Procrastination.  Sometimes I feel like it’s my lifestyle.  But I know it shouldn’t be.  Procrastination almost never makes things go better.  It usually makes things go worse.  And it frequently makes things more expensive.

I have a lot of deferred maintenance happening at my house.  There’s a super-long list of things that I keep saying I’m going to work on myself “when I have time” or hire someone to do “when I have more money.”  But reality dictates that I’m never going to have enough time or money to take care of everything.  So things remain undone until it becomes urgent–like when my water heater died a few weeks ago.  If I had tended to the water heater BEFORE it failed I would have had time to shop around for a better deal.  Because I was dealing with an emergency, I got the water heater and the plumber that were available the quickest.  And I’m sure that I paid more than I would have in a less urgent situation.

The same theory applies when you defer maintenance on your body or your teeth.  Preventative medicine costs a lot less money (and time) than if you get really sick or let a whole tooth rot away before you seek help.

Managing your money also goes a lot more smoothly if you don’t procrastinate.  When you pay your bills on time you avoid late fees.  When you time your deposits with your outgoing money, you avoid overdraft fees.  When you plan food in advance you save money by avoiding convenience foods and restaurants.  Typically anything that is planned in advance is cheaper than just flying by the seat of your pants.  Textbooks are cheaper if you buy online or buy used (which requires buying early).  My personal favorite “early is better” (in normal times) is music festival tickets—they are almost always less expensive if you buy super-early (usually before the lineup is announced).

Procrastination can cause a number of problems.  Many of them will require money you don’t need to spend.  The quick and easy cure is to STOP PROCRASTINATING!  I’m sure I can do that.  I’ll get around to it someday…