I like to think of myself as frugal minded, savings oriented and determined to pay off my debt. This year I’ve learned so much about personal finance, my habits, my strengths and my weaknesses. Although I am trying to get myself on the path to financial security and financial enlightenment, I still suffer from some bad financial habits.
Looking for jobs
Although I’ve been at my job for four months, and I’ve passed the probation period with flying colors and am really happy, I still haven’t kicked my habit of looking for jobs. Granted I’m no longer scouring every job site imaginable, I’m still looking. I’m always looking for my next side-hustle gig and seeing what’s “out there”. I have plenty of other things I could be doing, but for the past two years all I have been doing is looking for jobs. I had so much guilt if I wasn’t looking for work, that it’s somehow stayed with me. I am going to try to wean myself off this process and just look for side-hustle work, as I have no interest in leaving my job. Time is money, and I’m not spending my time wisely here. I’m also letting my mind go to a financial scarcity mindset, which is no good.
“Saving money” some place then spending it somewhere else
I bike to work 98% of the time, saving myself roughly $100 per month (we’ll see if this changes when it start raining EVERY DAY!). It feels great to be biking 8 miles a day, helping the environment and saving money. But sometimes I get hungry from biking so much and justify eating out because I’m “saving” money by biking to work. Clearly, I am not really saving money if I am going to turn around and spend it again. I also justify going out because I never buy clothes, I spend maybe $20 a year on cosmetics, don’t buy books or other luxuries, etc. I think, wow, I never spend any money on these budget categories! I can add a little to my going out budget. It’s a sick psychological game that makes me feel better about my spending. Yes, I might be doing great in some budget categories compared to most people, but then most people don’t have as much debt as I do. I need to continue to keep my expenses low so I can add all additional money to my debt!
Being too frugal and not enjoying myself
Sometimes when I do go out and am not justifying it in some way, I try to be ultra frugal and buy something that I don’t really want. This happens at restaurants frequently when I buy the cheapest thing on the menu, then end up being dissatisfied because I wanted something else. It’s like wanting a burger, but getting a hot dog. It’s just not the same. Hot dogs are cheaper, but damn, I wanted that burger that was 3x as much! Sometimes it doesn’t even seem worth it to spend money when you aren’t getting what you really want.
Those are just a few of my bad financial habits. Can you relate? What are your bad financial habits?
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17 comments
Sometimes I am too frugal and don’t enjoy myself. Luckily W balances me out! 🙂
It’s nice to have someone that can do that!
Hmm, being “too frugal” has never been a problem for me ;). I definitely fall into the “not frugal enough” category because I think most aspects of frugality suck. That’s why I dig minimalism — not buying a lot, but not being ultra frugal about it.
Yes to minimalism! It makes me feel less bad about buying certain things, but I gotta kick the guilt 🙂
“Saving money” some place then spending it somewhere else is definately something I am guilty of but I always try to remind myself that life is short. There’s only so much I can cut out of my life to keep expenses low before I sacrifice the qaulity of my life to save $20. That darn Starbucks habit is also something I can’t quit! 😛
Starbucks will be hard to quit the next few months with the PSL! But yes, life is short so we shouldn’t spend it being too frugal OR feeling too guilty.
I think it’s great to always keep an eye out for other jobs – just to check you’re not missing out on anything. I’m guilty of saving money in some areas and then spending it on others – I don’t go out much but I tend to buy drinks to have in at home. I’ve been spending way too much on that!
I’m guilty of that too! It’s cheaper to drink at home, but still!
I’m guilty of being too frugal and not enjoying myself…I hate spending money on wants when I have debt. We could really use a couch in our empty living room but I’d rather pay off debt. :/
Gah, that’s the worst. You have to try to enjoy yourself sometimes. Look on Craigslist for couches!
I don’t know, I think if you’re really saving in one area I can see the occasional splurge like grabbing a bite to eat (but then again I’m always hungry-lol), but not a hot dog. I’d go for the burger too. You can’t be too hard on yourself. This is life and it’s not meant to be so restrictive you are cranky or in a bad mood or too hard on yourself because of it. We all slip up, but it’s OK. Pace yourself lady! 🙂
I actually don’t eat hot dogs, so it’s a bad analogy, lol. I’m treating myself, but I know I can also lose control easily because then I go into total “well I could die tomorrow!” mode.
I’m pretty guilty of justifying stuff, as well, with “saving” in other areas and going cray in other categories! Once I catch myself doing it, I rein it in and try to lower the overall budget – putting things down in my spreadsheet really keeps me in check by doing this. I think it’s a positive direction that you realize you’re doing these things – once the awareness is there, then the changes you want can happen!
I do this: ““Saving money” some place then spending it somewhere else”
I also am the opposite of frugal. 🙂
I would love to bike to work… but I work in central London and the traffic freaks me out. Instead of paying for underground, I’m probably going to start using bus as from January (my annual Tube pass is paid for until the end of this year) to save some pennies. Umm, not sure about bad financial habits… probably spending money on travelling whereas I could throw it towards debt, but I’m okay with this so I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad financial habit.
I’m a chronic job hunter and house hunter (grass is always greener!)
When I’m tired or hungry, all frugality basically goes out the window in favour of the path of least resistance. It’s a character flaw…
I always keep my eye out on new jobs, new condos… it’s good to know what’s out there, even if you don’t intend on swapping.