When creating content on personal finance tips and tricks, we often explored the technical steps we can take to increasing our wealth, from the latest stocks to buy and the best credit card with the highest rebates to get our most bang for buck. Upon researching on the behaviour of highly successful personal finance professionals, we realised that it was not the amount of knowledge they had that helped this group of successful professionals grow their wealth, but rather, the lifestyle they adopted and habits they have developed.
While we do not deny the need to still have technical information in your hands, it is imperative to note that one simply won’t get rich from plenty knowledge and no action. The biggest factor that can influence your wealth in the future is very simple really, and that is, changing your lifestyle habits.
There’s no real big secret to success to get rich. Accumulating your wealth requires hard work, dedication, and most importantly good and consistent habits that can improve your personal finances, and here’s some to get you started.
01 Track your Expenses
I know, the idea of having to record down every single transaction into your personal budget sounds like the world’s most mundane, insignificant task. But hear me out, the main reason why you should track your expenses is that it gives you greater control over your expenditure. This ensures that you hold yourself accountable for your spending and helps to keep your finances organized.
Simply spend 10 to 15 minutes of your time daily to pen down your expenditure. Review it and ask yourself if every dollar spent was worthwhile. This simple question and habit will help you steer clear of debt and ensure that you remain focus on your personal financial end goals.
02 Stop Chasing After Brand-Name Products
Is it necessary for you to get your hands on the latest Gucci product or the newest Apple gadget? Create a priority list because you can’t have everything within a budget. This does not mean you can’t spoil yourself on self-care days! You can. But, this also means that you will need to learn to cut costs mercilessly on other things that you don’t care about by buying generic and less expensive brands. You’ll find that some of the richest men in the world don plain T-shirts and hold their wealth in assets instead.
03 Home-Made is King
This does not mean to stay indoors or to shut your doors at your friends whenever they ask you out. Rather, if you can do it at home, then why bother spending it outside? If you are a coffee enthusiast, it does not hurt to wake up 5 minutes earlier to make your own coffee and bring it to work. Wanting to achieve your fitness goals does not necessarily mean spending on expensive gym membership deals to buy motivation and self-discipline. Hold yourself accountable and don’t choose the easy way out! Exercising outdoors at the park or at home can most definitely help you achieve the desired outcome as well.
04 A Mandatory No Spending Day
Choose a day once a week and challenge yourself to not spend a single dollar. There is no right or wrong way of doing this; you can choose to say no spending altogether or you can just limit yourself in the areas in which you do not do so well in. Incorporating a spending freeze into your schedule prevents impulse purchase and could help you better manage your expenditure. For this to be successful, you need to plan and make sure you stick closely to it.
05 Doing regular investments
I’m sure you are familiar with the saying “Let your money work for hard for you”. Investing is important as it allows you to grow your wealth but also generate an additional income stream for yourself. You need to understand the benefits of investing early and taking advantage of the potential gains from compound interest. By continuously reinvesting your earnings, you are exponentially increasing your return on investment.
If you are new to investing, and not sure how to start, you can always consider platforms such as roboadvisors or simple investment plans. The key to this, is to get started and not let inertia hold you back. There are various tools and platforms out there to guide you along the way, get started with a simple google search.
If you want to save money, it’s important to pick up the correct habits. You don’t have to immediately pick up all the above-mentioned, but adopting just one or two first will help to start the ball rolling. While it’s definitely not easy to change up your lifestyle overnight, implementing small habits and slowly adding on more will eventually amount to something. Remember, the daily habits you have will snowball to the goals you wish to achieve. Stop procrastinating and start today!
