Have you ever wondered why your bank account is always empty yet you earn a ‘decent’ amount of money? For a number of people, making money is priority, in fact, one of their goals is to work on how they can have multiple streams of income. Whereas this is a great objective, financial experts reveal that without appropriate money habits, becoming financially successful remains a delusion. This means that how one spends their money is just as important as how they manage it. Reagan Mugisha, a finance manager says to be able to break bad financial habits, one needs to understand what they are. He lists a few such as; managing money without a budget, spending more than you earn, making impulse purchases, keeping too much savings in cash, not sticking to a budget; to mention but a few. He therefore says, for anyone to take the right step towards breaking bad financial habits, they first of all need to take some time to reflect on how they manage money. “Identify behaviours and patterns that lead you into such habits. Is it a weakness with spending? Is it fear of investing? Or the dire need to keep your money other than investing it? Then devise ways of challenging this,” he says. He also recommends seeking services of a financial coach who can offer advice in terms of how you can reach your financial goals. “He can also equip you with money management skills and improve your financial literacy altogether.” An article ‘5 Steps to Unlearning Bad Financial Habits’ indicates that our relationship with money-how we treat it, the habits we adopt, and how well we manage wealth, is something that builds and shapes over time, often unconsciously. The first stage of transforming money management issues is admitting them and identifying them. Once you recognise that a certain financial habit is negatively impacting your life, you can muster the resolve and will to change it. If we remain blissfully unaware of why we struggle with money (often blaming external factors) we will never be able to break free of the negative cycles that erode wealth, the article reads. Start with a budget and a plan for the future One of the biggest issues we have with money management is a “wing it” mentality, the article shows. We don’t plan for how we will spend and save. We especially don’t think about building real wealth or investing. You can change this problem — including the impulse to spend using the money you should be saving or money you don’t have — by budgeting. Sit down with your finances and comb over your last few months of spending. Where does your money tend to go? Where would you like it to go? This will help you recognise your pitfalls and where you can better manage and save your money. It helps to be goal-oriented with finances, when you have something to work towards, you are less likely to waste what you have. It is also recommended to go beyond identifying triggers and stop avoiding money conversations as well as looking to a money mentor.
