Waiting for a sign to get your financial house in order? Well, consider this it. Procrastination is an unfriendly foe that can make saving and investing much more difficult than they have to be.
You know how the narratives go: You’ll start saving once you get a raise or pay off debt once you get that promotion. Tomorrow becomes tomorrow and then next year. Meanwhile, you’ve come up with enough excuses to sink the Titanic, are sorely behind in retirement savings, and aren’t in any better financial shape than when you started.
If you’re already thinking up the next reason why you need to put off dealing with your finances, stop now and read the rest of this article!
More time = More Money
The main motivation to stop procrastinating is simple, really. The sooner you put your money to work for you, the more you can save and the longer your savings has to grow. These are moves that ultimately increase your initial investment, allow for greater potential returns, and boost your net worth.
This is the power of compounding—or as Albert Einstein called it—the eighth wonder of the world. When you make an initial investment, you earn interest. When you earn interest on that interest, this is known as earning compound interest. Essentially, your principal continues to increase over time, broadening the returns you are able to capture. The longer you have invested the greater potential capture.
Debt is a Debbie Downer
Did you know that one in five Americans has a $0 net worth? This doesn’t mean they might not have any money in the bank, but simply that they owe more than they own. Trust me, this is not a comfortable place to be.
Unfortunately, debt will always be a drag on your financial success. If you don’t work to get out of debt, saving and investing is simply like patching holes in a rapidly sinking ship. The longer you stay in the debt, the more you accrue in interest charges that only add to your liability.
Hire an Expert to Help
One of the most common regrets we hear from many of our new clients is that they waited so long to hire a financial planner. They wish they hadn’t left their future in the hands of the luck or “someday” or empty “tomorrows.” Now, they’re playing catching up and kicking themselves for putting off handling their finances.
Luckily, you can work to overcome financial procrastination, and what better way than to ring in the New Year with a fresh mindset, a fresh start, and a game plan to make your finances a priority?
Need some tips to get started? We can help.
The advisors at Uncommon Cents Investing understand that the first step is often the hardest, that’s why we’d like to make the process super easy. Simply schedule a call using this link. We can address your most pressing financial concerns and explore if a financial planning relationship with our firm is right for you.
Cheers to a New Year and a brighter financial future!
