Are your bad financial habits are holding you back from enjoying a debt free and financially independent life? Do you believe that you are in financial catastrophe from where it is impossible to come out? Your life is reflection of your current habits. In case, you have any bad financial habits then they may slow down your financials in dramatic way. So if you wish to bring your finances on track, you have to work on your financial habits more carefully. The real key is to make proper choices on regular basis and watch out small financial changes carefully. If you are aspiring to change your bad financial habits then here are some tips you must go through.
Identifying your Bad Habits
If you are not aware of things you are doing wrong then it is very difficult to get started. If you are suffering from serious financial issues then analyze your financial status carefully before moving forward. Ask yourself some important questions like – Are you overburdened with debt? Do you often face trouble while meeting your payments? Before you start working on any of the financial problems, you have to make sure that whether those problems really exist in your life.
Go Cash-Only
Credit cards may tempt you to overspend and you can get away from them if you don’t carry those with you all the time. If you are buried with excessive debt, try to leave all your credit cards at office or home. You can stick to cash purchase for all your transactions. In case, you want to buy something essential through credit card then avoid using them for any purchase which is less than $50.
Work on One Habit at a Time
You must be aware of the famous saying – Rome was not built in a single day, similarly bad financial habits can’t be changed overnight. If you try to work on all the problems at once then there are higher chances of failure. So work on individual habits on consistent and steady basis. You can design short term and long term goals for yourself and work on them one by one. Once you achieve success on any one habit, it will give you confidence to tackle with others.
Don’t be Over Conservative with Your Money
Being watchful with your money is always a nice thing as this habit can make you a good financial planner. But if you remain over conservative with your money then you may miss an opportunity to appreciate your money. This is one of the bad financial habits, which is worth changing. At an initial level, you can talk with your financial advisor on what investment avenues you should choose in order to earn stable and safe returns on your invested money.
Avoid Switching Credit Cards Constantly
It is always better to opt for credit cards which offer best deal but switching credit cards on regular basis may create negative influence on your credit score. In case, you are planning to consolidate debt from multiple credit cards but not cancelling those accounts then you may end up digging a bigger hole in your financials.
Avoid Impulse Shopping
Most of the times, you may get trapped in impulse shopping unexpectedly in order to avail the recent offers available in the market. Consider shopping as an alcohol and it must be handled responsibly or else may become addictive. Try to make shopping as a plan activity by listing out items you want to buy within definite budget. Take some more time to analyze whether you really require that particular item before finalizing the deal.
Don’t’ Let Emotions to Influence Your Finances
Most of the individuals have a habit of spending emotionally to revive their mood. They spend excessive amount of money on unessential items to raise their self esteem. These sentiments can impact your financials badly and they can mislead you. So always make your spending decision on the basis of your current financial status and budget. If you are still purchasing things without any financial budget then it’s a time to sit down and figure out your one.
Don’t Spend Everything You Have
Don’t consider spending your savings or any investment for anything less than a risk free and profitable venture. Don’t spend your emergency savings stupidly as this may create the feeling of desperation which is commonly found among individuals when they don’t have any money. The best strategy is not to buy anything which takes over 50 percent of your cash.
Resolve all Legal Matters on Timely Basis
Don’t ignore or postpone any legal matters and try to resolve them within stipulated time to avoid future trouble. You can deal with these matters on personal level or forward it to your legal advisor on time. Responding to such matters after deadline can cost you significant amount of penalties and unnecessary charges. The same principal also applies to credit and debit cards as these involve higher interest rate component and default penalties.
Conclusion –
It is commonly observed fact that individuals who postpone their bills and utilize excessive credit end up paying more. Don’t get trapped in such a vicious circle which will eat your existing money resources and make you financially dependent. Most of the financial habits are quite challenging to quit but with persistency and discipline you can overcome those over the time. Even though these habits are extremely hard to break and demand consistent efforts, you will definitely receive substantial amount of payoff after executing them in your life.
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I had to say it although I do not know what is going to happen, but today’s move on the market was very surprising to me.
Well, if you are in the vicious debt circle, you must stop all leaks in your valet. Saving and investing must go aside. But here again you must sit down and make an assessment what savings must continue and which can be stopped. If you are, like me, saving for an annual expense such as insurance or any other annual bills, see details about this 
Were you able to find some savings in your budget and savings schedule? If so great, you can skip this portion. If not, you need to go deeper to the bone of the problem. What helped me was a refinance strategy. I applied for several credit cards with zero introductory APR on balance transfers. Many of the cards had up to 18 months introductory rate. Transfer your balances to the new cards. You will be surprised how significant savings you can get with zero interest.
This is important. Once you go thru all this and save money, do not spend it! I made that mistake once. I refinanced all my debt and that made me think that I was out of the trouble and I could continue in my spending habit. I suddenly could handle the debt and had some cash available, so no big deal. Well, dude, yes it still was a big deal. It was a huge deal, duh! Some benefits I got from refinancing expired and I was exactly where I was at the beginning. I realized I had to start all over!
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