It’s hard to imagine a person who gets an ethereal thrill when they make a mortgage payment or pay their taxes. But if you’re constantly putting off everyday financial tasks, like not keeping track of your daily spending, or if you feel a real sense of dread every time you check your card balance, you may be a financial procrastinator. Let’s get to the bottom of exactly what the problem is and what to do to fix it.
What financial procrastination looks like
Take an honest look at your financial habits. How often do you procrastinate until the last minute before you check your bank account balance, pay your utilities or complete your tax return? Do you avoid making tough financial decisions? If this is the case, these are signs of financial procrastination and it’s worth seriously considering its causes.
Our relationship with money is complex in nature. It’s not just that we “know how” or “don’t know how” to handle it. Anxiety about our financial situation, scarcity thinking, feeling overwhelmed by financial matters, uncertainty about our own ability to manage our personal budget – all of these can lead us to engage in avoidance tactics.
Why it’s bad
Financial procrastination often has serious consequences, such as fines for late payments or a bad credit history. Failure to save and invest money can cost several years of potential income growth. In addition, financial procrastination makes it difficult to quickly identify and stop fraud attempts.
In addition, when we live in a state of constant anxiety, we make poor financial decisions. This prevents us from fixing problems as soon as they arise, and we only end up losing money. But worst of all, financial procrastination robs us of hope for a more stable financial future.
