photo by Ethan Bloch
You see tips all the time to help build a successful savings — or, at the very least, ways to pare down your spending. Ever wonder what decisions will lead to financial failure? Identifying negative behaviors, thoughts or habits is important in order to work on changing them. Here’s a list of things you can learn to stop doing.

TRY TO KEEP UP: So and so has this and that, so you have to have it, too. You keep up with the latest and greatest of everything.

ALWAYS GOING TO PAY: Thinking that you’re always going to have a mortgage or car payment, so you spend excessive money that could be spent toward paying down debt instead of increasing it.

ENTITLEMENT: You justify your overindulgences by telling yourself that you deserve to splurge. Hey, they extended you all that credit, so you should use it, right? Your kids have to have everything that you didn’t when you were growing up, too. They want for nothing. They’re adults, and you’re still doing everything for them. You bail them out of countless jams. You let them manipulate you because you were such a bad parent. They deserve more. You can’t pay your electric bill, but that’s one impressive flat-screen television. The world owes you something.

ICK FACTOR: You wouldn’t dare use or buy anything secondhand. You think it’s all junk.

IDENTITY ISSUES: Your identity is wrapped up in what you own. You care what everyone else thinks, so you go to great measures to surround yourself with luxury to impress others.

LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY: You blame others, won’t listen to suggestions, or avoid handling late payments responsibly. You don’t prepare for emergencies. You just let whatever happens simply happen. Paying late charges isn’t a penalty. They don’t cost that much. You hope that by ignoring things, they’ll go away. You make excuses, but you don’t do anything to change things.

NO MAINTENANCE: Instead of maintaining your car, you simply trade it in for a new one. It becomes someone else’s problem. You don’t research your new car purchase beforehand. You love that new-car smell.

POOR HEALTH: You smoke or drink excessively. You know you’re unhealthy but don’t do anything to change it. Why plan your future when you won’t be around anyway? When you need medical attention, you put it off until it’s critical. You don’t see the connection between your health and finances.

NO RETIREMENT FUND: You think Social Security or family members will handle it all. You keep on charging to your credit card. You don’t consider debt as lent money that you owe to real people who extended services or products to you.

DON’T BUDGET: You think it all balances out in the end. You don’t track incoming or outgoing money. You procrastinate and will get to it tomorrow, next week or after the new year.

LOANS: Continue spending what you can’t afford. You turn to payday-advance companies or home-equity loans. Then you can’t pay them. Soon after, you file for bankruptcy.

What was or is your worst bad money habit?

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