Procrastination is Gonna Cost Me This Time
My tags expire this month. Which means, I need a state inspection and will probably spend at least a 1/2 day with the lovely ladies at the DMV. For the past 2 years, I’ve known this day would come. Even had it on my calendar with a three week reminder. What did I do?
Nada
After I returned from my first summer trip, I said…”I’ll do it on my next day off – Friday”
Nada
After I returned from my second summer trip, I said…”I’ll do it on my NEXT day off – Tuesday”
Nada
Forcing myself into a corner, I said…”I’m REALLY gonna do it on my NEXT day off – Friday – because it’s my last weekday off this month” I still have time, right?
Hmm…
Well lo and behold, something MAJOR has come up and now I have to work today.
[Insert Expletive]
And I’ll be gone ALL next week on a work related trip. So by the time I return, my tags will be DEAD.
[Insert Another Expletive] SHYT!!!
Has procrastination ever cost you money?
I have a “spesho” situation so I can’t renew my tags online. LOL
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I Agree totally!
You may want to think about getting a pin, so that you can do most of your dmv bizness online. It may come in by the time you come back into town. Note, you will still have to pay all the crazy fees :).
I can see you didn’t read the entire post. *sigh* [-SM]
Whew–thank you for blogging this one, really. If I’m not careful, I’m about to get myself in the same shyt behind renewing my license. And I am a DIE HARD procrastinator so I feel you!!
i’m a procrastinator so i feel you :( i’m so sorry you have to go to DMV in person. although last time i had to go (about three months ago) I went right around 11:30 and i literally only waited 2 mins! i almost fell out of my chair in shock. i’m gonna cross my fingers the same happens for you. p.s. i went to the one on eisenhower ave in alexandria, it’s a little hidden so i think maybe that’s why it wasn’t as busy. good luck!
I only lived in VA for 1.5 months so I have no clue how the DMV system runs down there (although I love that the personalized plates are cheap!). Most state DMVs just let you send in the payment and then they send you back the new registration cards and stickers to put on your plates. Do you have to get new plates? I’m confuzzled.
I tend to go to the DMV when they first open and go to a “remote” office that is less busy :) It tends to help sometimes.
Procrastionation costing me money – nevah. OK, I’m lying. Yes, it has and I was so ashamed. I forgot to pay a speeding ticket and by the time the penalties hit, it was way more than the original ticket. :::sigh:::
Never again will I procrastinate (at least where the DMV is concerned).
I don’t understand why you procrastinated with the renewal, or why you need a state inspection now. Even if you can’t renew online, doesn’t the renewal notice come in the mail and can’t you just return it with a check? It’s not like you didn’t have the money! I do mine right when it comes so I never have to worry about the expiration date or fines. Same with my village sticker which is required of residents. I hate unnecessary expenses!
There may be a grace period. And you may be able to take an early lunch and get something done.
But to answer your question, of course procrastination has cost me money. I try to block those occasions from my memory, but here are some I still remember.
* I am procrastinating RIGHT NOW about taking defensive driving, so I am not getting the 10% discount on my insurance. It’s been about 8 months since my last one expired.
* Waited too long to pay bills and had to pay a nasty late fee.
* Waited too long to put the fresh blueberries in the freezer, so now they are spoiled and I had to buy more.
* I’m sure putting off job hunting (which I really hate) has cost me thousands.
* Putting off transferring money from my checking to my savings cost me a tiny amount of interest.
* Losing track of coupons or rebate materials until after the expiration date has cost me (that’s sort of like procrastinating).
* Putting off buying new toilet paper too long, so I have to use facial tissues instead, which cost more.
* Putting off reminding roommates to pay me their rent means I get less interest.
* Putting off recording contact information for good companies means I have to start the search all over again, risking wasting money on a badly done service.
I’m sure there are a million more.
Sometimes procrastinating helps.
* Waited longer than I had wanted to before rolling my old retirement money into an IRA, during which time it was earning 5% instead of plummeting with the stock market.
* Putting off making charitable contributions means I get more interest.
* Putting off washing my hair saves me money in shampoo.
* Putting off replacing my sneakers means I buy fewer over my lifetime and thus spend less money.
My sticker expired last year and that bad boy cost me a whopping $85.
My procrastination recently (last week) cost me $50. In mid May I bought a window sticker for my car which had to be displayed by June 1st. I left it in my glove box so I wouldn’t lose it. I wanted to clean the window and remove the 2 previous stickers with a blade before installing the new one. June 1st came and went and I still hadn’t put up the new sticker. I always had an excuse. I’ll do it tomorrow. I can’t find the window cleaner. I can’t find the razor blade, etc. Next thing I know it’s June 16th. I go to the car and there’s a ticket for “failing to display vehicle sticker”. My dumb butt did this last year (hanging my head in shame) and it cost me $25. This year it was $50! (insert very long string of expletives here). I paid the fine (to avoid a hearing) and I’m through cussing at myself.
The messed up part is that I was just recently laid off, so that $50 was even more precious to me. Oh well…
I am a horrible procrastinator and seems like i always end up spending more money because of it..
I’m assuming you probably have MD tags now and have to go and get VA tags which means you need a current VA inspection. Sucks because I JUST had to do it the other way around. I had VA tags and they expired. I still need to get a MD inspection so I went to the MVA and got a 30 day temporary waiver because my tags were dead and I needed to drive.
if you just need your vehicle inspected, you can go to a local gas station mechanic that does inspections and he can do it for you for about 50. It is not free, but will save you some time and no need to take off from work :)
If you’re talking about your actual registration, then that’s a different ball park.
yep. exactly how you described it. tags expired 3/31. caught in a license check road block and ticketed by a dandruffy cop 4/1. had to take off 1/2 a day of work to prove to the traffic court that i did renew my tags and pay $10 in court costs.
Um… you KNOW I’ve blown lots of cash being a procrastinator or just plain lazy when it comes to my vehicle. Between parking tickets for not moving it on the right days and getting tickets because I didn’t get the tags changed fast enough, I ought to be ashamed!
Oh yeah, before I really got on top of my personal finances, procrastinating cost me alot of money.