This post shows you bad financial habits to avoid at all costs!
Looking to make a change? Self-awareness is the first step to changing your patterns and taking control of your life!
When it comes to money, the amount doesn’t matter. It’s the mindset behind your habits that need to change.
But with a little self-awareness, accountability, and education, it’s easy to get yourself the path to building wealth.
Now is the time for financial discipline, new goals, and a major transformation in how you view and earn money.
But here’s the thing: Earning more money means nothing if you do not practice frugal habits.
Embracing minimalism and knowing how to live under my means is what has helped me cut down on a lot of my frivolous spending.
No need to completely restrict yourself from living a fulfilling life but there are a few bad financial habits that you may want to kick this year, if you haven’t already!
Identify the Root of Your Habits
Is most of your spending happening with friends or socializing?
Does it stem from subconscious behaviors from childhood?
Many people who grew up in poverty tend to overcompensate with material things when they’re older. Self-awareness, honesty, and acceptance is key.
Here are 7 Bad Financial Habits You Need to Kick Immediately
1. Falling Victim to Lifestyle Creep
Most people who are single and complaining about being broke do not have an income issue. They have a spending issue. Yes, even if you live in a major city!
When I used to live in Minneapolis, my car got totaled. I could’ve easily bought a new one with a $300 car payment, but I just decided to make it work.
I took the light rail directly into work to the airport for work and used Uber/Lyft for grocery runs when it was too cold to walk.
It sucked for a bit but it was the best sacrifice I could’ve made for myself at the time because I used the free income to pay off my student loans.
Living in high rises as a single person for validation, eating out multiple times a week, and living your best life with daily Amazon purchases is making you poor.
If you secure a new job role that pays more than your last role, that is not an invitation to spend more. It’s an opportunity to save and invest.
Without squirreling away savings, 100K earners are no different than the person making 30K living paycheck to paycheck. Being frugal and living under your means is the key to staying above water and building wealth.
2. Eating Out While You’re Broke
The amount of TikToks I have watched of people complaining about prices and being broke, but still ordering DoorDash is crazy.
I consider myself to be doing ok financially and even I know I’m too broke for DoorDash and UberEats. Service fees, delivery fees, hidden fees, and a tip for someone who could’ve dipped their hands in my fries?
No, thank you.
Before I got serious about not overspending my budget, the food portion of my budget was sky-high. I didn’t realize I spending almost $300 a month on restaurants and takeout alone. Those purchases do add up ya’ll!
Do yourself a favor and learn how to cook. One of my favorite things to do is if I find a restaurant where I enjoy the food, we will try to replicate the recipe at home. More times than not, the food you make tastes like a better fresher version of what you had.
Save going out to eat for special occasions as something to savor and enjoy, less often.
3. Going On Daily Coffee Runs
If you’re still going to Starbucks and paying over $8 for coffee, ma’am what are you doing?
But no judgment. Especially if you’re working hybrid or in an office. Just know, this is one of the oldest and easiest tricks in the book of getting your money.
If you can, downgrade to basic coffee with cream and sugar from a gas station. Or cut down your Starbucks runs to once a week.
Or if your job hands out gift cards, only use those to get your caffeine fix guilt-free!
Or even buy local if you have to. But stop giving these corporations money. They will keep raising the prices as long as you’re willing to pay for it.
4. Drinking Alcohol and Smoking
There’s nothing wrong with having a vice. In these times, it may be the only way you’re coping and no one can judge you for that. We all have our thing.
But don’t get so caught up in escaping the world, that you lose focus on your life.
If your friends are constantly egging you on to light up instead of studying, budgeting, or any other activities that can improve your life, it’s time to get rid of them.
Alcohol and drugs capitalize on people’s darkest moments to get them hooked for life.
If you know you have an addictive personality, switch up the bottle or blunt for the gym. Your health, looks, and wallet will thank you accordingly!
5. Rewarding ‘Impulse’ Buys
It’s always just a small purchase, right? And with the availability of the Internet and the promise of it showing up at your door in two days, how could you not buy it?
This is how they get you, making the buying process super convenient and easy for you.
If this is you, you’re going to adopt strategies to reduce the urge to buy or stay off the websites completely. If it’s TikTok, delete the app.
If your problem is at the grocery store, then you need to make a list and commit to not straying from the list, no matter how logical the impulse purchase seems. Or shop online with a set budget!
6. Buying Too Many Clothes
Please. For the love of God, please stop buying clothes from Amazon, Temu, and Shien.
I hate that stores are charging us luxury prices for polyester plastic as the next person but that doesn’t mean we should all jump on the bandwagon on the race to the bottom.
And while Shien may seem a better cheap option for you to buy, the fact that the clothes don’t last and are super trendy so you have to keep buying the next thing, means you are probably spending more if not the same amount if you would’ve just looked for quality pieces in the first place.
If you know you have a shopping problem for clothes, embrace thrifting! You will at least get quality and you will appreciate the hunt for finding your favorite pieces more.
7. Saving Too Much Money
This might sound counterintuitive but it’s true. As women, we tend to be very conservative with our money.
It’s a positive because we aren’t as impulsive as men and know how to save for big purchases and live within our means.
However, sometimes we take saving too extreme and miss out on capitalizing on our hard-earned work. Save for a rainy day and always have an accessible emergency fund but we also need to learn the power of investing.
Don’t let inflation eat away all of your hard-earned work. Diversification and building wealth slowly is the name of the game.
Learn the basics of investing in the stock market, cryptocurrency, and real estate to make money long-term. It’s okay to be a lazy type of investor.
Do your research and let your money work for you instead of the other way around!
