“A stitch in time saves nine.”

My informant first heard this phrase at the age of thirteen.  At this age, she was having a lot of family problems and she never wanted to deal with it so she went out constantly.  However as she went out more, her family problems increased.  One day while she was out with a friend, her friend tried to give her advice about her problems by saying “A stitch in time saves nine.”  My informant interpreted this proverb as if a person takes care of your problems immediately, then the problems will not escalate later.  At first my informant did not believe this proverb as true, but she eventually confronted her problems and resolved them.  My informant learned an important lesson from her friend.  She learned that it will be easier for her if she solves her problems sooner than later.  This way her problems do not get worse and then she will not have to deal with more later.  She now lives her life based on this proverb.

I agree with my informant on the meaning of this proverb.  I also believe that it is better to solve and confront your problems as soon as possible.  If a person waits to solve their problems and drag it out then the problems will most likely get worse.  In the end, it could take a longer time to deal with the problems.  It might even be harder to deal with the problems if a person waits too long.  Waiting to solve problems might even result in worse consequences.  Another proverb that is a variation of “A stitch in time saves nine” is “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”