Thursday, July 14, 2016

Teach Kids Procrastinating Doesn’t Pay. Wait...Maybe It Does!

Today’s fantastic family finance article is:

Money Decision Alarm Clock


Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
~Benjamin Franklin

You’ve probably already admonished your kids countless times for dilly dallying when it comes to schoolwork, writing thank you notes, cleaning their rooms, you name it.

But what about when it comes to money?

Time to crack the whip there too, right? Moving too slowly with money means:

  • Higher prices. You didn’t book in advance, so you missed out on the early bird special and will be paying a higher fare.
  • Excessive interest. You waited too long to pay it off in full by the end of the month, so now you owe interest on top.
  • Late fees. You waited too long to get your payment in by the deadline, so you’ll be paying a penalty too.
  • Bad terms. Your waited too long on several payments, so you can’t qualify for the best terms next time and you’ll be paying higher rates.
  • Lower wages. You waited to long to learn that new skill, so you’ll be taking a lower paying job.
  • Lost returns. You waited too long to start investing, so you’ll be missing out on years of compound growth.

On the other hand, moving too quickly with money means:

  • Higher prices. You could have waited for that closeout sale three months from now and paid half price.
  • Excessive interest. You could have waited 6 more months and bought it outright with savings instead of buying it now on credit and paying extra in interest.
  • Impulse buys. You could have waited until tomorrow to realize you didn’t need or want that item you bought on a whim today.
  • Uncompetitive deals. You could have waited to look elsewhere for a comparable item and paid a lot less.
  • Scams. You could have waited to do a little research to avoid losing money to a known swindler.
  • Premature losses. You could have held that investment for ten more years and made a bundle instead of selling in a panic today and losing a bundle.

So, should you put off until tomorrow what you can spend today?

The answer is...

...wait for it...

...it depends!

Teach your kids to know when procrastinating with money pays, and when it doesn’t.


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