Common Habits That Are Costing Your More Than You Realize
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No matter your current financial status, the desire to improve your finances and cultivate generational wealth is constant. That means learning how to manage and save money while also investing to secure your future. Although a common goal, not everyone is prepared to handle the steps necessary to accomplish it. Essentially, building wealth requires a shift in your relationship with money, which involves being honest about your shortcomings.
Take everyday habits, for instance. Whether you're trying to increase your savings, get out of debt, or invest, you have to look at your spending habits and correct unhealthy patterns that waste money and stifle your progress. While it may be a hard pill to swallow, here's a look at some daily habits and ways to improve.
Buying Coffee Every Morning
Coffee is among the top caffeinated beverages consumed and purchased globally. Although delicious to drink and packed with health benefits, this daily habit can cost you more than you realize. Spending $3 on a cup of coffee every day over a year adds up to $1095. That money could be an emergency fund, help you knock out a bill, or be invested into something that will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in 10 years or more.
What's the solution? Make coffee at home. Purchase an efficient coffeemaker, buy your favorite brand of coffee grounds or beans, and research recipes and tips like how to make cold brew coffee to diversify your caffeinated beverages.
Choosing Unhealthy Meal Options
While it's okay to indulge in unhealthy food options occasionally, consuming too much of the wrong thing can cost you a significant amount of money. Whether you order takeout or prepare dishes high in fat, sugar, and salt (with little to no nutritional value) at home, you're supplying your body with inefficient fuel.
Eventually, you start experiencing health problems. That means paying for visits to the doctor, prescriptions, and corrective surgeries and therapies to improve your health. Depending on the type of insurance you have, this can be several hundred or thousand dollars a year. Not to mention, if your health gets too bad, you can't work efficiently, resulting in a lower annual salary.
Although changing your diet isn't the easiest task, it will save you money now and in the future. Start by eliminating unhealthy foods from your diet. Then, find healthy alternatives or a nutritional program to follow that enhances your physical and emotional well-being.
Drinking And Smoking
Drinking and smoking appear to be practical solutions for coping with overwhelming emotions. You can temporarily numb your feelings and live in the moment. Be that as it may, drinking and smoking every day adds up quickly.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average American spends about 1% of their income on alcohol every year. That equates to approximately $550 a year or more if you drink daily.
For someone with a smoking habit, the average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $6.96. If you smoke a pack a day, you're looking at a bill of $2,540 a year.
These annual costs don't even include the expenses you'll accumulate in healthcare. As alcohol and cigarettes can harm your health, you'll have to spend thousands of dollars recovering or managing existing conditions.
Ultimately, quitting these habits is essential to your health and financial success. You can go cold turkey, consult with your doctor about medications, visit a therapist, join a support group, or consider entering a rehab facility.
While outside and uncontrollable circumstances can impact your finances, your journey to financial success is your responsibility. You determine your destiny, and if you're indulging in habits like those listed above, you're allowing money to go down the drain. Instead of internalizing the guilt, the best thing you can do is identify the problem, correct your behavior, and begin living life more responsibly.
