If Not Now, When?
There’s a poster in our garage (don’t ask) that the words “if not now, when?” is written on. It’s had me thinking.
Back in the days when I was sitting atop my mound of nearly $40,000 in consumer debt, I often thought being debt free, but for many years, didn’t take any lasting, committed action. My fundamental reasoning was that there was something around the corner that would give me the means to change my circumstances. A new job or promotion with a higher salary, a great bonus at the end of the year or an unexpected windfall of some kind.
The fact is, even when some of those things came (a little raise here or there, a small bonus), I didn’t use the money effectively.
Part of me turning my life around and climbing out of the debt hole I was in was about realising that to change my circumstances I needed to be the source of the change. Not tomorrow, not next month, not next year. Today. Now.
Worst of all, it seems I wasn’t alone in my former way of thinking. In The Age last month was an article about baby boomers facing retirement saddled with debt. The author of the article suggests this is due to “home upgrades, renovations, stay-at-home children and aging parents” – but all this sounds like to me is excuses. This is in fact the modern-day case of sacrificing your future for today in practice.
Few of us require home upgrades or renovations… or for that matter, a holiday house, a second car, international trips and so forth. Sure, some of these things are what makes life fun – but if they’re the difference between living your life and retiring laden with debt, are they really worth having?
Recently too, I’ve been posting a fair bit about following your dreams and doing what you love with your life. Sure, it’s a scary prospect and not without its risks… but who wants to get to the end of their life having never realised a fundamental dream?
We can all think of excuses and reasons not to do something. It’s an inherent part of being human. As the saying goes though, tomorrow never comes.
So, if not now, when?
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