4 Money Habits To Unlearn ASAP

We learn a lot from our parents, and unfortunately, it’s not always good things. One example? Money. Our parents learned about money in a very different time than we’re living in right now.. which means that a lot of their money habits just won’t fly in today’s day and age, or they just weren’t healthy financial habits to begin with.

“Lifehacker” readers know this and are sharing their parents’ bad money habits and how they’ve unlearned them.

  • The mindset that cash is king. “Put money into your 401k and watch it, or invest 10% of your savings in an index fund like Vanguard. Once you get over the idea that your money isn’t gone and actually see it increase over a long period, you can work yourself up to putting your money to work.”
  • An aversion to credit cards. “Biggest lesson was to never get close to the card limit, only spend what I knew I could afford to pay off on a monthly basis and use a program that links all my accounts in one area that is easily accessible.”
  • Ignoring bills. “I had to start by asking a good friend to open one super scary letter/warning for me and read it first. I learned that it’s much better to call and say ‘I know I owe this, but can’t pay in full, what can we do,’ versus just ignoring it and hoping in vain it will disappear. It will never disappear, and it only compounds the problem. A difficult/awkward conversation on the phone is always better than denial.”
  • Not talking about money. “[M]aking more of an effort to include my daughter in our money conversations, so it’s not some hush-hush secret that she’s totally on her own to learn as an adult like I did.”

Source: Lifehacker

Photo: Getty Images


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