For many of us, New Year’s resolutions symbolize either achieving a new goal and/or letting go of bad habits. As a personal finance coach, every financial goal I hear from most people surrounds saving more money. Often people want me to tell them how they can fire their boss, make more money and live happily ever after. Many are stunned and for some reason frustrated, however, when I reveal that it’s not about their boss or how much money they are making. It’s about them, the money they are wasting and the bad habits that are holding their lives and personal finances hostage.
Check the list to see if you find any bad habits that may have kept you broke in 2010.
1. You are hopelessly insecure. Every time you make a decision, and in this case purchase, based on what you believe someone else will ‘think’ about you as opposed to what’s best for you and your situation, you make a decision to take one step closer into Brokedom. There will never be a way for you to achieve your financial goals if you continue to care what others think about you. Once you learn to stop giving a damn about what other people think about what you drive, where you live or what kind of purse you’re rocking, you may actually have a chance to build some wealth!
2. You talk too much. Why do you need a $100 unlimited usage cell phone plan if you work for someone else 8 to 10 hours out of the day? Between an average work schedule and free nights and weekends, that leaves you with maybe 4 hours a day to talk on the phone. Do you seriously spend that entire time talking? . . . If you are talking that much and it’s not because you’re self-employed, then quite frankly you talk too much and more than likely nothing you’re talking about is truly adding to your life or your savings account; it is, however, definitely depleting both.
By switching your cellular plan to something more sensible, you can potentially save $30 per month which equates to $360 per year. Using the time you spend chatting more purposely, efficiently and wisely? Priceless!
3. You procrastinate. You always have a reason that you are waiting to do something. Women are always waiting until they get married or until their kids reach a certain age to make strides in their goals. You are waiting to start a college fund and waiting to open a Roth IRA. While you wait for this or that, the world just keeps spinning and folks who don’t even have as much talent as you do are spinning big successful circles around you! As a friend of mine blogged recently, “Procrastination is failure in slow motion.”
