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Do you ever find yourself wondering about people who always have money? Like seriously, what on earth are these super secret habits of people who ALWAYS have money, right? You know… the ones that can afford to attend an impromptu party in the middle of the month… Or those who are not hit hard by unexpected expenses. I’m not talking about the just-put-it-on-the-card type of folks… But more so the ones who are so financially smart and organized, that they just seem to never be broke. Ever. If you want to learn how to always have money and be just like these people, then this post is for you!
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Now let’s do some self reflection. How many times have you looked at someone with money and wanted that for yourself? If your answer is at least once, here’s a follow up question for ya. What are YOU doing to achieve financial freedom too? Do you have good money habits? Are you making smart financial decisions on a day to day basis?
Table of Contents
I make good money, why am I always broke?
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard this complaint. If you make good money but you’re always broke you:
- May not be setting financial goals to work towards
- May not be budgeting and sticking to it
- May not be making the smartest financial decisions
- May be spending more money than you can afford to
Since you are in fact making good money, YOU may be your own problem here. But don’t worry. I gotcha! After adopting the following habits of people who always have money, you will never be broke again!
I have a low income job, so that’s why I’m always broke!
On the other hand, I’ve also heard this excuse! But I truly believe that anyone can make 6 figures once they develop the right mindset and work hard.
Making extra money and increasing your standard of living is as simple as having a phone/laptop and a good internet connection.
If you are currently reading this blog post via a device that is connected to the internet, you are already equipped with all that you need to make extra cash and you can end your financial struggles once and for all! Stick around and I’ll show you how!
15 Habits of People who Always have Money
- They set financial goals (and work towards achieving them!).
- They are focused.
- They prioritize.
- They are able to distinguish between wants and needs.
- They have a realistic budget (and they stick to it!).
- They find ways to make extra money.
- The are always learning.
- They have different bank accounts.
- They have an emergency fund.
- They avoid using credit cards.
- They meal plan and eat at home.
- They have the right mindset for success.
- They take advantage of every opportunity to save money.
- They automate their finances.
- They make smart financial decisions.
OK so let’s get into the nitty gritty of each point!
15 Habits of People who Always have Money
1. They set Realistic Goals
People who always have money tend to be goal getters. They know what they want and they do what they have to do to achieve it.
These people aren’t just contented talking about their goals. They don’t just dream about the life that they want to have. Goal getters take action every day. They roll up their sleeves and they get to work.
But here’s the thing. Goal getters don’t just have random goals. They have realistic goals!
You see it’s quite easy for me to say that my ultimate goal is to be the Queen of England one day and then roll my sleeves up, catch a flight to the UK and try to get Prince William to take notice of me. I’d be putting in the work, right? But that’s not much of a realistic goal is it? (Disclaimer: This is not an actual goal of mine, k! I already have my very own Prince Charming!)
Now, realistic goals mean setting goals that are attainable but also not limiting yourself too much. Maybe you can work on goals in the order of smallest to biggest – so you’ll have a stepping stone sort of effect and things will not seem too frustrating.
Every time you achieve one goal, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and be motivated to move on to the others.
This can be something like:
- save $1000
- pay off car loan
- pay off student loan
- increase income by $1500
- save money for vacation
- visit Paris
- build a swimming pool in the backyard
See how all of these are doable? When setting goals, write ’em down, create a vision board, visualize them and work hard!
If this seems like a plan you can follow, be sure to check out How to Achieve Financial Freedom using these Dave Ramsey Budgeting Tips.
Make sure your goals are clear (you know exactly what you want to achieve), realistic (again, I stress that your goals should be attainable) and be consistent in working towards them. Set realistic deadlines for both your long term and short term goals, create a plan of action, and follow the steps to achieve them!
2. They are focused
People who always have money are focused. They don’t just set goals and forget about them. How many times in your life have you said, “I want X, Y or Z,” and never did anything beyond that to achieve them?
