We all have habits. Some of us drink coffee every morning. Others exercise after work each day or always read before bed. But have you embraced any daily habits for financial success? If you haven’t, it’s not too late to start. Here are five of my favorite daily habits for financial success—habits that could help you lead a richer life.
1. Track Your Financial Goals.
Do you want to reduce your debt? Are you aiming to save enough money to retire at age 60? Have you worked to save money for a down payment on a vacation home?
These are all fantastic goals, but you may find achieving them a challenge if you don’t track your progress on a regular basis. Here are a few ideas to help keep your goals top of mind:
- Create a spreadsheet that outlines your financial goals, how you plan to achieve them, and what sort of progress you’ve made toward checking them off your list. Check out this free Excel template to track savings goals if you’re unsure where to start.
- Download a personal finance app. An app like Mint or Personal Capital can be a great alternative to a spreadsheet when monitoring your financial goals. Find the method that works best for you and stick to it.
- Recruit an “accountability buddy”—someone who can hold you accountable to the schedule you’ve created for achieving your goals. This person could be a spouse, a close friend, or a financial advisor. You might quickly check in each day with this designated person or plan more substantial, less frequent catch-up sessions.
2. Watch Your Spending.
Monitoring your spending and bank accounts is a great way to keep your financial goals top of mind. Apps like You Need A Budget and Goodbudget can be pretty handy for making sense of your day-to-day expenses.
Another option is to check your bank and credit card accounts each day to get an idea of how much money is coming in and going out, then create a plan that helps you get a handle on any excess spending.
No matter what expense-tracking method you pick, you might consider setting a daily limit for how much you spend overall or in specific categories.
These financial strategies can help you adjust your spending if you realize you need to rein it in. Plus, watching your finances closely could help you spot any unusual activity in your accounts.
3. Monitor Global and Economic Events.
Staying on top of what’s happening in the world might help you score substantial savings or avoid financial pitfalls.
For instance, if the Federal Reserve is preparing to raise interest rates, you might decide to refinance your home before those rates go up. Doing so could save you thousands of dollars in the long run. And if geopolitical unrest continues, you might consider reexamining and shifting your asset strategies.
Knowing what’s occurring on the global stage today could help keep you on your financial toes for tomorrow.
4. Avoid Impulse Purchases.
Many of us are guilty of impulse buying. In fact, the average American impulsively spends more than $2,100 a year, according to a 2020 survey.
There are several things you can do to better avoid the impulse-buying trap:
- Set up a household budget and stick to it.
- Wait at least a day before making a purchase that could be perceived as impulsive. Remember to concentrate on what you need rather than what you want.
- Create a shopping list before you head to the store.
- Delete the automatically stored credit and debit card numbers from your web browsers.
5. Focus on Purchases With Real Potential.
We buy a lot of items that simply gather dust or take up space in our closets. For example, the average American buys 68 items of clothing each year and spends $18,000 per year on nonessential items like coffee and dining out. All of that could add up to more than one million dollars over an average lifetime.
But how much value do these items bring to our lives? Not much.
Rather than filling your home with items that may fall out of style or break, switch your attention to things that have long-term performance potential. This might include purchasing real estate, opening an IRA to save for retirement, or acquiring physical precious metals like gold and silver.
As an individual, you also have immense performance potential. Allocating time and energy to your own financial literacy and knowledge is one of the best ways to grow and safeguard your wealth—and it’s one of the reasons we at U.S. Money Reserve always strive to keep our clients as educated as possible.
Daily financial habits can quickly add up to future financial success. If you’re looking to diversify with precious metals to help achieve your goals, call U.S. Money Reserve today.
