I meant to write this post last week, but I put it off. I’m a procrastinator. But what does that have to do with finance?
Everything.
The inspiration for this post was a note I found last week while cleaning out my desk. It was from October 2010 and said, very simply:
Call BOA, xcel Credit Keeper
The note is seven months old, and I haven’t called the bank to cancel Credit Keeper, a monthly charge on my credit card account.
Procrastinating in this case cost me $140 bucks! And there are plenty of other ways procrastinating has cost me. See, I had bad credit until 10 years ago when I made a conscious effort to fix it. In doing so, I took on several credit cards with annual fees and monthly charges (these were all I could get at the time). And, now that my credit score’s better, I hesitate to drop those cards because they are among the oldest accounts I have (a big factor in calculating your credit score). I put the note from October into a more current folder with tons of to-dos to square all of my accounts:
-Transfer balances on high interest cards to 0% interest card I just received.
-Cancel all but the oldest of my earlier accounts.
-Make a budget to pay off balances so that I take full advantage of the 0% interest in the time allowed.
-Call remaining cards and try to lower interest rate and cancel all monthly charges.
-Build a spreadsheet with current balance, limit and create a plan to get balance under 25% of limit (another factor in determining your credit score).
-Make a payment schedule within my current budget to pay off highest interest and highest balance cards first.
The list goes on and on. If I procrastinate on doing these things, it could potentially cost me a thousand dollars!
Now, I don’t procrastinate at work because I’m too busy. I prioritize and things get moved around as a result, but there’s no time to waste at the job. So I asked myself what do I do at work to stay focused and on task, and how can I apply those principles to my financial life?
Just Do It.
At work I address every email as it comes through. I may not write a long response, but I deal with it. I can’t stand plowing through emails when there are 50 unread in my inbox. So, I answer it on the spot, put it into a folder or delete it. How can I apply this to my financial life?
Simple. When I think of something, or a personal email suggests a financial inquiry, I try to handle it on the spot. I don’t wait until I have a block of time or several inquiries to make at once. That time will never come and the several inquiries will snowball.
Organize.
At work I have folders for clients and subfolders for projects and accounting. Why not treat my finances like a client? I’m not talking about records from purchasing a car or my taxes. I’ve always filed that stuff. I mean the day-to-day stuff. I have a ledger to track spending, a specific bookmark bar for all of my online accounts, a spreadsheet that I update every month with new balances and increased credit limits, if applicable (I hate spreadsheets, but this one’s fun because you can see your progress in black and white).
Network.
In addition to my clients, I have media reps, old colleagues, blogs and expert trade publications that I interact with on a daily basis to stay connected and to deliver the best results at work. The same holds true in my financial life. I review different sites, blogs and meet with experts at my credit union to make sure I’m getting the best rates and making the most of my limited income. I couldn’t do it alone at work, and I certainly need the help with my finances. I will post some of my favorite sites, blogs, books and resources next week.
(or maybe the week after…)