Cost of Procrastination

Procrastination can affect all aspects of your life. Finances, health, success, relationships, and a sense of well-being are just the most prominent. Of course, at times it is necessary to take a step back to reorganize yourself if you are facing a tough project or situation, but that period of grace too often slides into mere avoidance. This will cost you in the future when you find yourself stressed and running to catch up, if you can.

If you are like most people, you think that you have to live with it. That’s just the way you are. Maybe you think you just have a lazy streak. There really is no such thing as lazy. We have patterns of behavior that work or don’t. Procrastination is one of those that does not work.

At certain times, the negative consequences of not completing something are clear. You submit your taxes after the deadline and got a large penalty and interest. Your coworkers can’t trust you to get the necessary work done on time. You didn’t leave enough time to study all the material for the test.

Other costs are more subtle, but they all cost time or money or both.

Common Expenses from Procrastinating

• Late filing of your taxes and getting charged a penalty and interest
• Paying credit cards late, being charged late fees, a higher interest rate, and getting a poorer credit rating
• Putting off checking credit card statements for wrong charges
• Postponing buying airline or train tickets and having to pay more at the last minute
• Putting off buying insurance until something bad happens and it’s too late
• Delaying an appointment with the dentist so that a cavity becomes a root canal
• Not making a doctor’s appointment for your cough until it turns into pneumonia
• Postponing a merchandise return until it can’t be returned
• Not keeping tabs on your checking account and having overdrafts.
• Postponing filing for insurance reimbursement until it is too late to get it
• Late filing of expense accounts
• Not maintaining your home and having to pay extra for emergency repairs
• Neglecting to renew car’s registration and getting a ticket