When Being Late Can Mean Financial Trouble
It is always good to be on time in life. Whether you are supposed to make a payment or do a homework assignment by the due date, being prompt is considered a sign of a responsible person. You have usually negotiated the due date or the time of arrival with the other party beforehand, but ignoring that agreement makes it hard on the other person.
The consequences for being late vary depending on the situation. Many people are motivated to stay on time if there is money on the line. Financial consequences are some of the most stressful in life. Everyone needs money to live, so getting it taken away is a huge motivator to be on time.
We’ll talk about many of the best ways to stay on time no matter what endeavor you are undertaking. What if you miss your car insurance payment? What happens if you show up to school late too many times? Most of these scenarios have simple solutions, and we’ll try to touch on as many of them as we can.
Paying Bills on Time
We pay so many bills every month that it can be hard to keep track of them all. There are obvious bills of importance, like water, heat, and electricity. The consequences of paying those late can range from reminder notices all the way to your necessary resources being shut off until you pay. It’s hard to live without these things in your home.
The problem is many people don’t choose to ignore these bills. Often they are simply not in a good financial position. They try to scrounge up money for payments, but often come up short. In this case, try to save money every month and put it in a specific account that will pay for these bills.
How to Prioritize Your Bills
Priorities must be put first, and all other expenses should come after these essentials. Buying an athletic dog or getting a new television should be on the back burner until the most important things are paid for. It is a vital part of adulthood to manage the order of importance for your purchases.
If you don’t think you can manage your money properly, it’s a good idea to enlist the help of an experienced person. Your parents are always a good source of information. They probably would love to help manage your finances at the beginning of your independent life away from home.
Car Insurance Payments
Other bills can go unnoticed or be forgotten, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Car insurance is one of the expenses many folks don’t remember to pay because it’s not something you actively use very often. Unless you get into an accident, many people don’t think about their car insurance.
If you don’t pay for your insurance on time, many companies will inform you that you have a late payment due. If you do not pay after this time, you will have your policy revoked. Auto insurance is required by law in most states in the U.S.
If you get caught driving without insurance in a state where it is required during the period of revocation, you could face severe fines. Try to find a new policy at a more affordable rate as quickly as possible.
Being Late in School
Attendance in school is one of the first times kids are exposed to the importance of doing something on time. Tardiness is usually disciplined with detention, but certainly no financial consequences for the child.
The more a child is late for school, though, the more likely they are to be given truancy claims. The situation can become financially problematic. Parents can get fined if their child has a history of not coming to school.
Consequences for parents are especially in store when they have younger students who are not as in control of their lives. High school students are more likely to face consequences like juvenile delinquency. It is important for public schools to try and keep kids motivated to cut down on tardiness and truancy.
Being Late in College
Being late can be even more financially troubling as you get into college. Coming to classes late makes it hard to get a grasp on the advanced material taken at a university. If you fail classes in college, you have to take them over again, which means paying for the same class twice.
If you fail too many classes, you often feel unmotivated to retake all of them and drop out of college. It’s a waste of the money already spent on the college experience. Books, clubs, and other activities that were paid for go down the drain.
Another example where timeliness matters in college is paying for student loans on time. University debt is an often-discussed topic in U.S. politics currently, especially because of how expensive college is.
Nevertheless, many students have a hard time paying for college on time. Late payments can make it hard to take out loans and receive other credit when trying to buy a car or house after graduation. Try to pay off even a little of your debts to give yourself more flexibility with borrowers.
Miscellaneous Consequences of Being Late
It’s important to touch on the times being late can affect you in non-financial ways, too, ranging from not coming to a party on time, or even a doctor’s appointment.
Not showing up for an event you were supposed to attend with family and friends can be hurtful to those people. It makes it hard to form long-lasting relationships with people if you can’t prove to be a prompt and responsible individual.
Get a head start on your day’s activities so you can get to your appointments and arrangements on time. If you don’t show up to doctor’s appointments, the office will often move your appointment to a different slot down the road.
If you are experiencing a medical problem that you wanted to be looked at sooner rather than later, you are compromising your health. Prioritizing being on time for appointments is healthy and beneficial to your overall well-being.
As you can see, it is vital to be on time for things in life. Whether it is arriving to school, going to work, paying bills, or attending a party, not being there when it counts is bad. It can have a negative impact on your wallet, your friendships, and your health. Do what it takes to be on time and the rest of your life should fall into place nicely.
Shawn Laib writes and researches for the auto insurance comparison site, AutoInsurance.org. He wants to help people inderstand the importance of being responsible and on time in life.
