5 Personal Finance Mistakes to Avoid

Money is a unique subject because it touches every area of our life. Where we live, what we drive, even who we hang out with is affected by how much money we have. Because of it’s far reach, there are plenty of mistakes that can be encountered when you handle your finances. Keep reading to find out 5 of those mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Taking General Advice as Law

There is plenty of financial advice on the internet (here included) but everyone’s situation is different. Personal finance is personal. What works for one person, might not work for you. Not everyone has the same goals. Even two people who want to retire early could have two different ideas of retirement.

When handling your finances, you need to consider the factors in your life before you blindly follow general advice. Or better yet, sit down and talk to someone that can help you decide what route is best for you. I’d be glad to help.

2. Being Too Hard on Yourself

We are human beings which means that we will make mistakes. Shocking, right? If you happen to fall short of a goal that you set for yourself, don’t beat yourself up. All that does is discourages you from continuing to better your financial situation.

Instead, when you do something that sets you back, take a moment to understand what went wrong. What caused you to not hit your goal? Could it have been avoided? What can you do differently next time? You can’t change the past but you can always change the future.

3. Not Taking Care of Your Health

If you are intensely focusing on your personal financial goals, you may let things important to your health slip. For instance, you cook at home more often to save money, but you purchase white bread instead of whole grain to save some money. Or you spend all your time working a full-time job and a side hustle only to make no time for working out.

Not focusing on your health can have expensive consequences down the line. I’m not saying you need to buy all organic or get an expensive gym membership. You can shop smart at the grocery store and exercise for free at home or outside. You can still keep cost low and make healthy choices.

4. Letting Relationships Suffer

Imagine spending years of your life achieving financial freedom only to look up and see no one beside you to enjoy it with. Your family thinks you feel like you’re too good for them. Your spouse left you because you never wanted to spend time with them. Friends stopped asking you to hang out because you were always busy and never put in any effort to keep the friendship alive.

Achieving your financial goals is an amazing feeling, but you can’t have a one track mind. It’s not healthy to be so wrapped up in getting money and creating income streams only to not have anyone to call at the end of the day. You don’t have to go out to eat or do expensive activities to uphold relationships. Just get creative and remember that money isn’t the only important thing in life.

5. Not Being Generous

No one aspires to be a Scrooge (at least I hope not). Sometimes you can get so dedicated to saving money that you don’t let go of it, even for a good cause. I believe that you get what you give in this world. If you are generous, even if it’s just with your time, then the universe will be kind to you.

You can practice generosity by tithing at church, volunteering your time, donating money to charities, or even buying popcorn from the Boy Scouts. You don’t have to give a lot of money, but giving something is better than nothing.

The road to achieving any goal isn’t always a smooth one. However, now that you know these 5 mistakes and how to avoid them, your road should be a lot less rough. If you’ve encountered other mistakes and need advice on how to overcome them, feel free to reach out to me!