生活給我們提供了很多便利，有人說這是個懶人的時代。然而懶惰會在個人理財的時候讓你付出高額的代價。要知道，勤快能生財。

    Last month, Forbes published an article aboutall the ways your laziness is costing you. As a semi-reformed layabout （Kris would say I haven't reformed at all!）, I read the article with interest. I recognized some of my old money habits - and some I still have.

    Author Daniel Adler writes:

    These days countless businesses make hay by taking advantage of our collective indolence - everything from not bothering to spend 15 minutes surfing the Web for a better rate on a savings account to not taking half as much time to mail a $50 rebate on a new laptop computer.

    Here are some of the ways Forbes says laziness can cost you money. （The bullet points are from Forbes, but the rest of the text is from me.）

    · Not choosing the best rate on your savings account. While it's probably not a good idea to become a rate-chaser, it doesn't make much sense to keep the bulk of your savings in a big bank savings account earning 0.20%. Find a local credit union or an online bank where you can earn a decent return on your money. Even though rates are low right now, they'll rise in the future, and you'll be glad your money is earning interest for you.

    · Not opening a retirement fund （as soon as possible）. Never forget the power of compounding. The younger you begin to save, the more time your money has to work for you. Even if you're older, you should still get started as soon as possible. I didn't begin saving until I was 37, and I've now watched much of my retirement money wither away, but I'm continuing to put money aside for the future. If your employer matches your 401（k） contributions, take advantage of this free money. And don't forget to max out your Roth IRA.

    · Not sending in rebate offers. Ah, yes. That "not sending in the rebate" thing has bitten me before. It's a good way to turn a bargain into a run-of-the-mill deal. Manufacturers offer rebates instead of actual discounts because they know a large percentage of purchasers will never follow through.

    · Not paying attention to 0% financing deadlines. When you buy something with zero percent interest, there's a catch. If you don't pay in full by the end of the grace period, Adler writes, "the often very steep interest rate that kicks in applies not to the remainder of the debt, but the entire original purchase price." Zero percent is only a bargain if you aren't lazy.

    · Waiting until the last minute to send mail. This one has nailed me, too. A decade ago, I was a chronic sloth with my mail. （"Sloth Roth," Kris would call me.） I'd mail things on the day they were due, and then moan about the late fees I received. Now I try to mail my bills on the day I receive them. （Or, better yet, to pay automatically online.）

    · Not taking advantage of corporate wellness incentives. If your employer pays for health-related benefits, you ought to take them. I think this is true of many benefits. Some companies offer paid gym memberships （though you may have to pay taxes on this）. But most employees are too lazy to take advantage of the offer. At the box factory, we would pay for one class per employee per term at any public school they chose. Few employees took us up on the offer. （I took many classes via this benefit!）

    · Not bothering to negotiate a deal. Many people are averse to haggling. But if you're just avoiding it because you're lazy, you're missing out on a chance to save. You don't have to haggle on everything. But haggle where it makes sense, and your pocketbook will thank you. （Here's how one GRS reader uses haggling to save big bucks.）

    The full article has more details, and the accompanying slideshow highlights other ways in which laziness may be costing you money.

    Laziness isn't as much of an issue for me as it used to be. I'm much more motivated to manage my money. Still, I do make mistakes from time-to-time. Here are a few of the ways laziness continues to cost me money:

    · When I'm just too lazy to make dinner at home, I end up spending more in restaurants.

    · When I'm too lazy to maintain my tools, they rust or break. （I recently had a scare with my lawnmower. I hadn't changed the oil on it once in five years - because I was lazy - and the blade seized up. Turns out the oil wasn't an issue, but you can bet I'll change the oil every year going forward!）

    · When I'm too lazy to reply to e-mail from potential advertisers, they find somebody else to work with. I miss out on that revenue.

    · When I'm too lazy to go see the doctor, my running injuries linger for months instead of being resolved in weeks.

    Not everyone is lazy, of course. And even those of us who are chronic loafers have areas where we shine. I've written something substantive nearly every day for the past eight years, for example. Plus I'll often walk to do my errands. I'm not completely lazy!

    What about you? How has laziness cost you money? Did you take steps to prevent problems in the future?

