8 habits to overcome to achieve financial stability

It takes around 66 days to change a habit. At the same time, 40% of human actions are habitual. If you combine both facts together, you’ll come to a conclusion that the majority of things you do subconsciously have a significant effect on your overall life, including your financial prosperity. To take control over your life, check out these 9 things to avoid if you want to become successful.

1. Forgetting about setting goals

One of the worst habits when trying to build wealth is the lack of purpose. If you don’t know what you want and when you want it, you’ll have nothing significant to work towards. Financial well-being doesn’t happen by accident. 

There are a lot of fears associated with goal setting – fear of failure, fear of judgement, fear of discontent, fear of the unknown, and sometimes even fear of success. All of these fears make you think that your goals are not achievable. But little victories will inspire further work.

2. Fear of change

Following up on fears, this point refers to choosing less because you don’t want your life to change. It’s not always the fear of a wealthy life that is stopping people from acting; although you can look up plutophobia, the irrational fear of wealth. Most people fear the prospects of new situations or experiences and losing control over their established roles.

Fear of change keeps people in undesirable situations like jobs they can’t stand or jobs that offer no career development and advancement into a better-paying position.

3. Believing myths and stereotypes

Arguably, there are more harmful myths surrounding poverty, but the rich also have their fair share of wrongful stereotyping.

Here are beliefs often associated with the privileged segment of society:

• You can only become rich from “old money”.
• Rich people barely work.
• It’s all about random good luck.
• You must have a college degree to build a decent career. 
• Rich people have perfect credit.
• Wealthy lifestyles always involve expensive cars, private jets, yachts, luxurious vacations, etc.

If you think these statements above describe all rich people, you limit your chances of becoming one.

4. Living beyond your means

You may have heard stories about lottery winners who won millions but ended up with nothing. They essentially go from rags to riches and back again. Why do you think that happens? Because they don’t have a clue how to manage their sudden windfall of seemingly endless money. 

So, not only do you need to earn well, but you also need proper money management. You won’t become more financially stable if you’re used to spending all your money.

5. Getting greedy

On another note, you shouldn’t be so careful with money that you become greedy and cheap. If you’re always looking for ways to cut corners, save money on everything, and chronically underpay others (employees, contractors, service workers, lenders, etc.), you just confine yourself in a scarcity mentality. 

You can’t live your life as if you can’t afford anything – this will create mental obstacles and unnecessary practical problems. Buy something once, and buy it well.

6. Being too financially conservative

You shouldn’t cling to the “old” ways of making money. Yes, the stock market still generates a decent average return, and taking on a second job is a good way to make extra money. But think out of the box – stocks are not the only type of investment, and you don’t have to work double shifts. There are plenty of opportunities out there. For example, you can invest in derivatives and collectaibles and create an additional stream of passive income.

7. Getting jealous of other people’s success

If you become envious of what another person has, how they are, or what they do, that’s a bad sign. People living in better houses, driving better cars, and going on better vacations should be motivational, not discouraging. Besides, successful people make their own definition of success.

8. Living a passive lifestyle

Even those who won a lottery bought a ticket in the first place. While this is not an endorsement for lotteries, there is a good lesson to be learned here – if you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.

Here is a good quote by Kim Kiyosaki to conclude:

“Attitude determines the depth of your pockets”.