These Are the Money Habits Holding You Back From Financial Freedom

Unless you’re a celebrity or a lottery winner, you have a limited amount of money to spend every month. We all know that even with the best intentions at heart, you will wind up in a financial rut if you have bad spending habits. Bad spending habits cause a lot of unnecessary worry and stress in your life, and here we take a look at some bad habits people have with their money. If you identify with any one of these, make sure you kick the habit – and soon!

Impulse Buying

Impulse purchases are purchases you make that are unplanned for. This can be as arbitrary as walking into the grocery store for bread and milk and walking out with two trolleys’ worth of goods. However, it could also include extravagant purchases like agreeing to a new cellphone contract on a telephone sales call. Impulse buying takes many shapes and forms, and all of them are harmful in some way.

Retailers and marketers thrive off of impulse buyers. Impulse shoppers are those who see a sale and find it hard to stop themselves. They dive in and purchase a range of goods they don’t even need. And their explanation to it all is that it’s available on sale, so it’s a way to save money. If this is you, you should stop lying to yourself as it’s far from the truth! Plan for every purchase, even your groceries. It might take you by surprise to see how much money you have left in your pocket every time you do not give in to an impulse!

Not Budgeting

If you are like most people and live off your monthly income, you struggle to keep finances afloat if you don’t have a budget that you stick to. The key here is sticking to it, because some people don’t have a budget at all. And the few people who do have a budget, don’t follow it. In short, both might face doom. A budget lets you see how much you have to spend and how much you’re bringing in. It’s a clean, clear picture of your finances. It doesn’t even have to be a chore. Simply find a budgeting system that works for you and stick with it. Choosing the wrong budgeting program will guarantee you don’t stick with it.

Flying By Credit

The only time you should be relying on your credit card is if you are paying it in full every month. If you aren’t, then know that spending on credit is one of the worst things you could do financially. This is all the more true if you use credit cards to live beyond your means. And that’s because it will come back to bite you – and hard, too! Understand that every dollar you spend in credit will cost you more than a dollar if you don’t pay it back in the same month that you spend it.

Binging on Convenience

Convenience purchases are great sometimes. We all find ourselves in a hurry at some point, but if you find yourself turning to convenience purchases more often, it can be a sign of something more serious – like a bad spending habit. Having fast food every day, or more than twice a week, is an example of binging on convenience purchases. The expensive latte on your way to work counts too, just like your lunches. Pack yourself a lunch and make yourself coffee in the mornings. Add up how much you will be saving over the year, and it should be enough to convince you to kick the convenience out the window! So grab that calculator and get punching!

Personal Vices

This spending habit includes traditional vices like cigarettes, alcohol, and gambling. It also covers less common vices like shopping or eating out too often. Temptations that lead you into spending a huge amount of money on things you don’t need qualifies as a personal vice. People have many vices, and we all have different ways of spending money that we know is wrong. It’s time to own up to it and admit to your vices!

Your finances and practically your life depends on you straightening out your spending habits. If you can relate to these bad spending habits, its time to rethink how you use your money, you should give yourself a reality check and think of all the things you could be spending on. Besides this, you can also tell yourself about all the money you will save if you quit wasting your hard-earned money. And the best part is, you could spend it on things that are important to you!