Being focused means that every decision you make is based on how you can make the most progress towards your goals. What is your goal again? To always have money! Always having money doesn’t mean that you’ll never be allowed to spend money again… But it does require a little bit more discipline than usual at the start of your journey.
So what is one of the best habits of people who always have money? They stay focused on their financial goals!
Friends invite them to a night out on the town? They double check if they can afford first! Too tired to cook dinner? They eat leftovers instead of getting takeout.
Being focused means concentrating on doing what needs to be done in the midst of distractions and interruptions of the regular scheduled programming. Got it?
3. They prioritize
An important habit of people who have money is that they prioritize. Let’s face it, unless you’re Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon and world’s richest man) or Bill Gates, you’ll probably have to choose between the Bugatti Veyron and the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster because you’ll can’t afford both. Heck, I can’t even afford a tire for one of those vehicles (haha!) but you get my point.
When you have limited money, and lots of needs and wants, you’ll need to decide what’s important and what’s not. If you’re down to your last $1K for the month, which is more important; paying your rent or buying a pair of Jimmy Choo? Unless you’re ok sleeping on the street corner or a park bench, I’d say you should pay your rent! And if you decide otherwise, hey, at least you’ll be rocking your homelessness in style!
Which brings me to my next point… wants and needs.
4. They are able to distinguish between wants and needs
People with good money habits are always able to distinguish between wants and needs! Being able to prioritize properly means being able to know what is necessary and what is not.
As a rule of thumb, ‘needs’ are supposed to be things required for survival (and by extension, comfort). These include a place to live, clothing, food and water. This article on Distinguishing Between Wants and Needs from The Balance gives a more in depth explanation to help you understand.
5. They set a realistic budget
Earlier we spoke about setting realistic goals and similarly, one of the best habits of people who always have money is that they also create realistic budgets.
To create a realistic budget, it means that your monthly expenses SHOULD NOT be higher than your monthly income! You should be able to cover your bills (including loans and other debt payments), some ‘wants’ and still have money to allocate towards savings.
If this sounds like a dream to you, and you want to get started on financial planning and financial organization right away, check out this post on How to Create a Budget in 7 Simple Steps.
If your current income simply cannot cover all of the above, then you need to work on finding ways to increase it and make some extra cash. Before you start to panic or freak out, I’ve got you covered! The next point on habits of people who always have money shows you exactly how to make extra cash (even if you’re a stay at home mom and already working a 9-5!).
Related Reads:
How to Use the Zero Based Budgeting Method to Achieve Financial Freedom
How to Use the Cash Envelope System to Save Money
6. They find ways to make extra money
If you’ve created your budget and you’ve found that your expenses exceed your income even after you’ve trimmed the extra fat (or you just want to make more money to increase savings and pay off debt faster), then this step is especially important.
This is perhaps one of the biggest secret of people who are never broke! Wondering how to always have money? Find ways to make extra money.
If you delve into the finances of these money savvy folk, you’ll see that one is making $3000+ Per Month by being a Transcriptionist from home, or one is side hustling by being a Lyft Driver outside of normal work hours, or one makes thousands working on her blog in the night after the kids go to bed.
People don’t usually talk about all the extra hours and side hustling they do though. You just see the pretty pictures of vacations and nice houses. But people who always have money, generally always put the extra work in to get it!
Related Reads:
How to Start a Money Making Blog (I Made $200+ in my First Month!)
30+ Legit Ways to Make $500 Fast
9 Best Work from Home Jobs that Pay up to $100 000+ Per Year
17 Extra Side Hustles that Made me $67 000+
7. They are always learning
A great habit of people who always have money is that they are always learning new things and always open to new financial ideas.
The learning process has a huge part to play in being successful in any and every aspect of your life!
People who set goals and want to succeed are always reading books (like this one), taking courses, listening to podcasts, googling for new info and doing research on the topic that interests them. And financial goals are no different…
One of the best habits of people who always have money is that they’re willing to learn – and they rarely ever jump off that learning curve.
They’re interested in learning more about investing, making passive income, money management and more.
