Paying With Interest?

Worry is paying interest on a debt you might not even owe…                                                                               Mark Twain

I was speaking with a client recently about putting things off, and the cost of doing that. She stated that she and her husband often just avoided talking about difficult issues, and there was not really resolution. Now they find that years of putting off discussions have made those thorny issues even more difficult to discuss.

I explained to her my theory of “universal interest payments”. That means, that whatever we put off- paying bills, making decisions, difficult discussions, etc., all cost more when we put them off. We need to pay the interest due. As we are now in the IRS tax season, guess what happens when we file for an extension? Yep, interest will be due on the amount owed.

Isn’t it better, in the long run, to pay the cost early and avoid interest charges? The answer is, yes it is, but denial tells us that if we ignore the issue, it might go away on its own. Does that happen? Rarely.

Moral of the story, don’t put off the immediate solutions to the problem, even though it seems to be costly and difficult.   

Prayer: Lord, give us the strength to act in timely ways with you and with one another, Amen