Good morning Dinks. To say that my financial habits have changed over the last ten years would be the understatement of the year. Now that I am 33 years old I look back on my financial habits when I was in my 20s and I think to myself I can’t believe I lived like that. But you know the crazy thing about the whole scenario…I survived. So what does that say about my now strict spending and savings habits?
Think about how you used to spend money and how you spend money now. Have your habits changed or are they still quite similar?
4 habits from my 20s that I grew out of:
1. Spending every last penny. This was my MO when I was in my 20s. I would get my pay check, pay some bills and absolutely spend every other penny. Every two weeks when I got paid there would be absolutely no money in my bank account. Now that I look back on my old spending habits I wonder how did I survive days at a time without money? Oh yes that’s right, I lived on credit.
2. Using my credit card for all purchases. With each pay check I would be playing catch up with my bills and most of my money went to paying rent, utilities and making debt payments. Then I would be forced to live by using my credit card for all purchases, this is a habit that landed me tens of thousands of dollars in debt. If there is one financial habit that I have drastically changed over the years, this would be the one. I am now terrified of using my credit card to the point that paying for even the smallest thing like my groceries stresses me out. I think it’s safe to say that I learned from my mistakes.
3. Eating out for every meal every day. This was a habit that I changed over time. I am not a very good cook and eating out is just so much simpler because there are no dishes involved. Unfortunately it’s also a much more expensive habit than cooking at home and brown-bagging it for lunch at work. I have to say that I don’t eat out in restaurants as much as I used to, but I do still grab take out every now and then. I have my good weeks and bad weeks when it comes to cooking; it’s definitely a work in progress.
4. Paying select bills so I can spend the rest. OH the good old days. I was a serious spender and I chose not to pay my bills so I could spend money on clothes, food and going out with friends. As I grew older I became less social and I am noticing that it is saving me a ton of money. I would much rather spend my Friday night at the movies other than at a club. My new monthly bill philosophy is to pay half of each bill with each pay check. This makes sure that all my bills are paid on time and it doesn’t strain my budget by making lump sum bill payments.
Photo by mandie
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
I still can’t believe that we would eat out for every meal every day. We were so bad with that and spent ALL of our money each month on food.