How to stop self-sabotaging your finances
Key takeaways
- 45% of Australians say they have bad money habits that cause them distress.
- Spending more than we earn and making impulse purchases are the most common issues.
- Setting a budget and a regular saving plan is the key to stopping the problem.
Feel guilty about how you manage your money? You're far from alone.
New consumer research from Finder shows that 45% of us - a whopping 9.6 million people - have a bad financial habit that's causing them pain.
We surveyed over 1,000 people and asked which bad habits were causing them financial harm.
The most common answer was spending more than you earn, cited by 17% of respondents.
WIth ongoing cost of living pressures, that's no surprise.
Next up was impulse purchases (16%), followed by helping family members (11%) and overusing credit cards (11%).
Credit card debt carrying interest is around $20 billion right now, which is a lot of money going to waste.
FOMO is a big aspect, with 10% of us overspending on social outings and 8% directly saying social expectations drove them to spend too much.
Occasional overspending or impulse shopping isn't a major issue.
But if it's happening constantly, you're putting your financial future in peril.
How to break the cycle of bad financial habits.
The key to stopping overspending is very simple.
You need to know how much you're actually spending.
And that means just one thing: setting a budget.
That doesn't need to be a complex document - just a list of your regular expenses.
With online banking, that's a lot easier than it used to be.
Take a look at our Financial Fitness Challenge to identify ways you can save money right now on everyday expenses. That includes a 5-minute budget plan to get you started quickly.
We also have a detailed guide to budgeting if you want to dive deeper.
Once you know how much you have to spare each month, you can allocate some of that to fun activities or a shopping splurge without feeling guilty.
But consider putting a little of that into a high-interest savings account instead.
Want more interest on your savings?
Compare now and find a better rate.
That's an easy way to start growing your money, not blowing it.
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