海角大神

Habit #1: Stop doing the same things over and over again.

Human beings are habit-creating machines. Research shows we crave any mental or physical shortcut that frees time and energy for our minds to focus on higher-level thoughts, such as wondering what to have for lunch or speculating about the true parentage of Jon Snow on 鈥淕ame of Thrones.鈥�

A 鈥渉abit loop鈥� is created in three steps: a cue or trigger, the behavior itself and a reward for that behavior, according to Charles Duhigg, author of 鈥淭he Power of Habit.鈥� Bad money habits are more difficult to steer out of than automated behaviors like driving a car. Why? Financial peace of mind is a much more subtle reward than the satisfaction of navigating a half-ton piece of metal through city streets without death or injury.

Still, every person who is good at money learned these habits, which means you can, too. 鈥淲hat we know from lab studies is that it鈥檚 never too late to break a habit. Habits are malleable throughout your entire life,鈥�.

Habit #2: Stop spending more than you earn.

Who do you think you are, the U.S. government? Even America鈥檚 once-ballyhooed fiscal deficit is shrinking 鈥� it鈥檚 now $492 billion, or 2.8% of the economy, down from $1.4 trillion (9.8% of the nation鈥檚 GDP) in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis,聽

How is your own personal deficit doing? About one in five Americans spend more than they earn, and 36% break even, research from. Your goal must be to join the 41% of Americans who spend less than they earn.

Habit #3: Stop ignoring your bills.聽

A 21-year-old woman with medical bills looming recently told this NerdWallet writer that her pattern for prioritizing what bills to pay is this: When a collection agency calls, she pays the bill. This kind of financial firefighting guarantees she will veer from crisis to crisis as her credit score burns.

Payment history carries huge weight on your financial future;聽聽is judged by your ability to pay your power, car insurance and credit cards on time. If you can鈥檛, work out a payment plan with your provider聽before聽it goes to collections.

Habit #4: Stop using your credit cards like free money.

Credit cards are a weapon in your financial arsenal. Like all armaments, they can be used in strategic defense or to shoot yourself in the foot. Too often, it鈥檚 the latter 鈥� the average U.S. household carries聽.

That plastic in your pocketbook is the greatest enabler of bad money habits, allowing you to聽and forsake all budget plans. Sticking to a budget should be your聽.

Habit #5: Stop thinking you鈥檙e not smart enough.

Money matters can quickly confuse. In the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, many consumers struggled to understand basic health insurance terms such as 鈥渄eductible,鈥澛�

We live in an age where consumers are forced to take control of their own financial lives, whether it鈥檚 being smart with health insurance or guiding their own 401(k) plans to invest for retirement. Learn the lexicon of finance.聽 鈥淚 used to catch myself saying, 鈥業nvesting is hard. I just don鈥檛 understand it.鈥� This gave me permission to avoid learning how to invest,鈥澛�, author of 鈥淗ow I Created a Dollar Out of Thin Air.鈥� 鈥淣ow I say: 鈥業nvesting is a skill. You just have to start small鈥�.鈥�

Habit #6: Stop making it hard on yourself to save.

Old habits die hard, and one of the oldest habits is using checks to pay bills or make savings deposits. 鈥淧ersonal finance habits take longer to change than the way you might switch from one smartphone to another. That鈥檚 because money is so important to us,鈥� Fred Davis, a professor of Information Systems at the University of Arkansas,聽

Set up automatic transfers for bill payments. Also automatically have 10% or more of your paycheck sent directly to your savings account. These two steps will go a long way toward building good money habits and credit scores with the least amount of effort.

Habit #7: Stop complaining about your paycheck.

Whatever energy you鈥檙e spending complaining about the size of your paycheck takes energy away from finding ways to improve your bottom line. Think you鈥檙e being underpaid? Negotiate a raise or at least have a chat with your employer to understand what鈥檚 needed to see a bump in pay. If you鈥檙e valued, your boss will see the implicit threat that you may leave for a higher-paying job (which, of course, you should be looking for).

Investigate ways聽. Look at ways to improve your skill set. Just stop whining and do something about it.

Habit #8: Stop your Starbucks dependency.

If you鈥檙e like a lot of people, many of the receipts in your pocket are for caffeine pick-me-ups. That drip-feed coffee habit聽, according to a 2012 survey by Accounting Principals. The survey shows that two-thirds of American workers buy their lunch rather than bringing one from home,聽. Worse, Americans throw away 40% of the food they purchase each year, about $165 billion worth, which works out to聽, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

聽should be lockstep with planning your budget. Eating out costs you much more than you think.

Habit #9: Stop thinking more cash brings happiness.

OK, money does bring happiness, but only to a point. A 2010 study by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that emotional satisfaction in life rises with wealth聽. Purchasing experiences and giving to charity聽, research suggests.

Still, the serenity of being free from debt brings its own kind of glee. Look how much fun these people are having鈥