Here are five habits that can strengthen your relationship with money and set you up for financial success. “If so, revise your self-talk. If you tell yourself you’re hopeless with money, revise it to say you can feel better about your money habits if you (fill in the blank). This will help you think about healthy money practices and boost your confidence with finances,” says Kelley Holland, a financial coach for women. Affirm positive thoughts. You may not feel comfortable declaring, “I manifest financial abundance everywhere I go,” because it seems unrealistic. Instead, find a sweet spot like, “I’m working on improving my finances a little bit every day,” says financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin. Instead of focusing on what you lack, think about abundance and that it’s possible to accumulate money. This can energize and motivate you to look for and seize opportunities to earn and grow money. “Many people simply spend their money until it’s gone, with little knowledge of where it goes. Understanding where your money goes is key to gaining control over it because you can identify areas where you can cut back or redirect to fund other areas of importance,” says financial adviser Lorrie Delk Walker. Start by creating a daily budget diary and checking in every day to monitor your spending. When making purchases every day, ask yourself whether you’re satisfying a need or a want. The answer might make you put your wallet away. And one way to simplify these regular purchases is to automate bill payments: Don’t overthink recurring payments—especially those that have a set amount like cable or rent. When they are no longer an active decision, you’re able to spend that mental energy on other choices. Of course, you’ll want to give yourself a cash allowance for things like gas, entertainment, clothing purchases, groceries, hair care, well-being necessities, and so on. “These are areas that can be easy to overspend. Sticking to what you have the cash for helps avoid that,” she says. Have a contest with yourself each pay period to see how much of that cash you can hang onto. This builds discipline. Consider throwing unspent cash into a change jar or a separate savings account. At the end of the year, use that money to pay debt, contribute to your emergency fund, or spend on something for yourself. “Commit to not making large purchases on the fly. This can save you tons of money because you remove emotion from the purchasing equation,” she says. Then move to bigger goals. Write them down in a notebook, on the notes app in your phone, email yourself. It can be “I want to retire,” to “purchase a new laptop,” to “pay off debt.” This helps create accountability. Maybe not daily, but commit to it weekly or monthly to measure your progress. You can’t do everything at once, and that’s OK—so that’s why it’s so important to prioritize your goals. Financial education is a journey, and not a destination—so be ready to expand into new areas of financial growth as you are able!
