There are a lot of bad spending habits that can keep you from reaching your financial goals. In this post we’ll take a look at some of the worst offenders that you should avoid to ensure you keep healthy finances.
Swiping Credit Or Debit Cards Too Often
Swiping your credit or debit card too often can be a bad spending habit. It can lead to overspending and make it difficult to keep track of your finances. Plus, it can also damage your credit score.
If you’re trying to get your finances in order, it’s best to avoid swiping your card too often. Instead, use cash or a checkbook to keep track of your spending.
Not Knowing How To Stick To A Budget
If you’re someone that struggles to stick to a budget, you’re not alone. In fact, according to a recent study, 60% of Americans don’t have a budget. That’s a lot of people!
There are a lot of reasons why not having a budget can be detrimental to your financial health. For starters, it’s difficult to save money without knowing where your money is going. It’s also tough to make informed decisions about your finances if you’re not tracking your spending.
Not having a budget can also lead to impulsive spending and debt. If you’re not mindful of your spending, it’s easy to overspend and rack up credit card debt. This can put a strain on your finances and negatively affect your health through stress and worry.
Setting up a budget is easier than you think and is perhaps the most important tool in creating healthy financial habits and helping you avoid the rest of these bad spending habits.
Start by recording all the money that is coming in and going out of your bank account each month. This will allow you to allocate enough money to your bills, identify things that can be cut and how much to allocate to saving. It can be as easy as using a pen and paper. Although we recommend for best results to use a convenient personal finance software tool like Quicken.
Overspending On Unnecessary Items
Overspending on unnecessary items is another of the common bad spending habits because it leads to debt, which can be difficult to repay. It can also ruin your credit score, making it harder to get loans for important things like a home or a car.
And finally, it can cause stress and anxiety, which can impact your overall health. So next time you’re tempted to buy something you don’t need, think about all of the potential consequences first.
Having Multiple Sources Of Debt
Debt can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you manage it. Having multiple types of debt is one of the bad spending habits because it can lead to unmanageable debt levels.
This can happen when you have multiple debts with high interest rates and/or minimum payments that are too high. When this happens, it can be difficult to make progress on any of your debts.
It’s important to remember that debt should be used wisely and only for things that will improve your financial situation.
If you have multiple credit card debts it may be beneficial to consolidate them into one simple payment. This can be done with debt management services.
Not Shopping Around For Better Deals
When it comes to spending money, too many people make the mistake of not shopping around for better deals. This is a bad habit that can end up costing you a lot of money in the long run.
By not taking the time to compare prices and look for discounts, you could be paying way more than you need to for the things you buy.
Not only will shopping around help you save money, but it can also help you learn more about personal finance. By seeing different prices and options for products and services, you can start to get a better understanding of what things are worth and how to get the best value for your money.
So next time you’re about to make a purchase, take a few minutes to compare prices and consider using a cashback app.
Buying The Cheapest Items
When it comes to personal finance, one of the worst bad spending habits you can have is buying the cheapest items. This is because, in the long run, cheap items often end up costing more money.
For example, let’s say you buy a cheap pair of shoes. The shoes might fall apart after just a few months, which means you’ll have to buy another pair sooner than you would if you had bought a more expensive pair that lasted longer. In the end, you’ll end up spending more money on shoes than if you had just bought a better quality pair to begin with.
Bad Spending Habits Conclusion
Now that we know some of the bad spending habits to avoid, we can start working on building better, healthy financial habits instead.
If you need more help with your personal finances, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and check out our blog. We’ll be sure to provide you with all the resources you need to get your finances in order!