End These 7 Bad Money Habits this Spring!

Improve your finances by eliminating these self-defeating money habits.

By Deb Hipp

Ready to replace self-defeating money habits with new practices that can help you finally get ahead? Do you want to begin saving for milestone goals like going to college, getting married, starting a family, or buying a home?

Read on for seven bad money habits to end this spring:

1. STOP postponing creating a monthly budget

If you don’t have a budget showing your total monthly income and all expenses, you won’t get far. Create a budget using the online templates and worksheet in your KOFE portal. These tools can guide you on the budgeting process and track spending.

2. STOP paying for everything with credit cards

When you’re struggling financially, it’s almost a given that you have to charge purchases on credit. While it makes sense to pay monthly bills online with your credit card, you should set aside enough cash from each paycheck in labeled envelopes to cover groceries, eating out, and other daily expenses where you can pay in cash.

This way, you’ll pay closer attention to how much you’re spending, especially as you watch your allocated cash dwindle a bit with each purchase.

3. STOP making only the minimum credit card payment

You may think you’re freeing up money each month by paying only the minimum payment due on your credit cards, but you’re only extending your debt misery, often by several years, when you make only minimum payments. You could end up paying hundreds of dollars in interest.

To pay off credit card debt faster, always pay more than the minimum payment each month. Meanwhile, stop charging purchases on your credit card unless you can pay off the monthly statement balance each month.

4. STOP putting off opening an emergency savings account

If don’t have emergency savings, you’ll have to charge unexpected expenses to a credit card. You can probably open a bank account with as little as a $25, $50, or $100 initial deposit. Then allocate an amount in your budget to deposit for emergency savings and stick to it.

To make saving as painless as possible, ask your employer to deposit a set amount from each paycheck to your savings account. That way, you’ll barely notice and won’t be tempted to let your saving goals slide.

5. STOP not taking advantage of your employer’s 401(K) match

If your employee benefits package includes a 401(K) account to save for retirement, sign up as soon as possible, especially if your employer matches up to a certain percentage of what you contribute from each paycheck. That’s free money, so don’t pass it up.

6. STOP Racking up ATM and cash advance fees

Hitting up the closest ATM for a withdrawal or credit card cash advance may be convenient, but if you do so often, you’re racking up the ATM bank’s fee of a few dollars or more in addition to your own bank’s fee.

And every time you take out a credit card cash advance, you’ll usually pay a cash advance fee and higher interest than the card’s usual rate, which begins to accrue immediately without a grace period.

7. STOP ignoring your credit report

To stay on top of your credit score and how to raise it, you need to monitor your credit report at least every few months. You can order a free copy as often as once a week at AnnualCreditReport.com.