In the last article, we’ve talked about the healthy habits one make so they become debt-free and financially stable. In this article, we’re going to talk about the 5 habits that make you lose money.
While we’ve tackled with some of these habits anymore, we’re going to add another list of habits that hurts your pocket, so you know which to avoid or eliminate in your lifestyle.
So what are these 5 habits that make people – maybe, even you! – lose money?
- Wasting time – This is probably something that never entered your mind. Wasting time, why is so? When you waste time, you waste the opportunity which you can use to earn money. For instance, you could have earned money if you only took side gigs or part-time jobs. You will probably not decrease what’s on your pocket today by wasting your time, but you’ll waste opportunities which could have grown your finances over time.
- Forgetting to cancel free trials – When you love taking free trials for the sake of getting a service’s premium for a limited time (usually for a month), be sure to cancel them before its due. Otherwise, you’ll be surprised that, that movie streaming free-trial charged you $10 for this month, and tell yourself, “Why did I ever forget to cancel that free trial?!” Same thing with cancelling subscriptions: if you intend to cancel a subscription, be sure to cancel it right away because some automatically renews your subscription every billing period.
- Choosing convenience over savings – You might think that online shopping can help you save more, but think again. Online shopping can actually costs you more because of the shipping fee and other fees you pay for their services. The same thing goes with credit card shopping: you don’t know how much a “little” is charged to you just because you want things to be “convenient”. Sometimes, it’s better to just show up and go to the store, or to pay in cash, than paying unnecessary fees.
- Buying items because they’re on Sale – Buying an antique-looking plate which you never intend to use because it’s “60% OFF!” is one way, and a very common way, to make you lose your money. Simply put, don’t buy things just because it’s on Sale. Always ask yourself, “Will I use this?” before buying it. However, never hesitate to buy items on Sale if you have immediate practical purpose for it in mind.
- Buying in bulk – Some argue that buying in bulk can help you save money. However, keep in mind that the a portion of the money you used to purchase that bulk could be used elsewhere. The problem with buying in bulk is you’re purchasing plenty of amounts of an item, many of which won’t be immediately used. Then, when suddenly, you need the money, you might not have anything left because you already used it to buy the bulk items – hence, you resort to debt. Buy the things you need at the moment, and keep the ones you can save, so when a need arises, you have some money to spend for it.
Those are the 5 habits that make people lose money. Ask yourself if you have one of those habits, and if you do, eliminate them in your lifestyle and replace it with the good ones. That’s a great way to avoid major financial problems – including bankruptcy!
But if things are already getting worse, or if you’re already in the middle of a bankruptcy case, be sure to have an expert bankruptcy attorney to help you with your case!