Bad Habits That Effect Your Money Management

DON’T KNOW WHERE IT GOES

Knowing what you are spending your money on and when you are spending your money may seem like a no brainer.  But it isn’t!  One of the first bad habits found with individuals living paycheck to paycheck is their lack of knowledge of what exactly their hard-earned money is being spent on.  When you know exactly what you are spending your money on you have a better grasp of things you can cut back on and areas you can lessen your spending and increase your savings.  Some things, in particular, to keep a close eye on are monthly subscriptions.  I am all too guilty myself of having multiple subscriptions that charge my card monthly that I don’t even think about, and most of the time I don't even use the services I’m paying for!  So the first bad habit I suggest tackling would be to always know where your money is going and how fast and frequently it leaves.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

Kicking bad habits, especially bad money habits, is not an easy task.  It’s particularly difficult when we’ve done something for such a long time and changing could feel worse than the repercussions of our bad habits, which makes kicking that bad habit that much harder!  One bad habit everyone falls into is the ‘keeping up with the Joneses mentality, where we spend a lot more money than we have or should just to impress the crowd we are with.  Friends, I am here to tell you today that although it is fun to hang out with certain friends and spend lots of money on things we can’t afford, and probably don’t even need, in the long run, it really isn’t worth it.  I’m sure it feels awesome to go to expensive restaurants and order top-notch things, or tag along on fancy vacations your friends invited you to, but I can promise you that these behaviors can absolutely KILL your long term financial success!  Real friends don’t need to be impressed by material things, and your worth is not determined by the amount of money you make or spend.  So let’s get smart and stop caring about what other people think, and let's focus on getting your finances in the proper places for long term success by making a vow to stop trying to impress the wrong kind of people.

SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH NEGATIVITY

The previous sections discussing how spending more money than you have or need to just to impress people now leads us into this section.  Surrounding yourself with negative people with no financial dreams or aspirations of their own is a really bad habit, and quite frankly, a really hard one to break.  We love our friends, I get it.  We can’t just kick them to the curb because they are awful with money and have no financial future.  However, we need to really evaluate the amount of time we spend with them and realize that their bad money habits can and will rub off on you if you are not careful.  Even though we may think we are tough and outside factors don’t affect us, this is folly.  The environments we surround ourselves in mold and shape us into the person we will eventually become.  So let’s make a conscious effort to seek out others more financially savvy then ourselves so we can grow and learn from their actions.

Now, I’m not one who likes to dwell on the negative and point out flaws.  But when it comes to money management and setting yourself up for financial success, it really pays off to be brutally honest with yourself and unveil your bad spending/saving habits.  The earlier you discover these bad habits and start working towards fixing them, the better off you will be financially down the road.  So take some time to evaluate your spending and saving habits and see if you fall under these categories and then work towards making the necessary adjustments so you can better manage your money.  Thanks for tuning in to my CASH the Mascot blog, I hope you found some of the information helpful!