Essential Habits to Develop to Reach Financial Stability
- Written by Chloe Taylor
Some people are born accountants and can handle money better than they can handle anything else in the world. If you’re not one of those people, it’s important to work on developing certain habits that will teach you how to manage your finances and become stable. Here are a few habits to adopt to reach financial stability in no time:
Automate your savings
In most cases, automating your savings can become what gets you out of your financial rut. Even if you don’t have a solid savings plan or emergency fund, make sure to set aside some money automatically every time you get paid (transferred from your checking account to your savings account). This is something you shouldn’t even think about—automating will make it happen every month. You can automate your bills to be paid with deduction. If that’s not possible where you live, you can use online banking to make regular automatic payments and ensure all your necessary expenses are taken care of month after month.
Invest in retirement
People who are in their 20s probably don’t save for retirement, but it’s important to at least think about it. It’s true that you can always start planning for your retirement, so why not start now? If you start saving today, over the years, your investment will grow beautifully. In Australia, we have something called Superannuation, a retirement fund similar to social security and 401(k) in the States. So if you live and work in Oz, you can make a contribution to your super fund together with your employer.
Track your spending
When you just swipe your credit card or whip out money from your wallet, it’s easy to end the week with a huge receipt of spending. Where did the money go? You have no idea. Well, if you install a free budgeting app or come up with a nice system yourself, you will keep all your expenses more than visible and find it easier to reduce them. By tracking your spending, you might notice that you spend hundreds of dollars on eating out. Or maybe you’re spending money on gym membership, streaming services and various subscriptions you never use. If you can afford this waste of money, then great, but if you can’t, you’ve just got yourself a great way to save.
Grow your net worth
Many times, in order to grow your net worth, you need to invest money. If you make a calculated expense and find the right personal loan lender, you can get just the right amount to invest in your future. Education is always a good way to spend your personal loan, so consider that expense. Another way to grow your net worth is to look for a side hustle or ask for a promotion at your current job. If you constantly push forward, you’ll notice your net worth grow over the years.
Control impulse spending
Impulse spending is a huge problem for many of us, and it’s very hard to control. It’s so easy to splurge on eating out, online shopping, drinks at the bar, etc.—these can drain your accounts very quickly and completely break your budget. It’s not an easy habit to break, but if you delay your purchases, make it harder to spend and find distractions; you’ll get it under control.
Eliminate debt
Many of us have at least some sort of debt (credit card, personal loan, student loan, etc.) it’s important to start debt elimination as soon as possible. Make a list of all your debts and arrange them by size—smallest to the top and biggest at the bottom. When you have this list in front of you, focus on the first item and put as much money into paying it off as possible (everything extra counts and will help you reach your goal faster). Every time you pay off a debt, treat yourself to a small celebration and then hop to the next one. This process is not fast and easy, and it could take years for some, but it’s not only necessary but also very rewarding. Additionally, when you show debt responsibility, lenders will be much happier to give you loans with better policies in the future.
Avoid lending money
Naturally, you almost feel obliged to lend money to your family or closest friends, but spreading your money around is not a great idea. You might be taking your financial stability seriously, but that doesn’t mean other people are doing the same. When you decide to lend money, treat it like a gift in your mind and spending tracker because it’s very likely that you won’t get your money back unless you sign some sort of contract.
Saving and smart investing for a stable financial future is a hard task that contains a lot of moving parts. However, if you listen to these tips and try following them for at least a few months, you’ll love the new numbers on your financial statements!