Today I’ll cover some stuff different from the usual personal finance tips! These are some decisions or actions that can impact your financial health:
- Who you marry or enter a long-term relationship with.
- Leave your credit cards at home if you’re an impulse shopper.
- Institute a “no-buy” month,
Your Relationships Can Have A Huge Impact On Your Financial Health
Who you marry or enter a long-term relationship with can enormously impact your financial health! Combining finances with someone who isn’t very good at managing money can affect your ability to plan for your future and save for it.
These are two actions you can take to help ensure money doesn’t become an issue in your relationship:
- Give each person a “fun” budget for every week or every month. This is money you can afford to spend without impacting your long-term financial health and can be spent any way you want.
- Have regular money “dates.” This is when you talk about how you’re doing financially as a couple, what you’re spending money on, and any changes you may need to make to your spending habits.
Leave Your Credit Cards At Home If You’re An Impulse Shopper
If you have impulse shopping issues, one way to help keep your shopping habits under control is to leave your credit cards at home! Yes, you can still pay with debit, but the limit tends to be lower, so you’ll spend less overall. Just don’t forget to bring cash along. Paying with cash seems more “real,” so you’ll think twice about buying things you don’t need.
If online shopping is an issue for you, make it as hard as possible for yourself. Delete your accounts, including your Paypal account. The more work you have to do to pay for something, the more likely you’ll think twice about buying it!
Institute A “No-Buy” Month
A “no-buy” month gives you a chance to take a refresher and take a good look at your spending habits. As you deal with holiday bills, January can be a great time to do this!
You can still buy items you need – like food, clothing, medicine, and hygiene products. However, you must put off buying anything you don’t need – for example, books, home decor, and cute trinkets – until the end of your “no-buy” month. Make a list of all the items you considered buying but didn’t to give yourself an insight into how much money you’ve saved by having a “no-buy” month.
What’s your unconventional personal finance tip?
Have you tried any of these? Do you have another tip I haven’t mentioned? Let me know in the comments!
