No one is perfect all the time. We all waste money here and
there or choose less-than-ideal savings or investment strategies from time to
time. Bad habits, when engaged in regularly, can result in a ruined credit
score, big-time debt, and stress; some habits are even worse about causing
these consequences than others. And, while you should certainly try to avoid
ALL bad habits, the very worst ones, which we’ll discuss below, are major
no-nos.
Bad Habit #1: Being
Reward-Obsessed
Many credit cards these days offer rewards for each purchase
you make. Unfortunately, however, some people take the whole “reward” thing too
far and will spend more than they planned just to earn rewards or points.
Obviously, this can cause some serious budgeting problems in the long-run and,
even if your rewards come with savings, can lead to a greater amount of debt
than you bargained for. Instead of letting yourself get obsessed with rewards
and into a spending frenzy, try using your card just for regular, monthly
payments. T his way, you’ll spend the same amount each month and also be
guaranteed to still rack up rewards. You’ll even have the benefit of knowing
how many rewards you can expect.
Bad Habit #2: Debt
Cycling
One bad habit that many people are guilty of is regularly
cycling their debt. These people never really do anything to actually get rid
of their debt for good. Instead, they just consolidate it, transfer it to new
cards, or engage in other “debt swapping” methods. If this sounds like you,
break the cycle and the cycling by developing a livable budget and then
sticking to it. Make sure that, within this budget, you make some room to pay
off your debt a little at a time.
Bad Habit #3:
Ignoring Your Debt
A lot of people get overwhelmed by their debt and all the
money they owe. And, instead of actually making good efforts to pay off those
debts, they just try to put them out of their minds. Like all problems in life,
ignoring your debt won’t make it go away. Suck it up and make an effort to pay
something on your bills each time they come due. Even if you can’t manage the
full amount, just paying a little each time will pay off majorly in the long
run.
So there you have it- three big, bad habits to avoid. Steer
clear of these and other traps, and you should see a huge improvement in your financial situation.
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