What would you say is your worst spending habit? Is it a specific item? Everyone has them and these habits can be a variety of things depending on your lifestyle and interests. But what bad spending habits can often allude to are bad savings habits. And as much as we would all like to spend more instead of save more, saving money should always take precedence.
So how do you get into good savings habits? Well, it starts with breaking the bad spending habits. That’s why we’ve created a list of the most common spending habits we hear about from our customers and give you tips on how to break them.
The Convenience Factor
No time to cook? Just grab something quickly on the way home. This is one thing everyone can fall guilty to. Whether it’s ordering in, taking out, going out or grabbing on the go, the convenience factor for the food industry is one of those bad spending habits we all fall victim to. So how do you break these eating out habits? Practice. It will involve pre-prepping meals, organization and being creative when it comes to grocery shopping. Think of meals that will be easy to make and use as leftovers for those busy nights and lunches the next day. Pick a day to do all your grocery shopping and prep while you start to put everything away so you can use your fridge as a grab and go throughout the week. With food already prepped to go, you won’t have to worry about the time crunch and have the same convenience factor as eating out.
Worrying About It Later
Are you keeping track of your spending throughout the month? Do you know how much money you put onto your credit card each month? We’re not innocent when it comes to this either, but by throwing purchases onto your credit card without keeping your budget in mind is what can get you into debt in the first place. Especially if you’re trying to tackle debt, putting purchases on your credit card compared to using cash or debit is what can lead you off track. So come the end of the month and you’re looking at your credit card statement and realize how much you’ve actually spent. Next month try and plan your purchases better or even try not to use your credit card for that month and only work with the funds you have available through cash or debit.
Justifying Your Spending
No matter what we’re spending money on, there is always a reason for the purchase right? But when it comes to the non-essentials do you have to justify your purchase and why you’re spending money on it? This is a bad habit when it comes to things like shopping and other expenses but there are ways you can break it. We often get caught justifying our needs versus what we want when it comes to spending. Always be thinking to yourself, “is this something I need”? Try and think about everything you already own and if you can use something you already have or look for items that can be reused and that are multipurpose before going out to buy a new one.
Treating Yourself
We’re not saying that you don’t deserve special treatment, but this also has to be done within reason. This also goes along with justifying your purchases because we don’t want you to be giving yourself an excuse to go out and spend money. Everyone splurges now and again, but it can also be on little things as a form of a reward and doesn’t have to break the bank. But it is making sure you have the funds available to do so and that spoiling yourself isn’t a regular occurrence. Needless to say, we always support celebrating (within budget) special occasions and accomplishments.
What is your bad spending habit? And how do you plan on breaking it? Let us know in the comment section below.
