| | |

8 Money Habits to Break in 2024


This post may contain affiliate links

I'm like Captain Ahab in search of his white whale; always on the prowl for the tips, money habits, or fintech that truly changes lives and makes it easier to stay out of debt, save, and live without overwhelming money stress. And while I know it may seem counterintuitive to post a “money habits to break” piece in the last quarter of the year, I'm doing it to remind you a) there's still time and b) any day is the best day to start taking care of your finances.

For efficiency's sake, I've also listed the time it takes to do each one. While an afternoon spent negotiating bills may not seem like a quick money fix, when calculating the year-long effects implementing these habits has, it's clearly very well worth the effort.

If you want to keep strengthening your money habits week after week, click here to subscribe (it’s free!) to my vault of money worksheets and gain instant access. I have a budgeting printable, a debt tracker, a money goals workbook, and more!

Packed with over 80-pages of content, the Side Hustle Success digital bundle contains everything you need to strategize, ideate, and create your very on side business and brand. FBL Readers can take $10 off with code NEWYEARNEWYOU. Click here to learn more.

8 money habits to break in 2023, while you still have time

Money habit to break #1: not knowing where any of your money goes.

If you're the head-in-the-sand type, start small by simply reviewing your card statements at the end of each month. Don't judge yourself, merely document what you spend and save on a monthly basis. After a few months of doing this, uplevel by taking two minutes each day to write down your spending. Do this for one month.

At the end of the month, you should be able to classify and categorize your spending and build a really strong budget that actually reflects how you live and spend minutes.

Time Required: 2 minutes each day x 30 days = 60 minutes. Building a budget is a longer session, but we're building up to that, so just log your two minutes.

No one loves apps more than I do, but there's science behind writing things down. Not only does it help us to brainstorm better, but we remember more when we put pen to paper. This year, develop a habit of writing down your finances on a sheet of paper, even if it's just a few financial goals.

And if you're looking for technology to automate expense tracking for you, I love Rocket Money. . Rocket Money automatically analyzes your expenses to see where you can save, but it also tracks your budget to see where your money goes as well. Click here to download.

Money habits to break #2:  being late to pay your bills.

If you make enough each month to cover your bills, there really shouldn't be an excuse for paying bills late. Not in 2023 at least, when there is autopay and enough financial technology under the sun to keep you accountable and remind you to pay. Building up into better money habits, start by tracking bills and due dates in a calendar. When you're ready to level up, automate your bill payments out of a separate bill pay account each month.

Time required: 4 hours (you can knock this out in one weekend!)

I gave this “get a separate bill pay account” piece of money advice in this great article by Natalie Bacon. The other women featured in the round-up gave really profound, meaningful advice. I missed the boat and went with something more tactical, but I'm going to continue to evangelize this tip because it has truly made the biggest difference in all the things I've done in managing my own finances. (Still! Even after a decade+ of writing about money.)

My separate bill pay account hack is life-changing

I know in the name of streamlining things people usually only like to have 1 checking account, but if you're prone to overspending (like I am) keeping your cash for bills separate from what's okay to spend can be a game changer. (You can also use this as an opportunity to sign up for a bank account offering a cash bonus. Ca-Ching!) It can take a minute to set up this whole process, but if you break it out into 20-minute chunks it gets easier.

  • Open a separate bank account (if you don't already have one).
  • Tally up how much all of your bills cost each month.
  • Figure out how much you need from each paycheck to go into a separate bill pay account to ensure all these bills get paid in full.

Money habit to break #3: Not saving any money each month.

It doesn't have to be a substantial amount of money to break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Even $10 or $50 per month can stack into something incredible over time. Start by going back to your budget and seeing if there is anywhere you can cut back so you can start saving $100 each month. Then, when you're ready, start saving more by using automatic savings apps.

Time Required: 5 minutes

Flipping over couch cushions and looking for extra change is so 1993. I've even tried keeping change in a jar in my house, but that jar has been neglected for a few years now and my cash usage has dwindled to nothing. The truth is, even though I'd like to be better about keeping cash on hand, mostly I deal in digital currency (Venmo, Paypal and Debit Cards).

So, what about all of that “extra change” from my purchases? Enter in new apps that help you save seamlessly by mimicking this “couch cushion” effect. Most of them function in the same way: by analyzing your checking account and removing super small amounts you wouldn't miss. Apps like Qapital allow you to set rules like rounding up to the nearest dollar or saving a dollar a week. Here's how I quickly saved $1000 by using these apps and any extra “found” money.

