How to develop spending habits
Tags: Spending Habits, Money Management, Wealth

The Christmas shopping season is here! It doesn’t have to stay a pipe dream to get your fill of shopping and fine dining. Spending smarter can put you on the fast track to turning those “dreams” into reality.

Let’s discover how you can break bad spending habits and create new, healthy ones.

How to break your bad spending habits

Start by focusing on our not-so-great spending habits. There are three spending habits you need to break if you want to make your dreams reality:

1.Spending Without a Plan

It is common that a lot of you would find your money disappears quickly and quietly. You don’t know where it went as most of you don’t have a period budget. Paying too much for a loved bag, overspending on your hang-out budget, or impulse-buying accessories, all these would double as a knife sharpener. Too many people live on more than they make and use credit cards to cover the difference.

2.Making Impulse Purchases

In today’s constantly connected world, impulse shopping becomes the name of the game for many millennial consumers with instant gratification the modern norm. According to the statistics from Finder.com, it shows that 81% of millennials makes impulse buys at least once a month and on average, the amount spent per impulse purchase is $71 online and $82 in store in 2019. However, nearly half proportion of millennials tend to feel guilty after an impulse buy and regret it.

3.Spending Without Keeping Track

Spending money is not one-off. Losing track of the money you’ve spent or payments you’ve scheduled could eventually come back to bite you. When you pay for convenience without keeping track, money will slip between your fingers. So, it is necessary to track your spending and take the time to have a second count of your payments.

Replace Bad Spending Habits With Good Ones

1.Live on A Reasonable Budget

Give every dollar a name at the beginning of the month and make money work harder for you. Creating a plan for your money allows you to prioritize your spending. Put your money goals — perhaps getting out of debt or going on a vacation — at the top of your budget.

2.Understand Yourself and Your Motivations

It is important to have a better understanding of yourself and learn how to control emotion. For every one of us, our daily choices add up over time. Take a moment to think about where your spending habits come from and learn to say no to yourselves in order to gain something greater in the long run — regardless of your current emotions. It takes wisdom to make decisions based on what will drive you forward, and it takes courage to put blinders on to what other people think.

3.Make Room for Spending

Although we need plans for savings, don’t forget that our ultimate purpose is spending smarter. Instead of pretending that spending money is a bad thing, be intentional about setting aside a chunk of money — big or small — each month to do something you love and take your own time. Give yourself permission to spend some money!

Always keep in mind when you spend smarter, your money goes further. And it is not only about spending money, but also about enjoying life.

(Reference: Ramsey)