it's painful because you just received $100, which was kind of awkward, but great. And now I'm taking money back. This is really odd. Gosh, I had $100. Now I only have $60. Imagine the third scenario where I see you and say, hey, good to see you. Here's $60. Not taking anything away. You're getting $60. We know logically scenario 2 and scenario 3 are identical, but there was nothing taken away. With our taxes, it's when the money's taken from us that we feel the pain. So in your business and your personal life, when money flows in and you're going to have a future tax responsibility, first allocate that money out to a separate account before you see it. And now when the government takes it, it's not as painful.
