Like most people, you probably have a limited amount of money to spend each month. But even when you have the best intentions, it’s still all too easy to find yourself falling into financial difficulty if you have bad habits when it comes to spending or money management. These bad habits can lead to you into money trouble and cause unnecessary stress in your life. So, what are the financial bad habits that you should put an end to?

Impulse Buying:

Impulse buying is easier than ever these days – thanks to online shopping and services like Amazon Prime, you can end up spending more money than you’d planned without even leaving your house. An impulse purchase is an unplanned buy, often driven by emotion – and retailers and marketers know this. Think about countdowns on websites or ‘must have’ deals – when you take a step back, you’ll probably realise that actually, you don’t need to buy those items – but at the moment, the urge to make sure that you don’t miss out can take over. Try to step back and think about whether you really need something before you make the decision to buy.

Avoiding Your Budget:

Do you know what your monthly budget is? Many people don’t even know how much money they’re actually spending on necessary expenses each month, let alone anything else. And this can make it difficult when you’re working out whether or not you can afford to buy something. Taking the time to sit down and work out how much money you’ve got coming in, and how much of it is dedicated to paying necessary expenses like your rent or mortgage, bills and debts will give you a clearer idea of how much cash you have left to spend on anything else, which will help you avoid being left with no money before your next payday.

Borrowing Too Much:

For the most part, there’s nothing wrong with borrowing money if you’re able to afford it and make timely repayments in full. However, if you’re relying too much on borrowed money to fund your lifestyle, this could lead to problems. Credit cards, for example, can be ideal for emergencies or building your credit rating – but only use them if you are sure that you’ll be able to repay the entire balance. And payday loans from sites like LoanPig can be useful for covering unexpected or emergency expenses, but don’t borrow more than you need, and make sure that you can comfortably repay in full on your next payday.

Too Many Convenience Purchases:

Convenience purchases can be very useful every once in a while, but they can be expensive and quickly add up. A takeaway on a Friday night after a long day at work when you’re too tired to cook can be a nice treat, but doing this every day will soon eat away at your budget. Instead, come up with ways to have more convenience on a budget – like batch cooking meals and freezing them at the weekend so that after work, all you need to do is warm them up.

Which of these bad financial habits are you going to try and break in 2020?