Quick response to today’s June Question before bed.

I procrastinate, but value it.

I have learned, through hanging out with me for all my life, that sometimes I need more time for something to sink in and to work out the best way to do something. I can feel really impatient when I seem to be delaying something with a deadline, but have learned that sometimes I am simply processing. Trying to complete it too early results in it being done at the same time as it would have if I waited, but with more time spent on doing it.

In some ways I am an anti-procrastinator. I have never known anyone who pays their bills as quickly as I do. As soon as I get notification, it is paid, probably within 20 minutes. Maybe it is a control thing – yep, tick that one off… NEXT! Maybe it means I don’t even have to think about it any more?

I do spend a lot of time budgeting and making sure I have money to pay bills, though. Every week I tweak the 15 or so different ”buckets”, which are separate accounts I have set aside for different parts of my budget. Buckets that are autopaid from my income each week, so I don’t ever see funds before they get there. Petrol, parking, bicycle parts are only bought from the “Transport” account, which has a small set amount deposited each week. I can overspend, but I have to then take funds from one of my other ”buckets” – groceries, health, fun, etc. to make up for it. I do it the week that the overspend happens, sometimes taking a little bit from several buckets and just doing with less for that week. I have done this forever and remember one time when I was at uni when I finally had enough money in my clothing account to pay for winter boots, when my car needed new tyres. Tyres!

When I put solar panels on my roof in Fremantle, I set up a new ”bucket” where I put a small amount each week until I had paid myself back for that expense. When I joined the gym, I paid a year’s subscription, but I pay a weekly amount to myself so that when I need to pay again next year I already have the funds. Likewise when I moved interstate, I worked out how much it cost and paid back a weekly amount until I had paid that back. My latest loan to myself? My new bucket? A big vet bill. That will take a while to pay off.

I think that doing it this way means I am less likely to procrastinate about potential purchases. The question stops being ”can I afford this?” and becomes ”what other things would I be willing not to fund to have this?” and ”just how long would I be OK to reduce funding in other areas to pay this off?”