Their success stems from knowing the pros and cons of debt snowball vs debt avalanche, knowing which budgeting method works best for their needs and preferences, and how to take control of their finances.
They research every outcome before making a move. Every play is calculated and well thought out.
But this is only possible when you’re open to learning and research. The more you learn, the smarter your financial moves, and the more money you can have. ??
8. They have different bank accounts
People with the best money habits separate their finances by having different bank accounts. For example, they research the interest rates, pros and cons and decide on which accounts (checking and/or saving) will suit their needs.
Something as simple as having a saving account with only one withdrawal per month can reduce temptations to spend, and help you save a ton more than you would if you had all your money in a regular account. Ya know?
9. They have an emergency fund
Building an emergency fund is one of the smartest money moves you can make! And people with great money habits know this!
Actually one of the best habits of people who always have money is that they have a hefty emergency fund.
Think about it. You’re on your journey to financial freedom – paying off debt, saving money and taking steps towards your goals. Then BOOM. Your car needs a new part… Or you have a family emergency.
Why stagger your growth and progress when you can simply dip and take a tad little bit from your Rainy Day emergency fund (instead of your savings), right?
Unexpected expenses happen. We know…. We can’t help it. Sometimes they pop up in the worst of times. But guess what? There’s no need to worry if you have an emergency fund!
It’s sort of like wearing shoes.
“SHOES?!” (you’re probably wondering if you heard right!)
Yes. I promise I have a point.
Can you imagine having to walk everywhere without shoes? I mean, you’d be worried about damaging under your feet, bruising your toes and you’d be scared of getting cuts from broken pieces of glass and other sharp objects. Heck, you’d be constantly looking at the ground while you’re walking. But put on good shoes, and suddenly you’re not so worried anymore. You can look up, look around and enjoy the view as you’re walking around because you have some sort of protection. You have a bumper… Something to cushion the blow – should you step on a piece of broken glass. You know?
You wouldn’t go anywhere without shoes, would you? Well why the heck are you going about life without an emergency fund?
My suggestion (and Dave Ramsey’s) is to start building a $1000 emergency fund. Check out this post on Dave Ramsey Budgeting Moves for more info.
10. They avoid using credit cards
People who are never broke rarely use credit cards. If they do, then they have like some sort of secret superpower that most people don’t have! Well technically it’s not a superpower. It’s really self discipline. It’s quite simple actually. If they use money from their credit card, they pay it back straight away. That’s right. No interest fees and no debt.
The idea behind ‘good’ use of a credit card is that you shouldn’t use it to purchase anything unless you can afford to make the payment using cash or debit card. Because if you don’t actually have the money on you then and there, you’re taking a loan. And if you can’t pay back the loan within a specific period, you’ll need to pay interest.
I know many people use it just to get the cash back/points but honestly, my advice is to hide it away. It’s just not worth it!
You see, credit cards make you spend more than you would have if you were holding cold, hard cash in your hands. It can really be a trap for some people.
Let me let you in on a little secret. I have mine taped between two other random cards in my wallet. My husband literally taped it up (with like 25 inches of tape) so that we’d think twice about using it.
If you can avoid using your credit card, hide it away, please!
“I really regret not using my credit card for that purchase today,” said NO ONE EVER! Ha!
11. They meal plan and eat at home
People who always have money know that food takes up a large portion of expenditure and they know that it’s much cheaper to cook and eat at home.
When I first started being money conscious and created a budget, I was super shocked when I discovered the amount of money we spent on food every month!
By meal planning, making a grocery list and sticking to it, cooking using items from our pantry and limiting our trips to the grocery store, we were able to significantly reduce our food expenses for the month. This is a huge game changer and people with good financial habits who always have money know this and utilize this trick!
Pssst! Did you know you can save more money by meal planning? Meal Planning saves me thousands of dollars every year! Not sure how to get started? Grab a copy of my free Meal Planning e-guide below.
