If you're looking to get serious about your finances, stopping these habits will help you reach your goal.
We are all guilty of splurging money on some of our bad habits. These habits could also cost you opportunities besides money. Over a lifetime these habits can cost you a fortune. Realizing your habits is the first step towards getting better at your finances. After all, there's no habit that is worth the satisfaction that you get if it is taking a major hit on your finances and forcing you to live with stress and anxiety worrying about money. Here are the 7 unhealthy habits that are costing you money - 1. Smoking.
Smoking is the most expensive habit out there causing damage to your health which indirectly drains your finances as well. Cigarettes and tobacco products have seen a rise in prices in the UAE, the prices being doubled with the excise tax imposed on them. A pack of cigarette has varying prices according to the brand, but let us assume the pack costs you AED 16 ($4.36), smoking one pack a day would cost you AED 5840 ($1590) over a year. Smoking one pack a day may not apply to you but even if you half the cost that is still a pretty huge amount. Also, if you find yourself indulging in a shisha outing every week, one shisha would cost you an average of about AED 40-50 ($13.61). Prices could vary depending on the place but doing this every week could cost you AED 2500 ($680) over the year. Apart from the direct costs associated with smoking, insurance companies require you to pay higher insurance premiums and life insurance costs simply for being a smoker. Add to that dental care expenses, the long-term risk of high blood pressure and the stigma and bias you may face that could harm your career. 2. Drinking alcohol. If you find yourself out at the bars, clubs and pubs every weekend partying your life away, you are throwing away money. It could amount to AED 10,000 ($2,722) over a year with an average of AED 200 ($55) per week. This amount could vary considering the prices at different places, occasions and the number of drinks you would guzzle down. However, drinking alcohol isn't a major threat to your health as much as smoking is. Drinking in moderation is shown to have an effect of reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes. But it does have a long term risk of liver damage and high blood pressure when it comes to heavy drinking. Being drunk may also invite other costs based on the decisions you make under the influence of alcohol. Bar fights and drunk driving can invite heavy penalties and jail terms.
3. Tossing leftover food. Approximately 40% of food goes to waste whether its throwing out leftovers, tossing out food that expired, or just not knowing what to do with the remaining ingredients in your fridge. In terms of money, a family of four could be losing approximately AED 5500 ($1500) on wasted food. Making a list and planning ahead in advance can help in avoiding the unnecessary purchases while storing meat, fruits and vegetables properly can help them last longer. Freezing leftovers increases the shelf life significantly. Get creative and try new recipes, overripe avocados make delicious chocolate puddings while overripe bananas are perfect for baking bread and muffins.
4. Gambling. Unlike smoking and drinking, gambling does not have an influence over your physical health although the same cannot be said for your mental and emotional health. Gambling can be quite addictive and can take on many forms, from gambling on a poker game with friends to betting on sports games etc. The odds of losing is really high in casinos and doing this several times over the long run will cost you a fortune. You may, however, win something back and that's what makes people addicted - winning. However small the amount may be, winning something gets you hooked on to the hopes of winning something again. Unfortunately, the amount that you lose is way more and gambling should not be taken as a source of earning money. 5. Lottery. The jackpot prize of millions lure many into buying lottery tickets every year, dreaming of the things that they would do with the prize money or the problems that it would solve for them. But the odds of you getting struck by lightning is more than you winning the lottery. There are millions participating, so the only possible way of increasing your chances is to buy as many tickets as possible. Even then, the chances of winning would be slim, almost the same as flipping a coin and getting heads 30 times in a row. 6. Skipping car maintenance and driving recklessly. It is no surprise that driving recklessly and racking up fines is one of the worst ways to drain your wallet. A minor accident would increase your car repair costs as well. However, your car auto repair expenses can also be increased if you're among those who regularly skip on their car maintenance. Keep your tyres inflated to the optimal level as well and notice how it improves your gas mileage. You can find more info here. 7. Paying your credit card bills late.
Credit cards are not as bad as they are sometimes portrayed to be. It can be a huge financial help to some, when used wisely. However, using them to buy things that you don't need and spend money that you don't have is asking for trouble.
Credit card companies charge you a fee for late payment. If you consistently forget to pay your card bills on time, those credit card charges accumulate to a significant amount over the year.
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The Ultimate Guide To Getting Your Finances Back On Track is a book that aims to help the user in being smarter about their finances. This guide contains seven sections - Financial Goals, Expenses, Savings, Income, Loans & Debts, Budgeting, and Investments. Each of these sections explains everything you need to know about Personal Finance in simple terms. By the end of this book, you will have learned the fundamental principles that will help you in maximizing your income, decreasing your expenses and increasing your savings that will overall kickstart your process of truly building wealth.
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