Have you ever made a decision based on the short-term savings instead of the long-term costs? I have mentioned before that I have been known to make quick decisions, but thankfully my hubby moves like molasses when deciding on anything and he has helped me. I have learned over the years to be better at asking myself questions...slows me down enough to consider all of the impacts of a decision I am about to make. I am still working on this skill!
A couple of months ago I received my renewal notice for my Real Estate license in the mail. I have not been active selling in about two years and with my plans to homeschool my girlie I won't be any time soon. I do work very part-time from home for a local realtor, but you don't need a license to do that. (You can learn more about that here.)
I made a quick decision as soon as I opened it that I did not need to pay for a continuing education class and the renewal fee, not to mention my time studying. I didn't throw it away though, I put it in my budget calendar book. (You can learn more about my budget calendar book here.) Every couple of weeks I saw that renewal notice there and again reminded myself that I did not need to spend money on that.
Then about a week ago I woke up in the middle of the night panicked! Did my license expire already, did the renewal date pass? There was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep until I checked. I had 3 1/2 weeks left to complete the 14 hour continuing education requirment and renew my license. Phew!
The next morning my hubby and I talked about the long-term costs of not renewing my license. If 10 or even 15 years from now I decide that I am ready to sell I would have to attend the 40 hour pre-licensing course, take the dreaded state exam and attend the 45 hour post-licensing course again! The cost of all of that far exceeds dollars and cents, in this case it's the time and stress, which we know impacts all areas of our family and household.
Thankfully I was able to take my 14 hours of continuing education online. I am just hoping now that the state gets my records updated with my completion before the end of this month!
I am relieved that my short-term thinking did not steer my decision this time and cost me long-term. When have you made a decision (or almost made a decision) based on short-term savings that had long-term costs?
No comments:
Post a Comment