6 PROVEN MISTAKES TO KNOW THAT SABOTAGE YOUR MONEY

Have you ever looked at your bank account and immediately got discouraged? You have a 9-5 but you still don’t have enough money to cover your living expenses. You’re living paycheck to paycheck. The truth is, you have enough. The challenge is, you haven’t learned how to manage your money in a way that benefits your relationship with your money. In today’s post, I’m going to share with you 5 Proven Mistakes to Know That Sabotage Your Money. These aren’t just money mistakes for women, they apply to men too.

“One in three families earning between $50-$100,000 are currently living paycheck to paycheck.”
Market Watch

1. Having a Negative View of Money

You learned the basic understanding of money when you were a kid. I’m talking about identifying each coin and bill and understanding it’s value. The basics of money were taught on a very superficial level in many school systems.

As you got older, you were taught more lessons on money. What you might not have been taught, is how to manage your money in the real world once you started paying household bills. Let’s take a big picture visual glance of your finances.

Do you have access to $1000 if you need it in the next 24 hours? Do you have an emergency fund already setup? Even if you do, are you dipping in it for things that aren’t true emergencies. You might take some money out and promise yourself that you’ll put it back, but do you? Life happens and it ends up being out of sight and out of mind.

The way you currently view money, is a reflection of how you were taught to view it. The first people that taught you about money were the people that raised you, whether it be your parents or someone else. You may have adopted their money habits, whether good or bad, as you transformed into an adult.

Can I tell you a secret? Money is not bad and it isn’t negative. It’s the love of money that gives it a bad rep. It takes money to get the basic necessities that you need in life. Food, clothing, and shelter. So, I challenge you to start educating yourself about money. You can do this by taking certain courses, reading books, or hiring a financial advisor.

Once you start to deepen your understanding of money and it’s value, you’ll be able to change how you view it. It took years for you to get to the financial point you’re at, so it’s going to take some time for you to get on the positive side of your money management. If you’re already there, congratulations! Keep on shining and managing your money the right way.

2. Not Having a Budget

When you don’t have a budget in place, you have no way of knowing exactly where your money is going at all times. Plus, you can’t track every dollar you’re spending nor divide every dollar you earn. Not having a budget is a biggie on these money mistakes for women.

Creating a budget can be a hassle. I get it! I remember the day I made the decision to dig into my money and create my own budget. It was frustrating, eye opening, and downright discouraging, BUT I knew that it had to be done if I was going to achieve my money goals. Plus, I wanted to get in front of the debt I was in and getting on a budget had to be done before I could even begin saving anything. So, I decided to get my money right and create my budget.

The One Week Budget book was the turning point for my finances. It walked me through step by step how to create my budget. It even included the templates I needed to use to set it up, which I still use to this very day to maintain my monthly budget. As a result, I’ve been able to completely automate all my monthly bills. It takes me about 30 minutes per month to review my budget and confirm all bills were paid as scheduled.

3. Impulsive Buying

This is something that many Americans do on a daily basis. Have you ever been in a store and saw something you liked and said to yourself, “I’ve got to have it.” Then, before you knew it, that item ended up in your cart or draped over your arm? You went in the store for one thing and came out with five.

This type of buying is categorized as a psychological characteristic. I must admit, this mistake may be at the top of these money mistakes for women.

“In January 2020, before the pandemic, the average American spent $155.03 monthly on impulse buys.”
PR Newswire

Many people buy on emotion, or how they’re feeling in that present moment. It takes discipline to stay focused on what you went in a store for and get just that. Even if you see something you want, you have the discipline to keep moving and not pick it up.

If this is a behavior that you find yourself doing more often than not, I’d suggest you sleep on that desire for at least 48 hours. If that desire to buy is still there, and you have the funds to get it, and it is something that will bring you value, then get it. I recommend you do this for every purchase that you are going to make. You’ll soon find yourself saying no to things that would have been a “yes” before.

So, I challenge you to adopt this habit for 30 days to see the difference that it makes in your spending and ability to tell yourself “no.”

4. Eating Out or Buying Take Out

“The average American household spends about $3000 per year dining out.”
Money Under 30

There are many things that can be done with $3000. For starters, it can build a nice savings bump in a high yield savings account for you. At least that way you’ll be able to earn interest on your money. This can also be mortgage plus a car payment for you, depending on your living expenses.

Think about the bills you currently have. Now, grab a piece of paper and write down every bill that you have that is less than $3000/month. The grand total of that list might surprise you, because you may realize that your monthly living expenses are less than $3000.

So, imagine if you took that same $3000 you were going to eat out with, and saved or invested it. If you’re a mother currently working a 9-5, sometimes the last thing you want to do is get home and cook. Adding this to the list of money mistakes for women might be an eye opener for you.

5. Using Your Credit Card for Small Purchases

Do you ever whip out your credit card to pay for your takeout? Do you use it at the gas station? This can be a bad habit IF you’re not already paying off your credit card balance in full each month.

The main reason you want to do this is so you don’t end up spending more money in the long run on interest. For example, if you buy dinner one night for $20, and you put it on your credit card which has a 24% interest rate on your purchases, that means you will be paying $24.80 for that meal. That’s one example.

Now multiply that times each charge you have on your credit card. See how quickly those interest charges add up. This is why it’s important for you to pay your credit card balance in full each month, to avoid paying interest charges. So the next time you get dinner, you might want to pay in cash, especially if you don’t already have a habit of paying your balance off in full each month.

6. Not Investing in Yourself

This is something that you should be doing for the rest of your life. Some of the ways you can invest in yourself are by getting educated about money in the form of the courses and classes I talked about earlier. You can also invest in yourself by exercising and putting the right foods in your body on a consistent basis. Join a gym or get a personal trainer. You can also invest in yourself by understanding how to diversify your income.

Some of these may seem hard to do, especially if you’re a mother and have a household to maintain. These money mistakes for women happen all too frequently. If you’re currently working a 9-5, do you also have extra income that you’re earning from other sources like your own business?

You can even sharpen your existing skills to turn them into a profitable side business for you. Maybe you don’t want to go that route just yet and want something that you can do from home. Have you considered a home based business? The possibilities on how to invest in yourself are endless.

Changing the way you view money and having a better relationship with money might seem impossible because of the size of your current debt. I promise you, it can be done! Start out by doing some of the suggestions I discussed in this post.

In these 6 Proven Mistakes to Know That Sabotage Your Money, soon you won’t be making any of them. You will see your relationship with money turn around and you will actually be excited about your process every step of the way. You can do it! Now, go get those coins in order and turn your money around.

Are you ready to start your own journey as an Entrepreneur but not sure if it’s right for you? I’ve put together a free guide for you. You can grab my Home Based Business Decision Guide here. I guarantee you’ll walk away with an answer after reading through the guide!

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