It can be done!
I feel like I have two modes – DO ALL THE THINGS and DO NONE OF THE THINGS. My brother and I were just chatting about the fact that there are both times when we’re at home and work is slow that we just turn into total sloths. We lose the ability to do pretty much anything other than stare at the TV and sleep – though sleep starts to become problematic too when you’re doing nothing all day.
I started to think though and I realized that my procrastination pays off sometimes. Here are a few ways it does:
Joining the Gym
So, I’ve been meaning to join the gym since January. Then I got some work out of town in February and figured I’d join when I got back in March. Then I had so many travel plans for March and April, it just didn’t seem worth it…
Health benefits aside, I’ve now saved about $300 due to procrastinating joining the gym.
Getting the Oil Changed
JiffyLube puts that 3,000 mile, 3 month sticker on my windshield every time. I usually push it to around 5,000 or 6 months though with no major issues.
Fun side story: I didn’t even know you had to change the oil in a car when I got my first one and it ran ok without oil changes for more than two years before my dad casually asked me one day “when is your car due for an oil change?” and I said “what’s an oil change?”
Extending the time between oil changes saves me about $80 a year.
Watching Netflix/Amazon Prime
When I’m watching Netflix or Prime, I’m not spending any extra money on anything else. That sucker is already paid for.
While the multi-day binges again probably aren’t my healthiest choice, they are a pretty frugal one.
Recent binges: The Umbrella Academy, Supernatural, Forever, Good Girls
Going to the Grocery Store
If I’m in full on lazy mode, I’m just going to eat whatever is in the house that is easy. It might mean an Oreo lunch or soup in the middle of the summer. Sometimes this can continue for days, so I don’t have to get dressed and leave the house.
Now the flip side of all this laziness is the things I procrastinated on that didn’t save me any money. Sometimes procrastination can bite you in the behind.
Going to the Grocery Store
Wait, what? That’s right, it’s a double-edged sword. Because if I don’t do an Oreo lunch, I’m probably ordering take out and that’s definitely not the better choice than groceries.
Waiting to Buy a Bike
Remember that great joining the gym plan? Well I was going to go all out and buy a bike to ride back and forth from the gym. Several times this spring I thought, what a nice day for a bike ride, if I only had a bike. I finally bought a bike – it cost exactly the same as if I’d bought it months before. Actually, it may have been cheaper in the middle of the winter.
For a one time expense that won’t get much cheaper over time, I saved nothing by waiting.
Waiting to Go to the Dentist
Procrastinating on the dentist is a bad call. Yes, an annual cleaning can run you $150-200. Even more with some teeth x-rays. But cavities and root canals cost a ton! Even catching a cavity early is substantially cheaper than letting it fester into a root canal.
Also, your real teeth are cheaper than dentures.
Forgetting to Cancel Credit Cards
I am really into travel reward hacking. It seems crazy to me to have good credit and pay off my credit cards every month and to not open new rewards cards to save money when I’m traveling.
Sometimes I do it big time like the trip I took to Hawaii, but most of the times I do it consistently and just knock off a big expense like the plane ticket or hotels every time.
The thing is though, you have to be good about tracking the cards or you won’t cancel them in time and you’ll get hit with the annual fee. Unfortunately, I’m well aware of this risk, as it’s happened a time or two – still definitely worth the travel hacking overall but an irritating risk for a procrastinator like me.
