Have Your Financial-Procrastination Fallen Prey to?
By, Jeremy Reif, CRPS
It’s human nature to procrastinate about financial-procrastination. Why do it today when you can do it tomorrow, right? But the question is, when is “tomorrow?” I posted a video years ago giving my thoughts on procrastination as it relates to financial planning. In that video I mentioned that there are several reasons why people put off planning their retirement, and in my many years of experience, I’d like to think that I have heard them all. Many reasons are valid, but making excuses won’t help you down the road.
Small Steps Equal Big Impact
Many people procrastinate on creating a financial plan until a major life milestone or event pushes them to take the plunge. The most common major life events are death, marriage, change in employment, or entering the empty nest phase of life. But when you are forced into a situation, sometimes it is too late to make the small, simple changes.
Far too often, waiting only makes retirement planning more difficult than it needs to be. A little foresight and planning can go a long way. Oftentimes, people procrastinate on things because the task seems daunting. They want to take the path of least resistance and avoid extra work or stress. But in reality, planning is simple to do. Or maybe they fear the results, thinking they will receive bad news, and decide to stay in the dark instead. But I can’t tell you how many people I’ve worked with have told me, “I should have done this years ago!”
Technology Eases The Process
In my previous post, I analyzed the progression of financial technology. Technology is designed to make our lives easier. Financial planning software has the capability to plug our information in and run the calculations for us. The biggest obstacle is not figuring out the formulas, but getting the information.
And since technology has made it easy for us to gather information, it’s no longer daunting to find your financial data and organize it. Most Americans use credit or debit cards to pay for their regular expenses, and monthly statements are available online with the click of the mouse. The trick is to take advantage of the technology and harness the information that is already available to us.
It’s Never Too Late To Start
Life can quickly pass us by and, before we know it, we’re 10 years from retirement. But getting started late is better than not starting at all. Push away the excuses and the temptation to procrastinate and stop losing sleep over your financial future.