10 Financial Habits That'll Change Your Life

Habits are funny little creatures. Some are good for you, some are bad for you . . . and some are like gum on your shoe–you just can’t get rid of them no matter what you try.

Habits are the patterns we automatically perform day in, day out, without much awareness. They’re learned behaviors that become a strategy to making our way through this thing called life, whereby we keep repeating them to create a certain result or “reward.”

“Your balance in your bank account is basically the sum of your habits”

If you want to change your financial picture, change your habits.

To do this you need “buy-in” from your already reward-craving self.

Your habits serve you. Until you link a good habit with a similar “reward” or feeling a bad habit gives you, your smaller self won’t be bought in and you’ll sabotage yourself.

As you read through these 10 financial habits that will change your life, pick the top one that you want to try and then ask yourself, “what’s the reward I’ll get for doing this?” This is key to getting buy-in. Get the buy-in and then get going. Change your money habits, change your money life.

1. Track your expenses for 30 days. (Mint is a great app for this.)
2. Track your revenue for 30 days. (Email me at chris@chriswalshcoaching.com if you want my free 30-Day Revenue Tracker Training.)
3. Know your upper limit, aka your Abundance Limit, so you can break it! (For more on your upper limit, read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks)
4. Read something financial every day for 30 days (e.g. CNBC, Daily Worth, my other blogs).
5. Look at your bank account for 30 days and record how you feel after you look at it each day.
6. Set up a regular financial date with your partner or a trusted friend. (Find a money buddy where you can support and be accountable to each other.)
7. Pay yourself first. (Every time money hits your account–or once a month total your income–and transfer a defined percentage to a savings account for you. One to five percent to start.)
8. Start investing. Start small if you don’t have much. Identify your values and invest in alignment with your values. Have fun with it. (My preferred investment platform these days is Ellevest.com.)
9. Create a cash flow projection, not a budget. Get it? FLOW, not BUDGET  . . . you’re moving forward with flow not looking at the past. (Want more deets? reach out to me at chris@chriswalshcoaching.com.)
10. Practice gratitude. There’s always something to be grateful for, and then the universe knows you’re open to more of it.

Remember, just pick one. Identify the “reward” for doing your one thing consistently and see what shows up. And when you feel like you want to quit, or go back to your old ways, know without a shadow of a doubt, your money breakthrough’s right around the corner. Keep going.

Let me know in the comments which one you’re picking. I’m here to support you.

Until next time, much abundance.

Photo Credit: Rawpixel, Unsplash.com