I started reading a book about procrastination once, but never finished it. :] I have to agree with the previous commenter, though — David Allen’s systems (and LifeHacker’s streamlined approaches) can really help you Get Things Done.

Things gets overlooked, postponed, and remain unchecked. It creates a havoc in lifestyle and income.

Whenever you find kidding yourself, forcefully do the thing right than and there. The present moment is the best one you got.

When asked for the registration and insurance I said sure and told them they were in the glove box. So I pull them out and I check them to make sure they are the current ones (my parents like to stock pile the paperwork in the glove box). I see that the registration card expired in 2001. I explained that it wasn’t my car and said that there was probably a current one in the glove box. There wasn’t. The insurance card was expired as well.

Nothing like explaining to a sheriff why you are driving an out of state vehicle at 1am carrying a case of beer and having long-expired registration and insurance cards.

He let me off with a citation for speeding. I assure you my parents got an ear full when I returned to PA.

Even if you don’t lose thousands of dollars through a time limit running out, there are much better ways to save than using the IRS for this purpose.

[...] Maintenance – It’s imperative that you keep your car in tip-top shape. Check the tire pressure weekly. This will improve your overall gas mileage as well as extend the life of the tires. Avoid procrastination. Get your car inspected (or else) and change your oil at the recommended intervals. [...]

On the plus side my car aged out of required emissions testing this year (25 years!!!). The amount of satisfaction I derive from that is wholly disproportional to the $25 savings.

Been there.

Not to derail from financial costs, but there’s another potential “cost” worth mentioning in that circumstance: When a police officer pulls you over, don’t be afraid to pull into a side street or parking lot. If you’re on the highway and there’s an exit nearby, pull off. Definitely slow down and signal to the officer that you know he’s there — but don’t think that, unless you pull over immediately, he’ll assume that you’re trying to escape and arrest you. He won’t. Be safe. Stopping along the roadside is dangerous, and nobody knows this better than cops.

The sad truth is, we’ve been paying 2-3x the normal water bill for the last several months because of it..

Like you and your other commenters have said, I have the money to fix it.. I probably even know how to fix it myself (TBD). I just haven’t gotten around to it and it’s cost me in the hundreds of dollars to date.

Time to get the coveralls out..

1. It’s quaint that you have a physical paycheck. I don’t think I’ve had one in 20 years — direct deposit.

2. Lucky you were DWW when the officer pulled you over. That’s Driving While White.

3. The deal with the insurance is the officer didn’t want to take the time to write a ticket and have to go to court. (That’s my guess).

Along those lines…

Having the benefit of working at a credit union, I’ve gotten into the habit of taking a look at transactions in my checking account each morning when I get to work. It’s like balancing every day. Sounds a bit anal, I’m sure, but it literally takes less than a minute a day. Plus, if there’s an error (mine or theirs), it’s found immediately. So it not only keeps things in line, it’s a time saver each month.

What was the deal with the insurance? He just kind of ignored it?

What started out as one parking ticket quickly grew to three (big city living with a car sometimes is not all it’s cracked up to be!) and I ignored the notices, thinking to myself that I’d pay them when they were due. Well the due dates came and went, the threatening letters, etc. and I ignored them. The sad thing is, I HAD the money to pay them but I kept ignoring them thinking they’d go away. Well imagine my surprise one day when I was ready to leave for work one morning, opened the door to my house and my car wasn’t where I parked it the night before. What the….so I called the police, immediately thinking my car had been stolen. After I was finished sreaming into the phone, the person on the other end said softly “Miss, your car was towed due to unpaid parking tickets. You can pick your car up at the impound lot – after you pay the outstanding balance.” I apologized for my behavior and after paying a couple thousand dollars to the City Parking Department (most of it was interest, ugh!) as well as $500 to get my car out of impound, I had my car back. That was the wake up call I needed. I no longer procrasinate and I always keep a roll of quarters handy for metered spots

Adam: Got a AAA nearby? Luckily theres one no more than a mile from my office. In and out with a new license in 5 minutes flat.

Oddly enough, my license is about to expire here on Feb. 3, anyone wanna bet I won’t get it renewed by then? The last time I was at our local DMV, they had actually de-evolved. They had gotten rid of the split queue (one line for renewals and another for new licenses) with a number system, and went to just a big group of people where you had to figure out amongst yourselves who was there first.