Additional resources:

My all-time favorite money-saving app is Qapital. While it does cost a monthly subscription (I pay $3/mo), it helps me save extra for travel and special occasions by rounding up when I use my card. I love it so much and it is the only money-saving app I use, year after year. Click here to try and get $25.

Money habits to break #4 – Overconsumption

I'd like to shift this “living beyond your means” thinking from dollars and cents (hello, most everyone is barely getting by right now with inflation) into general thoughts on consumption. Instead of thinking about how you could save money, maybe it would serve you better to start thinking about if you really need that weekly Amazon delivery, or another coat from Nordstrom (when the one you have from last year works just as well.)

Time Required: 2 seconds to set the mantra to live lean, 20 minutes each week for ongoing maintenance.

I like to live minimally, and I credit my days as an actor for why I live lean in terms of the “stuff” I have around the house. Even still, I obsessively like to cull my belongings so that only the truly purposeful items: the ones being loved, used and valued consistently stay in my home and creative space.

I know I'm different from most in my views on this, but I also believe that modern consumers just keep too much “stuff” around. I like to consume, don't get me wrong, but I'm happier with fewer, more high-quality things.

And while getting rid of your stuff is an opportunity to live more meaningfully, it's also an opportunity to make (and save) a little extra cash. Whether it's a holiday gift you didn't like or a dress you bought and wore once, there are many ways to repurpose your unwanted belongings into an extra $25 or $40. That “extra” cash can go a long way to debt payoff (as seen in my $8k in 90-day challenge) or toward funding a savings goal.

Additional Resources:

Money habit to break #5: You never negotiated your utilities.

Maybe you're good at saving money each month and living underneath your means. But there are still significant savings to be had each year if you take the time to negotiate those bills you pay month after month. If this kind of wheeling and dealing makes you nervous, start by negotiating discounts on every new service you sign up for.

Once you've built up your confidence, try periodically calling and asking for discounts on existing services. Even if you have a provider that you love, it's worth your time to call and ask them for a loyalty discount or see what they're willing to provide to keep your business.

Time required: 1 hour for the audit, 2-3 hours if you want to call to negotiate expenses all at once.

Here's how to do an audit for your own expenses, and there is no better time than the start of a fresh year to make this happen. I recently switched cell phone providers and nabbed $40/month in savings. That's $480 back into my budget for a half hour of work (and yes, I actually went into the store. Some things you just can't outsource with an app, unfortunately.)

#6: Putting new purchases on a credit card…and then not paying it off every month.

Interest rates are the highest they've been since 2008. And while mortgage rates get the lion's share of attention in the media, that also means your credit cards are bearing some pretty high rates, too. Credit card debt is never the most awesome financial idea, but I'm not here to judge, and I know that it's pretty impossible to live without cards at times.

The name of the game here is to build good credit practices so you're not constantly in high-interest debt all the time. That's going to keep you living hand to mouth more than anything else. Start by paying off your balance in full each month. Then, once you've built up, try to live frugally a few times each year in order to reset your spending habits – like during a February no-spend challenge for instance.

Time Required: The time it takes to not give in to temptation.

Additional Resources:

#7: Not having a second income stream

After being impacted by a layoff earlier this year, it reminded me how important it is for me to have other sources of income for me to rely on. I'm not asking you to start a side hustle right now. Rather, as a first step just try thinking of additional ways to make your little money tree grow. Set 15 minutes on a timer, grab a pen and a piece of paper, and for those fifteen minutes ONLY WRITE DOWN ways you can earn more. No distractions, no stopping. It's surprisingly effective.

Time Required: 15 minutes

8#: Not automating your savings

Pay yourself first” is the most powerful savings advice for a reason – because it works. The power of automating your savings is profound. Make it easy on yourself by scheduling an automatic transfer so your savings can grow without any additional brain power or worry from you. Again, even if you're just doing $10 a month, the work you are doing to that finance/savings muscle is pretty huge.

Want to take your money management to the next level in 2024? Learn more about The Financial Best Life Blueprint, our digital product that comes with e-books, excel spreadsheets and more to help you take control of your finances, eliminate the overwhelm that comes with managing money, and achieve your money goals faster. FBL readers can get the Blueprint for just $5, by using code BESTLIFE. Click here to explore.