Our daily habits play a huge role in our lifestyle. Some of our daily habits are so ingrained that we don’t even think of doing them – brushing our teeth, washing our hands – these things we do on a daily basis shape us and set us up for positive growth. Or, if they’re bad daily habits, they hold us back from reaching our goals and our true potential.
When it comes to your finances, what are your daily habits? Do they support your best self and help you achieve your goals? Taking a closer look at our daily habits can help identify what holds us back or what helps us grow. Here are a few positive, daily habits you can start to integrate if you’re feeling like you could use some support.
Read the news and daily stories about personal finance and investing. Checking in on personal finance news and updates everyday (or every couple of days) is a great way to stay informed about the latest news and developments in the financial world. The environment we are in has a big impact on our lives, and that goes for our financial wellbeing as well. News about changing interest rates, economic indicators, or financial products, can keep you in the know about what’s changing and how it affects your financial world. Being “in the know” with current financial news can also help you identify potential risks to your investments or financial wellbeing, and could even identify potential opportunities for growth and prosperity. Understanding broader economic trends is crucial, and paying attention to current financial events and news, can help you adjust your financial plans, such as investments or career decisions, in response to changing economic conditions. It’s all information that helps you make better financial plans for yourself and your family. Don’t forget, it’s important to consume financial news in a balanced way. Too much information can lead to anxiety or overly fearful decision making. It’s also important to critically evaluate the sources of your financial news to ensure they are reputable and unbiased.
Track your spending. Tracking your daily spending is such a beneficial habit for financial wellbeing! For starters, it forces you to be more aware of where you are spending your money. Many people underestimate how much they spend on various expenses, and tracking helps provide a clear picture of your financial habits. It’s also a crucial step in the budgeting process too. By truly understanding your spending patterns, you can create a realistic budget that aligns with your financial goals. This allows you to allocate funds to important priorities, like savings and debt repayment. You can identify problem areas, prevent overspending, set more intentional financial goals, find ways to save more and allocate your money in different ways, and this habit specifically leads to long-term financial wellbeing. It’s a powerful daily habit that shows yourself that you are locked in and commited to your own financial health.
Check your bank accounts and review recent charges. This goes hand in hand with tracking your spending, but checking in on your actual accounts (banks and credit cards) is another important daily habit to enlist in your life. Besides all of the reasons above, this habit helps you to know that your accounts are secure. No fraudulent behavior can be overlooked if you’re someone who checks in regularly. This habit will also help you avoid overdraft fees or any insufficient funds charges, as well as helping you maintain your healthy credit score, it aids in debt management, helps with your peace of mind, and will help you make smart decisions and plans for the future. Keeping a close eye on your money is a major factor in our overall financial wellbeing, and it shouldn’t be skipped!
Stick to your budget and bill payment schedule. Keeping a strict budget doesn’t always sound fun, but it is the backbone to our strong and positive financial daily habits. A strong budget keeps you in control of your financial life and allows you to prioritize the most important expenses and goals. Having a system set up for paying your bills (whether that is automation or a designated day each week to sit down and pay your bills) is a helpful way to reduce stress and anxiety and will give you peace of mind knowing that your system is working and keeping you on your path to success and wellbeing. It can allow you to focus your energy on all of the other important areas of your life, because you know you have a strong hold on your budget and your bills. If you share finances with a partner, a budget and bill payment schedule can facilitate open communication and collaboration on financial matters. It helps avoid conflicts and ensures both people are on the same page.
Stop and reflect before you purchase something. Control your impulse spending. First and foremost, stopping to think before you make a purchase enables you to check your budget and see if you have the funds available for the purchase. This practice ensures that you don’t overspend or dip into savings meant for other financial goals, which is a huge part of sticking to your budget. Reflecting on a purchase prompts you to consider its priority in your life. Is it more important than other financial goals or needs? This helpful practice can assist you in making informed choices about where your money goes. This simple habit of reflection can lead to a better understanding of personal finance. You learn to evaluate the financial implications of your decisions and in turn, you start to create a sense of financial responsibility in your life. A solid daily habit for sure!
Reserve eating out for special occasions and make most of your meals at home. Before the pandemic, I used to eat out at restaurants maybe two or three times a week. Now, I save dining out for special occasions and some weeks I don’t dine out at all. I’ve created the habit of cooking at home throughout my entire week. I plan my dinners so that they can create lunches for the next day. I plan my meals so that I don’t overspend at the grocery store. This simple, daily habit saves me a lot of money. This habit has a huge potential for cost savings for you as well since restaurant and takeaway meals are typically more expensive than homemade meals. You can control your food-related spending more effectively by reducing the temptation to dine out impulsively. Shopping for groceries more efficiently and strategically also helps you with meal-planning, which helps you reduce food waste, and helps you stay in control of your health and diet. This is also a strong practice for lowering our impacts on the environment, compared to the production and transportation of restaurant and takeout meals. Reducing waste associated with takeout containers also helps the environment. I love this daily habit and I have noticed major positive impacts on my food spending and my overall financial wellbeing.
Only use your credit card if you can afford to pay for the goods or services in cash. This is debt prevention step one! If you only charge what you can afford to pay off, you avoid carrying a balance and incurring interest charges. This is crucial for maintaining good financial health. Responsible use of your credit card and paying off your balance in full and on time demonstrates financial discipline, which can lead to a higher credit score, and we know that a good credit score can result in better borrowing terms and lower interest rates on loans and credit cards. A big win for personal financial wellbeing.
The ways we live and the daily habits we create can have major implications on how we budget, how we save, and how we live our lives. Building habits that create positive change in our lives takes a lot of discipline and dedication. It requires us to step up to the plate and not be afraid or avoidant. Making better financial decisions is something we can do everyday in small ways and big ways. The impacts can last a lifetime! What are some of your helpful daily habits that make you feel in charge of your financial life? Image found here.