Are You Sabotaging Your Financial Success?

Are you sabotaging your financial success by living like you are rich before you are? If you’ve always dreamt of being rich, you will have your own version of what that looks like – flash cars, designer gear, gracious benevolence, endless travel or a mansion in the country.

Whatever takes your fancy, once you increase your earnings it can be very tempting to start splashing your cash and chasing the dream. You’ll argue that you deserve a bit of fun, particularly if it signals the end of a period of financial hardship. And after all, you’ve earn it.

But if you think about it, blowing all your disposable income each month – whether that’s £10 or £1,000 – is a bad habit that will only prevent you from achieving your long-term goal.

Pause for a moment before you buy a coveted pair of Jimmy Choos and focus on the future. Instead, emulate the habits of the rich or people who have already made it big and you will increase your chances of realising sustainable financial success. Don’t lose heart. Here are five tips to get you back on your road to financial success.

5 Simple Steps to Financial Success

Learn To Stretch Your Budget

The Average Jo will live beyond her means, while the Wealthy Sue lives below hers. Most people tend to live hand-to-mouth, literally spending every penny they earn and dipping into the overdraft or credit card between pay cheques. This is the easiest route to sabotaging your financial success?

But if you’re serious about becoming rich or attaining financial success, then look at your spending – chances are, much of it can be pared back to free up a little extra each month.

We’re not suggesting that you have to become a hermit or never have any fun, but if you want a financially viable future, then you need to reign in your current expenditure by learning how to budget.

If you want to get out and about, there are plenty of free trips to be had, such as street festivals, museums, going for a walk or cycle ride.

If you prefer to stay in, then make the most of the money you spend on a full TV package and have movie nights or catch up on box sets. Alternately, go back to basics and read a book, play a game or devote time to your hobbies.

The most common area of overspend is on food. You can save money on food shopping, whether that means cutting back on the number of times you eat out, ordering fewer take-aways, cooking meals from scratch, taking a homemade packed lunch to work or making sure you use produce before it goes off, most people can easily reduce their outlay on food without too much effort.

Once you have trimmed the fat, you can save further by creating and sticking to a meal plan, buying in bulk and making the most of discounted perishables with a second-hand freezer.

Be An Instant Saver

A quick way to stop sabotaging your financial success is to become an instant saver. Of course, even with all the best intentions, if the money is in your account, it is likely to get spent.

So the best piece of advice is to pay yourself first. Simply put 10% of your paycheque aside the second you receive it. It’s not being boring – it’s giving you future financial success you deserve.

Avoid Debt at All Cost

Just because you can afford loan repayments, doesn’t mean that you should buy something beyond your means. Taking credit in order to buy a big ticket item usually means you end up paying more than it’s worth, taking into account the added interest, and it ties you into the expenditure for years to come.

And let’s face it, that often means you’re still paying for something long after it has lost its novelty factor or monetary value.

Rich people are usually of a “make-do-and-mend” mind-set that makes the most of each purchase and acknowledges that newer isn’t always better: try repairing something before you replace it and you’ll reap the rewards.

Keep on Saving

Financial success is about having enough money to buy something outright without it depleting your funds. While it’s far better to save up for a large purchase than take a loan.

If you spend all your savings as soon as you have reached your target you won’t have any cushion to cover yourself for the proverbial rainy day.

Then, when Murphy’s Law dictates the car breaks down or the oven conks out, you’re back where you started; having to go into debt to get it fixed. If you always make sure you have a “what if” savings account, you can avoid any unpleasant bumps as well as earning more money from holding it in a suitable investment.

Please Don’t Spend it All

Some people think financial success is having a lot of “stuff” to show for their money, but these “stuff” assets quickly lose their value and cannot pay the bills.

Instead of filling your home with endless show pieces, parading around in designer fashion or driving a flash car, put your money to work so that it earns passive income and creates a sustainable income stream for the future. Then, when you can actually afford it, you can fill your boots buying bling!

Stop sabotaging your future financial success by spending money on “stuff” before you really have it. In her book Action Plan, Suze Orman advises “your financial security is buried in those expenses”.

According to her, the more you are willing to curtail spending on those expenses, the more money you have to protect yourself and your family.

Your Turn…

Start by squirreling a portion of your pay cheque away, then conduct an audit of your expenses – where can you reduce your outgoings and start living within your means today? You can leave you comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

You Might Also Like:

How to Budget Your Money & Harness Your Finances
How to Create a Spending Plan That’s in Alignment with Your Values
Do You Really Want To Be Financially Free?
3 Steps to Financial Success When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

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MoneyNuggets is a personal finance blog for women. Our goal is to empower women through financial education. Connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

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