{"id":1963,"date":"2015-11-11T00:15:37","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T08:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/?p=1963"},"modified":"2015-11-10T07:06:46","modified_gmt":"2015-11-10T15:06:46","slug":"why-you-should-put-a-focus-on-creating-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/why-you-should-put-a-focus-on-creating-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Put a Focus on Creating Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>Money is an interesting thing.<\/p>\n One on hand we all know that there is far more to life than money. On the other hand, not having enough money can make your life miserable. Money can either be a tool that helps you build the life you want or it can be the source of a whole lot of stress.<\/p>\n I feel like I\u2019ve been on both sides of the fence.<\/p>\n When I first got divorced money was a HUGE issue. I had been used to earning around $20,000\/year which wasn\u2019t a problem when I was married. However, after I got divorced making that money stretch was hard. I worked two jobs, tried to build online income, and saved an emergency fund.<\/p>\n The first year was really hard. But I made it work. I was able to keep my expenses in check and save a decent size emergency fund on a low income. And it all came down to creating habits that stuck.<\/p>\n Now I don\u2019t even have to think about how to manage my money or what money is going to go where. My entire financial system is on autopilot.<\/p>\n I personally feel like this is a good place to be \u2013 to not have to think about budgeting, investing, debt repayment, or saving. It just happens on autopilot without even thinking about it.<\/p>\n These are the habits I\u2019ve developed that have helped me the most.<\/p>\n \u201cYou save 100% on the stuff that you don\u2019t buy.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a completely true statement. I think we get caught up on trying to pinch pennies here and there or are tempted when we see sales like \u201cBOGO Free\u201d or \u201cSave $15 when you spend $100\u201d but the truth is, you\u2019re not really saving anything if you buy stuff you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n I have a hard time buying things. I\u2019ll put stuff in the shopping cart that I might need or that would be nice to have but I can never buy it! I walk around with it in my cart for five minutes and then I go put it back.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying I never buy anything<\/em>. I just don\u2019t cave to impulse purchases much. When I buy something I\u2019ve usually thought about it for a couple weeks before I pull the trigger.<\/p>\n I LOVE that I have several income streams. It allows me to very easily designate different income streams to different savings goals.<\/p>\n# 1 \u2013 Not Buying a lot of Stuff<\/h2>\n
# 2 \u2013 Saving Certain Income Streams<\/h2>\n