5 Financial Pitfalls of Pro-Caffeinating

Yes, you are reading this right ~ Procaffeinating is the tendency not to start anything, until you’ve had a cup of coffee.

Many coffee drinkers can attest to this and while it may seem like this is okay, it isn’t, as it truly affects our productivity and ability to start and complete a task on time.

Procaffeinating is essentially the same as Procrastinating. The effects could be devastating due to a ton of wasted time and loss of opportunities.

The cost of financial Procrastination is much more serious and typically not comprehended until you’re well past your productive working years. At which time it may be too late to recover the lost years and time.

5 Financial pitfalls of procrastinating:

1. Disorganized Finances

It is imperative you organize your finances, so as to avoid monetary losses. These losses can come in many ways such as incurring late payment fees for bills or credit cards; being saddled with expired gift cards or expired checks. The cost of these do add up and result in higher interests and continued late payments charges. The lasting effect of procrastination goes beyond the late charges as it affects your overall credit profile making you a high risk borrower, which prevents you from getting favorable rates on items you need to purchase. You can start your personal financial organization today by using one of these free apps Mint or Personal Capital

2. Filing Taxes Late

The result of filing your taxes late is obvious, yet many people are unable to meet the deadline procrastinators included. The penalties and interest incurred do add up pretty quickly. The best strategy is to organize your finances throughout the year, so it doesn’t become daunting when the tax filing deadline approach. Having to deal with the tax man can be a very unpleasant experience and not worth the hassle. File on time. Keep track of your expenses all year round. Go paperless by using the Shoexbox app by scanning and organizing your receipts.

3. Not starting to invest early on

Delaying when you start investing or saving can cost you thousands of dollars over a period of time. Many people will put off starting a savings fund making many excuses about why they cannot start saving or investing today.  The benefit of Compound interest guarantees that the earlier you start investing the higher the growth of your investments. For example, if you invest $1,000 at the age of 20 and subsequently $100 a month for 30 years at 8%, then, you would have $146,002.51. If you procrastinate and start at age 30, with an initial investment of $1,000, and subsequently invest $200 a month for 20 years at 8%, then, you would have $114,489.67. Use calculator below to determine how much you should save.

Compound Interest Calculator

4. Career

The effects of Procrastination can affect your career as well. The delay either to go back to school; apply for that job or being looked over for that promotion due to traits that have been observed does affect your income.

5. Health

If you ever procrastinate on anything; the one thing that you should immediately stop taking lightly is your health. We’ve heard scenarios where an early diagnosis would have prevented spread of disease.

Failing health is bad both from a financial and physical standpoint. An ill person can no longer work, which affects the income of the individual or family. Don’t self-diagnose, get it checked out early medical intervention is a much smarter move. Always remember the saying “prevention is better than cure.” Don’t put off that visit to the doctor. Get the help of a professional.

To Combat Procrastination Create a To-Do List.

• Make a To-List with check boxes
• Write the tasks down with pen and paper or use one of the many apps available for our smart phones
• Go through each listed task and check off once completed (this gives you a sense of accomplishment).
• The key is to list these tasks but broken down into smaller chunks.
• Focus on the items you would typically put off and put a time against each task. For example, write down “go to the bank at 12:30pm” not just “go to the bank” be specific.

How do you combat procrastination? What has worked and what hasn’t? Share your thoughts below.

p.s – Related info here.

Till next Time,