We do most things on autopilot, such as brushing our teeth, making a cup of coffee, checking emails, etc.
Usually, we don’t think about such things, and we don’t even realize that we are doing it. The same goes for how we handle our money. With that said, if you are struggling with saving money, then you are here at the right place.
Here is the list of self-sabotaging habits that are keeping you poor. You can also find great advice in this article from Joywallet on saving your money and making more financially-smart decisions for a better and more stable financial future.
Ideally, you should aim at replacing your bad money habits with good money habits, which is essentially the thing that will help you pay off debt (if you have any) and start investing your money at the right places to work smarter.
You will want to be mindful of your habits – including your money-spending habits because habits have a ripple effect, and they ultimately shape you and determine who you become and whether you will end up better financially or poor.
You get the point – to become financially stronger, you will want to recognize your bad money habits and replace them with good habits that will help you get rich.
Here are the habits:
Not Saving Money for Yourself
The first habit that is essentially keeping you poor is the habit of paying yourself last. You will want to closely examine what you do with your money.
Typically, you might be doing the following: as soon as you get paid, you might be paying your rent, your bills, perhaps a gym membership, you buy something nice for yourself, and you go to that amazing restaurant on the corner.
Now you plan to save money only if there is some money left at the end of the month. The harsh truth is that there is hardly any money left to put into a savings account at the end of the month.
You will want to know that people with money and financial freedom tend to do the opposite of what we narrated as an example. The first thing that rich people do is that they pay themselves first.
This aspect essentially means that before they start paying their bills and swiping their cards left and right and essentially giving money to everyone else – they put a portion of everything they make into their own pickets first.
They then proceed to pay their bills and live on whatever is left. Simply put – they prioritize making themselves richer instead of making other people richer.
Socializing with High-Maintenance Friends
Another potential habit that might be keeping you poor is the habit of trying to keep up with friends who have expensive tastes. We all have been there – we have friends who want us to go out to expensive restaurants or go shopping with them.
If you have friends with bigger budgets than yours, then you shouldn’t feel shame in being authentic and telling them that you are working towards financial goals and that you need to save money, and that things are out of budget.
Now, if they are your real friends, they will understand because everyone has very different levels of tastes as well as entirely different levels of budgets. So, trying to keep up with everyone around you is going to leave you broke or in debt.
The truth is that the average American has little to no money for savings but a high amount of debt, including mortgages. Also, you will want to know that many of the amazing things you see in terms of lifestyles on social media are often nothing but an illusion.
A lot of what you see on social media is not real – and chasing experiences just so you can post amazing pictures on social media and look good to everybody else is a gateway to ending up broke. The question is – what are your preferences?
Would you rather look rich, or would you rather be rich in real life? If your goal is to become financially independent one day in the future, then you will have to stop caring about what and how everyone else is thinking about you. Only you are working on your goal, which is why you are responsible for it.
Not being able to Organize Finances
If you have disorganized finances, then it is high time to do something about it. If you have credit cards everywhere, debts, and student loans that you have no idea about the balance, and if you really don’t know how and where you are spending every month and where your money goes, then you have a problem that needs to be fixed.
You can use spreadsheets or some of the best apps to track all your financial stuff. Using the apps, you can connect them to your bank account and assess your sending, your incoming and outgoing finances, and also where exactly your money is going.
Using apps to track your finances is totally worth your time. Once you start saving money and budgeting, you can use the apps or spreadsheets to see your progress and also how your net worth increases steadily.
By organizing your finances, you will also find it hugely motivating to stick to a budget and keep your finances organized because you will know where your money is all the time. You will want to give up the habit of staying confused about your finances and build a habit of staying organized and assessing your numbers regularly.
Also, when it comes to improving your finances, you will want to start investing your money early. The thing about investing is that most people think they will start investing one day when they have more money – but this thought process becomes an extensive cycle of procrastination and excuses.
Believe us – there will always be reasons why you cannot invest money – so – you will want to put your excuses aside and start investing now.
