There have been a few projects for which I’ve been meaning to financially contribute for a while, but I kept putting it off for the simple reason that now was never the time. In the future, I reasoned, my finances will be normal again, and I’ll be able to chip in at the level that I want to chip in, rather than settling for a lower lever.
Now never feels like the right time. But now is always the time. And it is always the only time.
It’s better to contribute the $10 you have now to a project than wait around until you’re able to contribute $20. There’s a lot of “project interest” that can pay dividends in the meantime that would languish if you waited until you could meet that higher threshold.
In minimalism circles, there’s a similar concept about getting rid of the fantasy self and accepting your currently reality and who you are at this exact moment. It involves taking a hard look in the mirror about who you are and what your current circumtances are, not who you could be or who you wish to be. When you’re trying to decide if you want to keep something as you’re decluttering, it’s always tempting to keep something around because now’s not the time you need it or want it, but the time may come around in the future. This is a “what if I need it later” situation. And “what ifs” will kill you.
That shirt doesn’t fit you right now, but it might six months from now if you manage to lose twenty pounds.
That tent in the garage isn’t useful to you now, and you haven’t been camping in the past few years, but maybe next summer will finally be the time you dust that baby off and head for the campsite!
One rainy day you might feel like watching the copy of The Avengers on DVD that your friend gave you for you birthday a few years back. But you’re not in the mood today. And haven’t been on any day since you received it.
All your “what ifs” may one day come true, but it’s not helpful to wait around for a train that may or may not ever come. You could lose that weight, you may get a wild hair to go camping when the weather is warmer, and you may have a completely open afternoon with nothing better to do than finally watch that movie.
Or maybe not. It doesn’t matter. Because tomorrow never comes. There is only today, right now.
The same is true for money. It’s okay to have an off-month, but if you notice that all your months are unusual, you have the wrong picture of what a “normal” financial month means to you.
To reiterate: it’s better to contribute that $10 to a project now than wait around until you’re able to contribute $20. “A bird in the hand…” and all that.
There is an exception to this. There’s often a distinction between “just in case” items verses “just for when.” The “just in case” items may never happen. You can’t live on the “what if.” But some things fall into a “I know I will need this eventually, there is no doubt.” These are things like insurance plans, retirement accounts, emergency funds, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, etc. It’s OK to keep things for when you need them. But holding on to things or delaying a helpful action when the reason for doing so may never materialize? It probably isn’t helping anyone, including you.
Sometimes it’s better to let go of the “what if”, and focus on the “right now.”