12. They have the right mindset for success
People who always have money have the right mindset for success, that is, a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. We often hear about self-made millionaires and stories of rags to riches. Do you think that these people sat around whining, moping and complaining about their unfortunate and unfair circ*mstances? Do you think that they threw a pity party and sat and wallowed in sadness?
Nope.
They knew what they wanted, and with the right, positive mindset, were able to put in the hard work to achieve their financial goals.
In my opinion, this is perhaps one of the most important habits of people who are never broke. Why? Because your mindset is like a voice that you constantly hear. It influences your way of thinking, your mood and ALL of your decisions.
For example, when I first decided that I wanted to start monetizing my blog, I read several income reports from other bloggers. Many of them were making $5K to $10K+ per month from their blogs and I decided that I wanted that for myself also. On the other hand, I’d also hear about people quitting because they were making nothing. But you know what? I decided to have a positive, growth mindset… And in reality a positive, growth mindset doubles your chances of success!
Now, I make decent money from my blog. 😉
So develop the right mindset for success. Start thinking positively. It is most definitely one of the habits of people who always have money that you should start applying to your life…like yesterday.
13. They take advantage of every opportunity to save money
People who are never broke are always looking for ways to minimise spending and maximise savings. They literally take advantage of every opportunity to save money… so much so that sometimes they can come across as being a cheapskate.
Now, I’m not telling you to be cheap and turn all extreme coupon lady on me (hey, if this works for you, then go for it)! But what you can do though is be smart with your money.
For example, if you already planned to buy vitamins, get a sweeter deal on a phone plan, or get grocery items this week, then why not spend on what you need AND get free cash back too? This site legit makes me a few extra hundred dollars each month. I use Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) to buy the stuff that I need and I get credited cash back! I’ll show you!
See?
I literally get money back every single month (but get paid every 3 months). And who doesn’t like extra cash? I just purchase the usual things on my shopping list viaRakutenand start earning immediately! Sometimes this means that I don’t even need to go to the grocery store! FRUGAL WIN!
***SIGN UP FOR RAKUTEN HERE AND GET $10 FREE WHEN YOU FIRST GET STARTED!***
14. They automate their finances
Want to know a secret of people who always have money? Many of them have their finances automated! This includes everything from online banking to standing orders.
People who are money smart know that money spent on late fees is money wasted. They also know that time is money. And if the process can be made simpler and time can be saved by automating payments and transactions, then this is a smart money move. Indeed it should be one for you to take note of and follow… If you want to be like these money savvy folks, that is.
Let’s start with online banking. This is as simple as going in to your bank and signing a document which would allow you to access your financial info and conduct transactions via your phone or laptop. It seriously makes things super simple. You can check your balances at any point in time which in turn can help you monitor your spending.
Standing orders can also be set up so that bills can be automatically paid as soon as your income hits your account. One of these standing orders should be a fixed amount that you choose to save and this is automatically be transferred to your savings account. You deserve to pay yourself first. And with this savings put away upfront, you’ll be less tempted to spend on random BOGO sales and weekend salon specials!
15. They make smart financial decisions
The bottom line is people who are never broke make smart financial decisions most (if not all) of the time. They think about it, sleep on it and analyse every angle of it before making a financial decision – no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.
They save, they live frugally, they spend less that they make, they invest their money wisely, they prepare for retirement. You get the point.
They know that their decisions today will affect their life tomorrow, and so, they alway make decisions that will help them grow and succeed.
So there you go. These are the most common habits of people who always have money. Want to achieve financial freedom? Want to live a life where money is not an issue? Wondering how to always have money? These are the good money habits you’ll want to start adopting. These healthy money habits can help you break the cycle and finally start living a life where you are financially free!
Have you noticed any other good money habits and qualities of financially savvy folks that are worth mentioning here? Did I miss anything? Share with us in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
P.S. Are you struggling with money management? Do you dream of becoming debt free and achieving financial freedom one day? Not sure where to start? Why not start by signing up for ourfree 5 Days Money Management Coursebelow? You’ll be one step closer to your #financialgoals!
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Until next time,
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