What gets me about the story line of this summer blockbuster (which I wish I'd been able to watch at the drive in...) is - amid a hyperbole of pyrotechnics and mass destruction - a clear message is made about human behavior. We wait. We wait until all hell breaks loose before we act.
In my case, this is annually illustrated by the manner in which I avoid preparing my taxes. I know "The End" is coming. All those documents start arriving in the mail in early January. My former students take up jobs dressed like the Statue of Liberty and wave from the streetside in front of that tax place. I get the paperwork from my tax lady in the mail in December, I think.
And still, I wait.
The mountain of receipts waits.
The tax lady's envelope sits, unopened, waiting.
The date of my appointment looms on the calendar.
My stomach churns.
And it's so silly. The actual deed of getting my "poop in a group" takes less than an afternoon. I always get a return. There's never any surprise misery. And, every year I think to myself upon compilation of the necessary materials, "Angela, next year you'll just sit down and get it done in January."
But I don't. Why?
Translating the phenomenon to other neighborhoods in my financial kingdom, why don't I check my bank statements? Why do I wait to pay my bills? Why do I hesitate to send the check to whomever for whatever? Even checks to cash linger on my desk for eons. What's keeping me from taking action?
My lousy reason: I'm a people person. People and time with them are more important to me than the green stuff. I'd prefer to honor their value by spending my time with them rather than spending it stooped over receipts and bills and spreadsheets. Obviously, that anthem only gets me so far. If Mr. Cusack had used such an approach to survival in 2012, he never would have escaped suburbial California enroute to the beckoning great arks of salvation.
So, here's to a year of quitting the waiting game. Since I'm impatient about everything else, why not about my bank balance is? Why not rush to that relief that comes from getting the bills paid for the month? Why not organize receipts each month in preparation for the next tax appointment? What sweet rewards await! And how many metaphorically falling buildings will I miraculously dodge!
My goal for consumer debt freedom remains set for September 2012. That will give me exactly three months to celebrate solvency before the end. Sweet.
