The Success Habits

Before I get the negative feedback from the female population, let me OPENLY admit, that the same principle above applies to Home Depot/Lowes for men! (and likely to a greater degree, how many nail guns does one guy really need?!?!?!)  I can't even begin to guess how many times I have walked out of those Mega stores with a cart full of stuff that I didn't need or intend to buy.  But I also want to share my experience from the past three visits to either Home Depot or Lowes.  I walked IN, looked for what I NEEDED, didn't find what I WANTED, and walked OUT without buying ANYTHING!!!!  SUCCESS!!  And the few visits before that, I bought exactly what I went there for, and nothing else.  That feels great!  And in the last year, I haven't been to those stores more than 6 times.  Of course, living 90 miles away from the nearest Home Depot or Lowes helps (even though I drive by them weekly), but what has made the BIG difference is a change in habits, decision, and determination.  HABITS!!  Before, my habit was to go to HD and no matter what I was 'looking' for, I would check out the tool sections (power tools, hand tools, etc..), discount sections, flooring section, and everything in between before making my way to look for the paintbrush I needed.
A couple of days ago on his radio show, Dave Ramsey said 'Negative habits create problems, Positive habits create wealth'.    Simple and true!  When you are in the habit of putting things on credit cards, whether you can 'afford' it or not, you are creating a problem.  When the end of the month rolls around, and you can either pay off the credit card or buy groceries, chances are you will buy the groceries, because a minimum payment on the credit card is no big deal, right?  No big deal to pay a few extra dollars in interest for something you probably didn't need in the first place.  And 6 months later, the hundreds of dollars in interest you may end up paying could have bought way more than the groceries the first month!  That is a problem!  And so is a house, closet, garage, shed or storage unit full of JUNK that you don't need and really didn't even want.  
What are some Negative financial habits that you have?  

• Are you addicted to your credit card?  If you have a credit card and use it, you are probably addicted to it.  Even if you 'pay it off' every month, you are creating a huge potential problem.  It only takes a small emergency for that credit card balance to rocket out of control, and cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest.   'I need it for emergencies' isn't even a good rationalization.  What we NEED for emergencies is CASH!  Make your new habit to not even have a credit card (bank/debit cards can do pretty much everything a credit card can, without a bill or negative interest).  Instead of the credit card, your real habit should be to ALWAYS have an emergency cash fund:  Never less than $1000! (and build it up to at least 3-6 months of expenses)  
• Are you in the habit of spending everything you make every month with nothing left over? 'But we just don't make enough to cover our expenses and needs, and still have anything left over'.  That was my excuse for years!  What that really means is, I am avoiding a budget at all costs!  Or, I need the 6000 channel cable/satellite package and the netflix account and the multiple DVD rentals from Blockbuster and I need to eat out several times a week and, and, and..... and these are NEEDS, not WANTS!  The Habit we need to have, is the BUDGET.  Budgeting is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.  What do you really need, and what can you accomplish with the money you 'save' instead of blowing it on the junk?  With a budget, you can see the light at the end of the debt tunnel, and what a beautiful light it is!  
• Do you continue to buy the newest car, or worse yet, lease one?  Even if you pay cash for the newest car, you still take the biggest hit in depreciation as soon as you drive it off the lot! And if you are leasing the car, you lose money all the way through the process without anything to show for it at the end (except for the next leased car..YAY!)  Any time you buy something on credit, what that really means is that you bought something that you can't afford, so obviously it is a great idea to pay even more for it, right? New Habit: Pay cash or don't buy it.  Buy and drive a beater until you can save up for a nicer, but still used, car/truck/SUV (there are lots of reliable beaters out there, and even if it breaks down, you didn't lose much because you didn't pay much!)

 We have all rationalized and justified our way into these holes, but will we stay there or get out?  And when we do get out, will we stay out?  You may need a mentor, adviser, coach, or program to help you start to adopt new habits, but it WILL be worth every bit of effort you put into making those changes.  And when those positive habits become YOUR habits, you won't ever want to go back.  In fact, you will wonder how in the world you ever got by without them!

The Habits of wealthy people are what made the vast majority of them wealthy.  And those same habits can make you and I wealthy.  And when we are wealthy, we can serve both God and his children with much greater force, love, and with the greatest asset of all: Time!