George K.
Breaking a bad habit is hard. But what if you had some motivation to do that once and for all? What if that motivation was money?
Take a look at four bad habits that you should break in order to save money.
1. Only Paying the Minimum
Whenever your credit card bill is due, you make the minimum payment. This is not a sustainable strategy. Your balance will keep growing because of transactions and interest until it reaches the limit. Then, you will max out your card.
Maxing out a credit card often comes with consequences like higher interest rates and lower credit scores. The biggest consequence is that you will lose out on the security that available credit provides. What will you do when there’s an emergency expense, and there’s no room left on your card?
Ideally, you should avoid maxing out your card so that you don’t have to deal with this tricky situation. If you haven’t avoided it, your next best option is to apply for a loan online. Be sure to pick loans that are available in your location — not every online loan will be. For instance, if you live in Houston, Dallas or San Antonio, you can click here to see how you may be able to borrow money online in Texas to help with emergencies. You don’t want to spend your time researching your loan options and find out that they’re not even accessible in The Lone Star state.
2. Smoking
Smoking cigarettes is already considered a bad habit when it comes to your health. Well, it’s a bad habit for your wallet too. The National Cancer Institute found that the average pack-a-day smoking habit will cost someone $2,292 per year and $22,920 every ten years.
It’s not just the price of cigarette packs that will hurt your finances. Here are some other ways that the habit will cost you:
- Medical costs
- Dental care costs
- High insurance premiums
3. Buying Coffee Every Day
There’s nothing wrong with getting a coffee-to-go every once in a while. It’s a small expense that you shouldn’t feel the need to deprive yourself of completely. The problem lies when you make a habit out of buying coffee all of the time. Next Advisor calculated that you would spend about over $2,000 in a year on coffee if you went to Starbucks every day.
So, what can you do to save money? You can learn how to brew specialty coffees in the comfort of your own home and save your to-go orders for special occasions.
This dentist who does good-quality dental implants in Chattanooga also adds that drinking too much coffee may also cost you more on your dental care. Coffee is acidic and erodes the enamel of your teeth making them more susceptible to cavities, and it can also cause staining. It’s advisable to drink coffee in moderation and drink water immediately afterward.
4. Retail Therapy
Retail therapy is a bad habit that can quickly get out of control. If you go shopping every time that you have a bad day at work, get upset at your significant other or worry about an upcoming deadline, you will sink into debt quickly.
What can you do instead? You need to find healthier strategies for coping with stress—ones that don’t involve opening up your wallet. These are a few ideas that you can try out:
- Going for a walk
- Listening to music
- Meditating
- Calling up a friend
- Playing with a pet
Breaking these bad habits will be challenging. But anytime you’re feeling like giving up and going back to your old ways, take a look at your bank account and remind yourself how much money you’ve saved.
