I was always told ‘not to put off until tomorrow what could be done today.’ How many times have you heard that saying? What does it mean to you?
What does the word procrastination mean to you? Psychology Today says “There are many ways to avoid success in life, but the most sure-fire way might be procrastination.” That is a pretty strong statement. Think about that. How does procrastination affect your life? Your job? We are all guilty of procrastinating at some time or another, whether it be a phone call, an errand or a project. Sometimes you say you are too busy, other times it’s just not as much of a priority. It all needs to get done.
How about in your financial world? What are you putting off that could get done today? Is it updating your finances? Is it reviewing your investments? Is it updating your wills and trusts? Making sure your insurance is adequate and accurate?
What about taxes? Are you procrastinating there? I know you are. The media, government and investment firms are telling you to max out your 401k. Isn’t tax deferral another form of procrastinating? Aren’t you just putting off until tomorrow what could be paid today? You will be paying the taxes no matter what. By putting money away tax deferred you have an IOU to the government on each dollar you save. What are you hoping for? That you will have less money when you retire? That taxes will go down? Maybe you just like the government controlling the access to your money.
I look around and don’t see much hope on taxes going down. I also know that my goal in retirement is to have more money than I have today not less. In my ideal world I will retire with money that I can live off of for 30+ years and still have some to pass on to my family. That’s what I’m working for. Is it time to stop procrastinating? Is it time to look beyond the misinformation that is crammed down your throat by the people who benefit from it? Or you can sit by and give the government and investment companies control. Let them tell you when and how you can access your own money. If you do a good enough job you just might be able to give well over 50% of your hard earned money to the government. Does that sound fair/right? Is that your goal or are you just procrastinating?
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Pretty nice post. I just came across your blog and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed reading your posts. Any way
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
Alright, I just have one thing I have noticed in a few of your posts I have read. You keep touching on paying taxes now versus later. I really do think that the Roth Ira is the way to go but when the taxes are deferred it isn’t like you pay 100% of what you earn, which is kind of how you are making it sound in your posts. For instance if you paid tax on $5,000 at a 35% rate you would pay $1,750 for the year. Now like I said I totally think that a Roth is the way to go but that $1,750′s future value is about $6,771.95 @ 7% for 20 years. If you were in the same tax bracket, which is highly unlikely, you would owe taxes of $2,370.18 on that money. That means that the $1,750 in twenty years will really turn into $4,401.77 after taxes are paid. That isn’t as terrible as it sounds in some of your posts. I am really enjoying reading your posts! Keep up the good work!!
Thank you for reading. I truly appreciate the comment. Have a great night.
-CJ