Useful Tips in Creating Your Own Financial Habits
Building wealth requires discipline and planning. You must set goals, develop a plan and force yourself to stick to it.
What you must do is develop sound financial habits that will stay with you for life. Once you have these habits, saving money, cutting spending and developing solid financial stability will be much simpler.
Here is a short list to get you started on making good habits to help you get to your goals. Master these first since they are the most important, then move on to some that may be a little harder or less obvious.
Keep a register of all your financial transactions throughout the day. Get out of the habit of tossing that Starbucks receipt. Instead, place it in your wallet. At the end of the day you can take out all those receipts for a dollar here and two dollars there and really see where your money goes.
If it's a transaction that doesn't produce a receipt, jot it down on a piece of scrap paper and tuck it away. You'll be surprised how quickly a few trips to the vending machine can add up.
Instead of paying for things with a debit or credit card, get in the habit of paying cash.
Give yourself an allowance each week and when it's gone it's gone. Spending cash has a much more profound effect on your psyche than using a piece of plastic. Feeling that green leaving your pocket can turn anyone into a miser.
Save the debit and credit cards for purchases you can't make with cash.
Make it a point to put away at least something in savings each month. It doesn't have to be a large amount; every penny does indeed count. Even if it's simply the loose change you have in your pocket at the end of the day, this can quickly add up to a chunk of change.
Pay yourself at the end of each month just as you would pay a creditor. Make sure you have a separate account in which to place your savings. This will help you avoid the temptation of spending it so easily. Consider a money market account to get a better interest rate. Another idea is to purchase government bonds when you have saved enough.
In a few years you can amass a considerable bond portfolio.
These habits might not come easy, but once you see the benefits they can bring, you will likely stick to them.
It's particularly fun to challenge yourself by spending less each week than the week before. Even if it's just one avoided cup of coffee, you will be richer than you were before.
What you must do is develop sound financial habits that will stay with you for life. Once you have these habits, saving money, cutting spending and developing solid financial stability will be much simpler.
Here is a short list to get you started on making good habits to help you get to your goals. Master these first since they are the most important, then move on to some that may be a little harder or less obvious.
Keep a register of all your financial transactions throughout the day. Get out of the habit of tossing that Starbucks receipt. Instead, place it in your wallet. At the end of the day you can take out all those receipts for a dollar here and two dollars there and really see where your money goes.
If it's a transaction that doesn't produce a receipt, jot it down on a piece of scrap paper and tuck it away. You'll be surprised how quickly a few trips to the vending machine can add up.
Instead of paying for things with a debit or credit card, get in the habit of paying cash.
Give yourself an allowance each week and when it's gone it's gone. Spending cash has a much more profound effect on your psyche than using a piece of plastic. Feeling that green leaving your pocket can turn anyone into a miser.
Save the debit and credit cards for purchases you can't make with cash.
Make it a point to put away at least something in savings each month. It doesn't have to be a large amount; every penny does indeed count. Even if it's simply the loose change you have in your pocket at the end of the day, this can quickly add up to a chunk of change.
Pay yourself at the end of each month just as you would pay a creditor. Make sure you have a separate account in which to place your savings. This will help you avoid the temptation of spending it so easily. Consider a money market account to get a better interest rate. Another idea is to purchase government bonds when you have saved enough.
In a few years you can amass a considerable bond portfolio.
These habits might not come easy, but once you see the benefits they can bring, you will likely stick to them.
It's particularly fun to challenge yourself by spending less each week than the week before. Even if it's just one avoided cup of coffee, you will be richer than you were before.