    上個月，福布斯雜志上發表了一篇名為"懶惰帶來的代價"的文章。我是個革命還未成功的懶人（克麗絲會說我根本就沒怎么變過）、我饒有興致地讀了這篇文章，在其中發現了一些自己用錢的老習慣，有些壞習慣我至今還沒改過。

    作者Daniel Adler是這么寫的：大家都很懶，而無數的商家從中把握了賺錢的機會---從你不會花十五分鐘上網為自己的存款賬戶找找好一些的利率，到你不會花什么時間為了一臺新手提電腦發郵件索取50元折扣。

    以下是福布斯雜志列出的懶惰帶來的代價的幾點。（著重號后面的一句話是福布斯上的內容，其他內容是我的評述。）

    * 懶到不去給自己的存款賬戶選一個最佳利率。整天追逐高利息的做法可能并不怎么好，但是那種把所有的存款就那么放在一個大銀行賬戶里，拿著0.20%的利息的做法似乎也不太說得通。到當地找家信用社，或者網上銀行，為自己的存款找個有不錯收益的地方。盡管最近利率很低，可將來會漲的，到那時你就會為自己的選擇感到高興了，因為那時你的錢會為你賺來更多的利息。

    * 懶到不去（盡快）給自己開一個退休基金。永遠不要忘記復利的作用。存錢存得越早，到時候你的錢給你帶來好處的期限就越長。即使你已經不怎么年輕，你仍然要盡快開始。我知道37歲才開始存錢，現在我看著自己的退休金一點一點地萎縮變少，但我仍舊為將來留出那部分錢。假如你的老板給你的養老金計劃里存錢的話，請利用好這筆錢吧。請不要忘了羅斯退休計劃。

    * 懶到不去索取折扣券。是的，以前這種事情也曾困擾過我的。要知道，把享受折扣的特價商品當作你常去光顧的購物選項是個好做法。制造商不會打折，而是提供折扣券，原因就是他們知道，大部分購買者都不會所要這個折扣券。

    * 懶到不去注意最后期限。當你用零利率購買東西的時候，這里面肯定有個圈套。假如你沒有在最后期限之前付清，Adler寫道，通常情況下，要繳納的利息會漲的很厲害，不只是債務的零頭，而往往是原商品的價錢。如果你不懶，及時付清賬單的話，零利率就會是個好交易了。

    * 懶到最后一秒才把郵件寄出去。這一點說的就是我。十年前，我是個徹頭徹尾的懶人，郵件不拖到最后不會發出去的。（"懶人羅斯",克麗絲這么叫我。）我會在到期的那天寄郵件，然后又抱怨自己因此而繳的費用。現在我一收到賬單就會寄出付款單了。（或者，更好的方法就是在網上自動支付。）

    * 懶到不利用好公司給你的健康優惠政策。假如你的老板給你提供健康類的福利，你應該把它利用好。有些公司提供付過款的體育館會員資格（盡管你得在這上面付點稅）.但是大多數員工都很懶，以至于沒有什么人利用好了這個福利。原來在盒子工場工作的時候，我們給每個員工提供一個課程的福利，他們可以在任意公立學校選擇充電課程。然而，很少有員工跟我們要了這個福利。（我通過這個福利上了很多課。）

    * 懶到不愿去討價還價。許多人都很討厭跟人討價還價。但如果因為懶而不還價的話，你就錯過了存錢的機會了。當然，沒必要在所有商品上還價，但你可以在某些商品上還一下價，你的錢夾會感謝你的。（這里是一位讀者用來討價還價，存大錢的方法。）

    整篇文章還有很多細節，附帶有幻燈片，告訴大家懶惰還會帶來什么后果。

    現在懶惰對我來說已經不算什么了。我會更主動地管理自己的錢。當然，我也會時不時犯個錯誤什么的。以下是懶惰給我帶來的代價：

    * 當我很懶，不想在家做飯的時候，我就會在餐館花更多的錢。

    * 當我懶得打理我那些園藝工具的時候，它們就生銹變壞不能用了。（最近，我家的割草機嚇了我一跳，我已經五年沒有給它換油了-因為懶-所以刀口卡住了。換油并不是件難事，但我以后肯定會每年給它換的。）

    * 我懶得給廣告商回email,因此他們找了別人，我也就錯過了這部分收益。

    * 還有我懶得去看醫生，所以傷口疼了幾個月，其實可以幾周就治好的。

    當然，并不是所有的人都很懶。即使那些很懶的人也會有不懶的時候。比如，我在過去的八年時間里一直堅持每天寫東西。還有，我常常步行去做事。我并不完全是個懶人！

    你呢？懶惰會讓你受到什么損失呢？你嘗試過什么方法避免自己將來出現這些問題嗎？