When it comes to good money habits, let me ask you a question
Are you enforcing good financial habits or not?
if you are not sure what is good or bad money habit
There are few affiliate links, if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you
Read my post below as I collected all the good money habits under one roof
We all commit few bad money habits in our lives

What is most important is to learn from our mistakes and never let it happen again
Now let me start with the below
Create a budget and stick to it
If I speak to you for 10 days to convince you the importance of building a budget
It would be in vain if you don’t try it for yourself
I know you may think, what is a budgeting?
Well, I will ask you a question and be honest to yourself
Do you know what is your mortgage or rent percentage to your income?
I bet you only those who maintain a family budget can answer this question
Think about all other expenses like groceries and gas
If you have a budget, you would be able to monitor your expenses
And try your best to stick to the numbers you assigned before you start the month

As shown above if you use one of my budget sheet in excel or even word and PDF document, you will be able to calculate the percentage of every expense according to your total income
Pay yourself first
Paying yourself first is one of the top good money habits
What does it mean?
Simply you deduct money from every paycheck when you get paid
Before you start spending your income to cover expenditures
You take that deducted money and force it into investment channels
By doing that, there is no chance of facing any deficit of meeting your deducted obligatory amount
Set financial goals for yourself
Not setting financial goals for yourself is similar to going camping without tent
I was on the phone with my financial advisor and I asked him this question
How much do I need to contribute to obtain $100,000 in 10 years for kids’ education
His reply was very rapid, just by investing $5,000 annually with 7% interest
My money will be doubled in 10 years
My idea is you have to decide how much you want after 10 years or when you retire assuming you have decided when to retire
Auto transfer money to your saving account
Nowadays all banks have the feature to auto deduct a percentage or specific amount on your paycheck day
Assuming it is biweekly on Friday or whatever, you bank can auto transfer your agreed upon amount to your saving account
I know I spoke earlier about paying yourself first but auto transfer is essential if you plan to buy big item like car or electronics
Buy generic brands
I discussed before in previous posts the concept of buying generic brands
Especially when saving money on groceries
I want to take this advice to apply it on everything
Take for example, electronics like TV if you buy a generic brand instead of the well known brands
You could be saving 50% of the TV price
I will tell you an idea, I was hesitant to buy generic brands like you
One day I decided to buy generic brand and add extended warranty on top of that
Save money coming from side hustles, bonus and tax refund
If you are making money from rental property or side hustles then save that money
All financial advisors tell you to imagine that you are not making that money
I know it is easy to say that but it is hard to apply
I know a lot of people start making commitment before getting their bonus
While others they do the same for their tax refunds
Again this is one of the top good money habits if you are able to apply it on yourself
Use a jar for your spare change
I know what you would think
You think I am acting cheap and making an issue out of the spare change
Don’t under estimate what you can do with your spare change
I know you will change your mind especially if you read my penny saving challenge
Read it and see what you will be able to accumulate in saving at the end of the year
Have fun with money saving challenges
If you are one of those who enjoy taking few challenges
Then I encourage you to apply one of these 52 weeks money saving challenges
To lessen the burden with so many money saving schema
You can simply use your money saving challenges towards saving for big items
Don’t be fooled by any sales
Recently I was in one of the big box stores, I noticed a good winter jacket on sale
I have to admit, the price was very enticing, I held it in my hand
Started to use all of my logic to resist buying it
Well I did that because I know I have more than 5 winter jackets
And buying a new one especially during the pandemic is really a big waste of money
I acted rational but I know not everyone will act the same
Build an emergency fund
Building an emergency fund is one of the good money habits that can take you to the next level in your financial life
It is a very simple financial habit that few people know about
You simply save $1000 or more on a separate saving account
It has to be easy to liquidate and hard to reach
Are you confused? I will explain it again
Make your emergency fund money in a way similar to cash
A saving account that can make you a little interest but not in bond or stocks
You should be able to use it in case of emergency
Also know what you own and not lose its value when liquating in case of stocks or mutual funds that can lose part of its value
Keep it out of reach by having the money in separate bank account so you make it hard for you to touch the money
I will leave the reach part for you to decide it on your own
Plan your meals with shopping list
Nothing can save you money better than using a shopping list
It can be on a sheet of paper or you can use a mobile app
I actually prefer to use a mobile app called AnyList
It integrates with Amazon Alexa and this make my life so easy
If I remember any thing to buy before going for my weekly grocery shopping trip
I just call Alexa to add it to my shopping list app
Stay out of debt
I believe getting the feeling of relief after paying of your debt is the second best feeling
It comes next after the feeling of someone telling you that he loves you or the feeling of your first kiss
If you are one of those who are really in debt
Do yourself a favor and read what I wrote on how to get out of your debt
I was in debt but once I got out of it, I will make sure never to fall again in debt
Similar to being cured from addition or successfully quitting smoking after a long battle of trials
Practice living on less than what you make
This is what we call it living frugally
I know when I speak about it to people close to me
They make fun of it and see it as a cheap and useless way of saving money
I am a true believer of living a frugal live
Remember I live a frugal not a stingy living
What is the difference between being frugal and not stingy?
Well, I go with my family to restaurants every now and then
Me and my wife can order a family plate for 2 persons to save money
So I am not against to eating out but it is just a simple practice to save money
Also I use my own bags when doing grocery shopping
I hope you get the idea of living frugally
It is one of the good money habits that you need to adapt and practic
Invest early on retirement plan
I started investing on retirement when I was 37 years old
After wasting 15 years that’s why I wish everyone can avoid my mistake
Good news is if this is your case and you haven’t invested in retirement saving yet
It is never too late, start now and fast track by contributing more into your retirement account
This is one of the mandatory good money habits you have to do
Don’t forget to invest in kids’ education
I invest way more in kids’ education than in both my and my wife’s retirement plans
I cannot imagine seeing both of my 2 kids not being able to join college because they cannot afford it
Of if they join they graduate with a huge debt that each more than 10 years of their life
I know some parents don’t care but that’s not me
Buy used items instead of taking a loan
I admit I learned this good financial habit the hard way
My previous car I bought it new from a dealership on 5 years installment
With I believe interest 1.7% APR – Annual Percentage Rate
Monthly payment of $530
After 3 years my car was worth less than the remaining installments
If I sell it I will still be paying the dealership out of my pocket
Bottom line, I knew that buying big items like cars and TVs should be planned ahead
Especially for cars, nothing wrong from buying used cards
Do you know cars lose 30% of their value when they go on the road Click To TweetSave fund for your gifts and parties
Every now and then we have birthdays to attend and buy gifts for
Also we have parties like Thanksgiving or Christmas – those are not a surprise party
Every year same birthdays and parties come on same days
We decided to plan for them
You can keep any stores gift cards to buy gifts for your next birthday event
Make quick cash using these survey sites
Respondent - pays between $100-$150 per hour
Swagbucks - complete rewards and loyality program
ClixSense - very similar to Swagbucks
Survey Junkie - turn points into cash
Rakuten - Get cash back on your shopping
Leave a Reply