Making money isn’t always the hardest part of building wealth. Sometimes, how you spend and save your money can create greater roadblocks to success.
While it’s possible to gamble money away at a casino or lose your nest egg on a bad investment, more often people make smaller, everyday mistakes with their finances that add up over time. These common mistakes include: not having long-range goals; neglecting to budget; failing to track purchases; and using credit cards to pay for conveniences, luxuries and impulse buys.
It’s all too easy to succumb to the “money burning a hole in your packet” temptation. And this doesn’t just refer to cash anymore. Impulse buying is always more likely to occur when we have easy access to our funds. Keeping credit cards on you or keeping card information stored in apps and online stores may be convenient for a quick checkout, but it also doesn’t leave you much time to decide if you actually need that new lamp you saw online at 2 a.m. when you couldn’t sleep.
Similarly, credit cards eliminate the pain of seeing hard-earned cash turn into the luxury item we want, which might have mentally depreciated that high-end handbag or electronic device. And they increase the odds of overpaying for convenience items, such as transportation, lodging and even meals.
Budgeting often prevents impulse purchases and splurges. But less than 40 percent of Americans actually have budgets in the first place – and many of them don’t follow those budgets. Creating – and sticking to – a budget is a habit that must be built. Once you plan your purchases and expenses ahead of time, stick with that plan and you’ll likely begin to “find” money you never realized you had.
Purposes and goals help you stay focused on your spending and savings plans. Without goals, you keep a budget but then spend the excess – once you view it as excess. Or perhaps you save effectively but only earn minimal interest, wasting years of potential extra growth.
Whether you have $100 to your name or $100 million, even simple and seemingly harmless mistakes can impact your finances negatively and create headaches or even heartaches. If you would like an evaluation of your personal spending and saving habits, or a review of your strategies to grow your financial wealth, contact Jordan Dechtman, Denver registered investment advisor representative at 303-741-9772, email him at Jordan@JordanDechtman.com or visit our website www.JordanDechtman.com to schedule an appointment.
Important Disclosure Information
Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Dechtman Wealth Management, LLC [“DWM”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from DWM. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. DWM is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the DWM’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.dechtmanwealth.com.
Please Note: DWM does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to DWM’s web site or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
Please Remember: If you are a DWM client, please contact DWM, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently.
Please Also Remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.
Join our newsletter
