I’m back from my blogging vacation (not that I consider studying for finals a vacation), and I’m ready to help you save money. I wanted to discuss something that I know a lot about. I wasn’t sure what to write about at first, and I kept telling myself, “I’ll just think of something tomorrow”. Tomorrow would come, just like it always does, but I’d neglect to think of a tropic. After a week of this I noticed that I, like many others, procrastinate all the time. A lot of people just accept that that’s the way they are and don’t give it a second thought. We’ve all heard someone say, “I’ll do that later. I work better under pressure!” In some circumstances that can work, but procrastination doesn’t work well with keeping your personal finances in order.
There is one main reason that procrastination equals financial disaster and that reason is things rarely work out how we expect them to. We constantly change our minds based on how we feel at that moment, and there are always problems we need to address that we weren’t expecting. Here are a few examples from my life where I wish I wouldn’t have procrastinated.
1) Refilling My Prescriptions: As some of you may know, I’m a diabetic. This means that I frequently visit the pharmacy. I used to wait until I was completely out of insulin to go get my refill (it isn’t rocket science). The last time I procrastinated on this issue was when I went into the pharmacy and they informed me that I had issues with my insurance, and in order for me to get a refill I had pay full price (which was $180 for a week and a half). The woman working there said, “Just wait a few days and we can get this straightened out. Then you won’t have to cough up that much money.” Apparently my insurance had just lapsed and it was time for me to pay for it again. After I took care of that I could get my insulin for $20. Needless to say I couldn’t wait a few days, and I had to pay full price. I learned that lesson the hard way.
2) Cooking Dinner: In my household I’m usually the one that does the cooking. On nights that I don’t particularly feel like cooking I’ll push it off until later. I generally do believe that I’ll get around to making something we already have; unfortunately, most of the time my mood changes and we end up eating out instead. My $10 home cooked dinner turns into a $20 dining experience. What a waste of money.
3) Buying Books For My Classes: Every semester I have to buy books for school, and every semester they get more and more expensive. I used to wait until I actually needed to use a book for an assignment before I’d buy it. By doing that I needed the book ASAP so I couldn’t look for a cheap one online. Also, all the used books (which are way cheaper) were gone from the bookstore. This meant that I got stuck paying for a brand new book. If I would have thought ahead I could have saved money. Instead I chose procrastination.
I think that putting stuff off that we don’t want to do is normal, but at some point you just have to suck it up and do it. When I think back to the actions that procrastinating allowed me to do, they generally didn’t benefit me more than the money would have. I wish everything always turned out the way I expected it to, but unfortunately it usually doesn’t. That is why procrastinating and having healthy finances don’t mix. Have any of you had experiences like these?
Chris Neighbors 
stuartneff
May 23, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Absolutely correct Chris!! Procrastination is often the way to financial ruin. And no, I’m not talking about not taking advantage of buying a stock when you thought you should and then it triples. I’ve been in business 28 years and have seen many people tell me they wish they had really done what they told themselves they were going to do and started saving for their kid’s college education as well as for their retirement. Instead, life got busy, they relied on 401Ks from their employer and their kids had to get student loans they’ll be paying interest on for 10 yrs after they’re out of college. If people can only learn from this and what you are trying to tell them, they’ll be ahead of the game!!!
Chris Neighbors
May 23, 2012 at 10:18 AM
I hope people can learn from my mistakes. Even if it just starts a spark that makes them evaluate their own decisions! Thanks for the comment.
Canadianbudgetbinder
May 23, 2012 at 10:33 AM
I agree Chris procrastination gets you nowhere but in deeper than one needs to be. Setting goals, and sticking to them are very important especially when it comes to budgeting and life. We eat in every night but I know what you mean. We have good intentions sometimes to cook something but then it gets too late, although we don’t go out to eat we make poor dinner choices. We now are trying to meal plan and stick to it.
As for buying your school books online cheap etc… that’s the way to go.. books cost a fortune and students of all people need to save wherever they can.
Great Post Chris and welcome back… posted on FB and Tweeted!
Cheers Mate,
Mr.CBB
Chris Neighbors
May 23, 2012 at 2:20 PM
I understand the importance of budgeting anf things like that, but even if people don’t want to go to that extent it’s important to know they can still save money by just not procrastinating!
Canadian Performer's Money
May 23, 2012 at 11:05 AM
I will comment on your post tomorrow.
Chris Neighbors
May 23, 2012 at 2:20 PM
HA HA
Rebecca
May 23, 2012 at 5:58 PM
I’m Glade you Finally realized the importance of not putting things off tell the last minute! Something I have said long ago…..
Chris Neighbors
May 23, 2012 at 8:45 PM
I’ve always realized the importance… I just like putting things off sometimes. Thanks for the comment mom
jeweliette23
May 31, 2012 at 1:08 PM
Hi Chris, thanks for following! I know how burdensome cooking can get by the time you’re home from work. Some tips that work for me – make double or triple the amount and eat the leftovers for other dinner nights, pre-chop and freeze veggies that tend to go bad quickly so you can easily use them to cook a meal w/o heading to the grocery store. Hope this helps!
Chris Neighbors
May 31, 2012 at 1:22 PM
Thanks for the tips. I’ll have to give them a try!