Negative Financial Habits to Break by N. Morris

It is well know amongst financial advisers that those who put off bills and contact with creditors end up paying more, do not get caught up in this vicious circle which can consume your effective available money resources and diminish the financial reward effectiveness and enjoyment of your work environment.

Here are some cash draining habits you should seek to avoid in order to maximize your incomes use fullness:

Review bank statements regularly looking for wrong or miscalculated or unknown charges
This practice is useful as it picks up old forgotten subscriptions that were perhaps supposed to be canceled on your behalf but never confirmed. It also prevents you not knowing about bank abuse by fraud and other financial dangers. It has never been easier to manage and review your account due to the proliferation of internet banking and electronic services available via mobile phone from banks. Keep up to date on your account and watch each detail to ensure the are no mistakes.

Do not ignore bills and legal matters which arrive via post, file via the web.
Either forward them directly to your administration or accounting partner or deal with them personally but deal with them regardless as lateness in responding to declarations or payments can cost money and profits in additional charges and fees. The same applies with greater priority to credit and debit facilities as these will typically have a higher interest component charge for late and missed payments that normal. Again many companies and public services are available as electronic services via the internet, saving you time and money on postal and office supplies and increasing productivity and speed of processing.

Don't spend everything you have!
This single habit can be the most destructive one in my humble opinion. The key to breaking bad financial habits is to stop going broke and spending everything you have. Do not consider spending savings and other investments for anything less than a profitable or otherwise agreeable venture. Do not spend your last saving or free cash stupidly as this reinforces the desperation and hunger for money that is common when we do not have any. A good rule to go by is to not buy anything that takes more than 50% of your available cash.

Do not binge buy or blow everything on large expensive items
Learn to pace your spending and keep savings, plan for your retirement. Remember previous financial lessons. Recall the last time that you were broke and did not have money to spend, you made it through right ? Sure you had to cut out luxuries and even cut out some things that you had become used to but you survived without spending when you had to. Do not keep repeating the cycle, remember that spending money is a choice and you can say no. Buck the trend and opt out sometimes, you are free not to purchase and to save the money for another time. Avoid buying large items quickly, take your time and look for discounts and savings with alternative suppliers. Do not be too keen and try to spend more than you need to get a marginal discount, try to be balanced.