Five Behaviors That Will Keep You Broke

Saving money sounds good until you enter the real world. Here, you will be tempted by people, media, and internet trends. As entertaining as these things may be, they can also encourage you to spend a lot of money. Sometimes spending is warranted, like a longtime hobby you’d like to engage in. Other times, the temptation is going to keep you broke.

When people look at purchases they regret, they often look at items that don’t get use or justify their expenses. Some people spend way too much trying to impress others. Other people will spend money on a hobby they think they want to pursue yet lack experience. Doing this too often will lead to a big hole in your wallet.

Companies know this is typical human behavior. If you look the advertisements they release around January 1st, when resolutions are being set, they will capitalize on your optimistic spending. Truth is, people made poor decisions all year long. These behaviors will allow you to become broke and stay broke. If you revolt against these behaviors, you will be in a position to experience great financial gain.

Scrolling Mindlessly Through Social Media

We all do it from time to time. When we have a couple spare minutes we go on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook and look at the trending content. We’ll see a lot of “life hacks,” organization, and culinary delights. This will slowly start to make you feel inadequate and encourage you to change your habits. Of course, this will require you to spend time and buy supplies.

The funny thing here: as soon as you scroll past the cooking tips you’ll get to fashion tips. There’s an endless supply of content on social media, and it’s super easy to get sucked into a surplus of information. Creators are smart, and they want you to pay attention. Then, you start taking action that will cost real money.

Next time you catch yourself scrolling mindlessly through social media, take a second and look around. How many promo codes do you find? How many affiliate links are there? Clearly, some people want to convert you into being a customer. After enough exposure, you’re likely to start spending.

Only Doing Something Once You Have Something Else

A lot of people want to see some changes in their behaviors. Often, there’s a level of interest here, but there’s also a feeling that you need new equipment for the change to begin. Think of an aspiring runner who needs a full overhaul of workout clothing or a budding photographer who wants a new DSLR camera. The change in their behaviors is contingent upon their new equipment.

Usually you can start a new hobby with no additional monetary investment. You can start running without fancy equipment, and most smartphone cameras have serious power. Before you invest money, demonstrate you’re willing to commit some time into your life change.

Sometimes you need new equipment, but you if want to learn the guitar you don’t need a new or expensive guitar. Once you’ve put in some time, you might want to make a bigger investment. However, it’s all too common to walk into someone’s home and see unused equipment based on an unfulfilled promise. If you thought you’d cook more once you got an InstaPot or swore you’d lose weight once you bought a treadmill, you were just chasing an excuse. Willpower is free, and it’s the first step in making a change.

Replacing Things Too Often

As a culture, we tend to dispose items rather quickly and live wasteful lifestyles. Sometimes this stems from laziness, but there are also many parts of our culture that encourages replacing items rather than recycling or repurposing. Othertimes, we’ve been raised to create waste. Thanks to places like Ikea, we’ve been conditioned to replace furniture because it’s cheaper than repairing it.

In our daily lives, we use consumable products like paper towels and bottled water rather than reusable counterparts. These costs quickly add up, force you to spend more, and can be burdensome when you run out of supplies. In the longterm, we often design our living spaces and replace items that are perfectly good. While replacing these items is often viewed as a one-time expense, when you cycle through items too quickly the replacement becomes part of your yearly budget.

Try to identify the items you use daily. If there are reusable options, try to implement those into your life. Before you throw away an item, ask if you can reuse it without it sitting idly in storage. If you can, try to spare the extra expense of buying a replacement.

Lifestyle Inflation

When you start making more money, you can spent more and live better. At least, this is what the concept of lifestyle inflation would tell us. It’s all too common to see people living more luxuriously just because their paycheck had a small bump.  This money could be used to repay debts, as an investment, or simply as a savings contribution. Rather, people spend this money on clothing, dining, or entertainment.

Part of saving money is knowing the difference between necessities and luxuries. Until you view saving money as a necessity, you’re likely to spend a lot on items you don’t need. When an increase in pay means you’re getting temporary gratification, you are going to stay broke.

Of course, increased income does make people want their quality of life to improve. This is understandable, and there’s a way to get the best of both worlds. Invest in items that will cost more up front, but you’re going to use and will last longer. Perhaps that’s a computer with advanced features or stainless steel appliances. If this will allow you to spend less in the future while giving you a better product in the moment, that’s a worthwhile investment that improves your lifestyle.

Debt Isn’t Your Priority

Whenever you have debt, you’re in a position to stay broke. Whether it’s debt from student loans or credits cards, being in a money hole is not a good place to be. So, your goal should be to repay this debt.

If you’re making your monthly payments you’re only doing the bare minimum. This won’t negatively affect your credit score, but it’s not beneficial for your longterm goals. You’ll have to make payments next month and you will be collecting interest. Rather, you should make the biggest payments you can comfortably make.

Debt is your enemy if you want to avoid being broke. If you can get rid of all of your debt, do it. I always recommend avoiding debt, but when it’s unavoidable (such as student loans), you need to make repayment a priority. Accepting a life of debt is akin to choosing to be broke.

Choose an Anti-Broke Lifestyle

Being broke is no fun. While spending money might give some temporary gratification, avoiding debt will allow you to have better control over your finances. As you get older, that freedom is much more valuable than the temporary gain from spending unnecessary money.

Like most things in life, this is easier said than done. Often you will need to reassess your current spending habits, and this may force you to be more conscious in some areas of life. As you adopt this savvy lifestyle, you will certainly notice you’ve fallen victim to some poor behaviors.

If you want to stay afloat with your finances, change nothing. You will be one step away from being broke, but it is the easier path. If you’d rather gain financial freedom, start prioritizing your savings. Replace the habits that sabotage your bank account and move further away from ever being broke again.