Bad Money Habits: How They Vary by Generation & How to Break Them for Good

Jeremy Joiner |
Categories
Investments
Finance
Savings
Lifestyle

What was the last money mistake you made?

If you’re like most folks, you’ve made at least one upsetting money mistake in the past year — and you’d like to do better.1

事实上，大多数人承认他们的财务状况在过去一年中并没有好转. And at least half of them say the real problem is that their money mistakes have turned into bad financial habits.1

Bad Money Habits by Generation

What exactly are those bad money habits that are setting us back?

It’s different for everyone. 不过，研究显示，从一代人的角度来看，许多人似乎都有一些相同的不良理财习惯.1

Here’s how those bad money habits break down by generation:

  • Gen Z stress-shops online more than any other generation. They’re also most likely to overpay on rent.
     
  • Millennials also turn to online shopping, 许多人指出，深夜网购是他们新的坏花钱习惯. 这些人还说，他们在房租上花了太多钱，在加密货币上投入了太多资金.
     
  • Gen X 他们倾向于说，他们在金钱方面最大的失误是没有为退休储蓄足够的钱，也没有在加密货币上投资太多.
     
  • Boomers 当他们没有足够的现金来支持这些购买时，他们更有可能用信用卡购买吗.

The point is that everyone 是否会在金钱上犯错误——如果你最近养成了一些不好的金钱习惯呢, you’re not alone.

4 Bad Money Habits to Leave Behind in 2024

Better financial choices and habits are within your reach this year! It’s never too late to start making a change, 不管你在过去多少次试图纠正坏的金钱习惯.

如果你真的想在2024年改掉坏的花钱习惯，改善你的财务生活，这里有一个开始的地方.

1. No Savings Goals

Most of us aren’t saving enough, 我们知道这一点，因为这是所有人都认为的头号理财坏习惯.1

Part of the problem here is a lack of savings goals in the first place. 我们中的许多人都没有花时间去确定我们需要存多少钱，或者需要花多少钱才能达到目标——这使得我们的储蓄目标变得难以捉摸.

How to Break Bad Savings Habits: Be more deliberate with your savings. Set a goal for savings, 考虑一下你需要为不同类型的储蓄留出多少钱, like your retirement versus an emergency savings fund. If you quantify your savings goals, it can be easier to get a grip on them and get closer to achieving them.

2. Unchecked Impulse Spending

Shopping can be a slippery slope for anyone, especially those of us who don’t have any guardrails on our spending habits.

这可能意味着有计划的冲动购物，或者当你一开始没有购物计划时就匆忙购物. For younger generations, this can be really 只需要点击几下鼠标就可以购买的应用内付费功能很诱人，甚至感觉不像是真正的金钱交易.

However impulse spending happens, it can make your wallet a leaky sieve, draining funds that could be better used elsewhere.

How to Break Bad Spending Habits为自己设定一些规则和检查点，这样你就不会乱花钱了. 这可能意味着为在商店购物列个清单，这样你就只买你打算买的东西. 它也可以只订购提货，所以你根本不用去商店. 你甚至可以考虑删除手机上的购物应用程序，或者为自己设定一个规则，让自己至少等上一天再购买非必需品.

3. Racking Up a Ton of Debt

You can buy a lot more on layaway and credit these days than ever before. 事实上，大多数主要的零售商都提供他们自己的分期付款选择，所以你可以先买后付. On top of that, 较大的购买通常可以在一段时间内没有利息计划, with new lines of credit often coming with hefty interest rates.

All of that can make it easy to rack up a lot of debt very quickly – and to get into the minimum payment mindset. With that, you could end up shouldering a lot more debt than you really need to, 本来应该存起来的钱最终可能被用来支付利息和债权人, instead.

How to Break Bad Debt Habits: Always try to pay more than the minimum with your debt payments. If you’re considering taking on new debt, 问问你自己，你是否真的能负担得起这笔新费用，你是否真的需要你正在考虑购买的东西. Also, focus on a zero-debt mindset, so you’re aggressively paying down debt, instead of looking to accumulate more.

4. Paying Unnecessary Fees

花钱使用或访问你的钱是另一种方式，我们可以浪费我们的血汗钱不必要. That can come in the form of:

  • Out-of-network ATM fees
  • Overdraft fees
  • Transaction fees
  • Transfer and wire fees
  • Late payment fees
  • And more

In many cases, we’re incurring these fees simply because we’re in a hurry, we don’t read the fine print, or we’re just not paying attention to the bottom line.

How to Break Bad Fee Habits: Double-check your account balances, payment due dates, and banking fees. Before you transfer money, take money out of an ATM, or access your funds in other ways, check the fine print first. If you have to pay to do these things, look for the no-cost alternative, 即使这意味着你必须换银行或寻找更好的信用卡交易.

Now’s the Right Time to Break Your Bad Money Habits

Remember, 你不必自己去改掉坏的花钱习惯——如果没有一点对情况的了解，要认识到这些错误是很有挑战性的. That’s where financial professionals can help.

They can offer checkpoints, insights, 以及帮助你识别可能阻碍你真正进步的错误和习惯的建议. And that can empower you to make more prudent financial decisions, so you can stay on track to achieve your big-picture financial goals.

 

Source:

1. http://www.creditkarma.com/about/commentary/breaking-bad-financial-habits-in-the-new-year

 

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