5 Money Habits to Build Wealth in Your 30s and 40s

Our habits create our reality.  What are habits though?

They are repeated behaviours that have engrained a neural pathway in our brains, so that we think the thought, or do the activity without being consciously aware of it.

Habits are a powerful tool to help us be more effective, and to live more efficiently.  Especially when it comes to money.  

What often gets in our way though, is our Money Mindset, and how we see our ability to change our financial circumstances. 

This is partly due to being unclear on what our Vision is for our lives, and also because we don't get taught how to manage money.  We also certainly are not taught how to run a business and manage the finances!

So, here are 5 Money Habits that you can start working on to embed them into your regular routines - put time in your calendar to make these happen!  These can work for your business as well as your personal life.

HABIT 1: Get Clear on Your Vision/Purpose

Clarity is an amazing thing.  If you suffer from indecision, or constantly questioning yourself and the decisions that you make, then you are probably unclear about what you want and why.  From your business and life in general.

Without this clarity, it makes it very difficult to make decisions to help you get where you want to go, because you don't know! 

This isn't just about setting a strategy, goals and plans.  This is BIGGER than that.  It comes down to what life you want to lead.  Not what you SHOULD be doing, but what you WANT to do.

If you aren't sure, then you can check out the Money & Lifestyle Vision guide and meditation that I have put together. 

Or, you can journal ideas that come to you, and you can start to piece together the picture and elements that you want your life to have.

Revisit this at least every 6 months, to tweak it and see if it still rings true.  It will become your "North Star" when it comes to making financial decisions. 

HABIT 2: Watch your Money Monthly 

Something I see a lot is avoidance when it comes to most things money-related.  Just the idea of starting a spreadsheet, or writing down your Net Worth, makes many women cringe.

There is a saying, "knowledge is power".  You are giving your power away if you aren't knowledgeable about what is happening with your money.

You can't outsource this entirely to a partner, accountant or bookkeeper.

Knowing what money is coming in, how much you are spending, and what debt you have, is important.  Then you can also make better decisions, as you are informed about what your financial capacity is. 

HABIT 3: Streamline Your Spending

I'm about to use the dreaded B word... Budget.  I don't like budgeting either (to the point that I call it cashflow management, because to me it sounds better!), however, knowing what you're spending your money on is important.

In a business it's very easy to have app overload.  I've done it - 3 applications that essentially do the same thing.  It's time to get rid of 2 of them and just pay for 1!  It also becomes easier to manage when you don't have to many different tools to try and remember to use and how they work.

Insurances is a big hitter that you can save hundreds of dollars on.  Once a year I call my insurance company (for my household insurances predominantly, as I have a broker for my business insurances) and ask how they can reduce my premium. 

Often it's just me asking for a loyal customer discount (why should new customers get all the bonuses!), and they give it to me, without any fuss at all.

You can also do this with your home loan interest rate.  You can ask for a review, and provided you have been regularly paying the amount agreed, you are in a strong position to negotiate.  Banks will often just give it to you, so they don't have to waste manpower on the negotiation.  All you have to do is ask!

HABIT 4: Use Savings Instead of Credit

This is another important one.  These days we want everything straight away, and so we put it on credit.  There's something so satisfying though in saving up for something, waiting for it, and then paying for it, knowing that we worked and saved for it.

This even applies to buying a car.  My last car was over 20 years old, and I spent 2 years saving up for a "new" (aka secondhand) car, as I knew my old car was going to start getting way too expensive to repair.

It was incredibly satisfying walking into the dealership to pay for the car we'd picked out, and handing over a cheque.

Get into the habit of saving for something that you know you might want or need in the future.  Put it into a high interest savings account and keep it just for that particular thing.

That will free you up from piling more and more debt onto yourself, and it will start to reshape how you treat money, and how it treats you (energetically).

HABIT 5: Invest on a Monthly or Quarterly Basis

Consistency is key when it comes to money.  Regularly putting money aside and investing it.  Over time, the compounding effect builds and builds. 

The important elements are firstly to start, and then to continue, without touching the money.

I started a micro-investing account 6 years ago, and I only invested roundups for the first 5 years.  At this point my balance had reached $5,000.  I then began an automated top up of $10 per month, and a year later I had $6,600!  It took 5 years to get to the $5,000, but then it increased by $1,600 in just one year but adding in an extra $120! 

Admittedly share market conditions played into that too, but for half of that year, things weren't looking great.  Over time though, the result was really good.

The thing is, if I hadn't started to do that, I wouldn't have that money now.  

Micro-investing is just one option.  You can also top up your retirement fund each month, and you can also direct invest on top of all this too.  This is all in parallel to paying off your home.

The only way to build wealth is to do more than just one thing at a time.

If you want to know more, then sign up for the waitlist for my new mini-program Money Habits Reset.  There are special Waitlist only bonuses, so stay tuned!