Procrastination Kills Your Life, Marriage and Business

We've all heard the old adage, "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today." This is true in your personal finances and especially true if you plan on running a successful business. Let's look at some areas where people tend to procrastinate and how it can hurt or even destroy your life, marriage, business.

Dealing with conflict. Many people don't like confrontation so they put off dealing with conflict of any type. This is dangerous in all areas of life and business. What begins as a small, insignificant issue can turn into a major catastrophe if not dealt with quickly and thoroughly. Once dealt with though, people should let go and move forward in their relationship(s). This is crucial in family, marriage and business.

Record keeping. Individuals may not realize how imperative record keeping is in personal finances until called upon to provide financial reports for a loan - especially a mortgage. Many lenders want 2 - 5 years of financial information (tax reports, bank statements, household budgets, etc) to consider a loan of any significant amount. Keeping a close eye on your finances as well as your credit rating can save hours of work and tons of stress and heartache when you are ready to buy a home.

As for a business, whether a small, individual proprietorship or a large corporation, accurate financial records are imperative to the success of that business. Even freelance workers (book keepers, writers, artists, choreographers, makeup or jewelry consultants, etc.) need to keep good accounts of their income and expenses for tax purposes.

Many get confused on what receipts they should or should not keep. My advice is to keep everything. I'd rather have a receipt that I can't use as a "necessary business expense" on my taxes than throw one away I could have used. Remember every penny counts when it comes to accurate tax returns for your business.

Filing Taxes or other important reports in a timely manner. Whether regular tax reports or grant applications and reports, not filing on time can cost you hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in uncollected funds, penalties and interest.

The Bible instructs us to be "good stewards" of all God has entrusted to us. These are three areas where procrastination can hurt an individual, ruin up a marriage or kill a business - don't let this happen to you.