Back when I was still working an office job, though I was earning good money, I was still constantly scrambling to make the ends meet every month.
I was always running out of cash even before my next paycheck comes — it was just a dreadful and never-ending negative cycle.
I was broke and buried in debt.
And the worst part was, though I knew that my current financial situation was pretty much a mess, I never even bothered to reassess my spending habits or how I’m managing my money.
I would just simply blame it on the fact that I was not earning enough — but I was.
I never took the blame (silly, right?) but after having to quit my job and taking a hard look at where I was standing financially — it finally hit me.
I was broke not because I was not earning enough. I continued to live paycheck to paycheck and buried in debt all because of the things that I kept doing that were only contributing to all my financial distress.
And yes, while there are other uncontrollable factors that are probably contributing to all our financial struggles, sometimes, it all boils down to all our financial mistakes — the way we choose to spend our money.
And that is exactly what happened to me.
If this situation sounds familiar to you, then maybe it’s time to sit down and ask yourself if you’re still broke because of these reasons…
Here are 5 Reasons why you’re always broke and what you should do to boost your financial situation…
You Lack Goals
I was guilty of this.
You see before I left my job, I didn’t have any savings nor did I have any emergency funds.
I knew I needed those things but it was just too difficult for me to start and that wasn’t because I was not earning enough, it was because I lacked the motivation to do it.
And you know why? Because I never really had any long-term financial goals. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my money.
I mean, I wished I had a lot of money. I wished many times for my financial situation to improve but a wish is not a goal.
A goal requires you to take action.
Creating specific long-term goals will help you determine the actions that you need to start doing now to help you get there.
Doing this will not only help you make better money decisions, but it will also make it easier for you to be more mindful on how you choose to spend your money.
So, start by doing this today and remember to be as specific and realistic as possible when setting your long-term financial goals.
Stay on top of your finances and track your spending effectively with the help of this Ultimate Finance Printable Planner
You spend to make yourself happy
This was me. I used to work in a very toxic and stressful 8-5 job and I spent every hour of it unhappy, anxious and stressed.
Bottom line is, I was not okay. I was miserable yet instead of facing it, I chose to bottle it up and look for other ways to cheer myself up.
And for me, that was spending. I spend in an attempt to fill the emptiness that I was feeling.
I spend to cheer myself up — thinking that this will somehow hide the fact of how unhappy I was.
Yes, it does make me feel better but it only lasts for a while and after that, I’m back to feeling miserable.
So, if you are also doing this, I’m here to tell you that no amount of money will ever be enough to fill in an emotional void.
Because the truth is, this can never be filled with money and expensive things.
Remind yourself that true happiness is not attached to material things or money, it is found within.
You can buy everything that you want and search your whole life for it, but if you are not happy with yourself, those things won’t still be enough.
Instead of spending your time buying things, focus on healing and growing as a person.
You prioritize today’s happiness instead of your future needs
This is where the “I deserve it” thinking comes in.
We can’t deny the fact that most of the time when we are faced with a dilemma of buying something that we WANT (though we don’t really need), we always end up getting it because of the thought that we deserve it.
We work hard for our money, of course, we deserve good things — while this is definitely true, we have to be smart about choosing the things that we really deserve.
Because truth be told, all the things that I talked myself into buying because “I deserved it” kept me from achieving the things that I really deserved.
It’s not bad to treat yourself every now and then but if you are constantly doing this to a point where it’s already keeping you broke and spending money that you don’t have, then it’s definitely time to rethink and change this habit.
You don’t pay yourself first
Paying yourself first is an important step in improving your finances. Learning and developing this habit is crucial to wealth building.
We often think of saving as an afterthought and not a priority — and this is where we make a mistake.
I made this mistake. I didn’t make the conscious effort to save money. I kept putting it off thinking that I still have plenty of time to do it.
Then one day, an emergency came up (a big one) and that left me scrambling at the last minute.
Don’t make the same mistake as I did. Save yourself from the stress and develop a constant habit of paying yourself first.
As soon as you get paid and before you do anything else, set aside a portion of your income to save.
You don’t have to start big. Baby steps.
You don’t organize your finances
Whether you want to start saving money, pay off your debts or whatever your financial goals are, getting your finances organized will help you get there.
Back then, my finances were pretty much all over the place — it was a mess. But after taking a hard look at where I was standing financially, I then knew how my bad money habits and being disorganized has greatly contributed to my financial woes.
I tell you, whatever your financial situation is, whether you’re buried in debt, living paycheck to paycheck getting your finances organized is a must.
I find that one of the benefits of doing this is having the chance to see opportunities to improve your finances, knowing what areas I needed to work on for me to achieve my financial goals faster and what I needed to do to get there.
I started doing this by tracking my spending first and learning how to create and stick to an effective budget.
Then, I started to look for resources that helped me learn more about personal finance and better money management — this helped me a whole lot!
These are just some of the reasons that kept me broke and living paycheck to paycheck, there are still a lot of things out there that are greatly contributing to our financial struggles.
So, take the time to sit down, and identify those factors that are keeping you broke and learn what you need to do to alleviate your situation.
I know it can be difficult but I’m here to tell you that it is possible. It is possible for you to improve your finances and shift your situation.
You just have to be willing to take action and make that happen!
Your Turn…
What were the things or habits that kept you broke? What did you do to change them? Let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear from you!