40 Money Habits That Can Leave You Broke

If you don’t take the time to monitor your monthly fees, online streaming services can easily add up. Cancel your Netflix, Hulu and Spotify accounts — and any other services — if you find that you aren’t using them.

“It might be a bit easier, simpler and faster to divide the bill evenly — but doing so has cost me more,” said Jason Vitug, founder of Phroogal. “There was a time I was in a very tight budget but still wanted to eat with friends,” he said, adding that his bill would have totaled $10 with tip and tax. When he was asked to split the bill and pay $25 — which would have covered the meals and drinks of his friends — he objected. “The jokes followed, but I managed to break the social dining habit and help my finances,” he said.

One of the cornerstones to savvy money management is in savings and payment automation.

“I automate retirement, savings, credit card payments and more,” said Abella. “If someone isn’t automating, then they are just more likely to miss financial goals or miss payments.”

Trying to keep up with appearances and match the financial spending patterns of people around you is a recipe for disaster.

“People generally think they spend less than they actually do,” said Chad Smith, CFP and partner at Financial Symmetry in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Buying bigger houses, cars and other toys can easily blow past spending targets originally assumed in financial plans.”

“Too often, once people learn they are getting a raise, mental planning begins of how they can finally buy the next thing they’ve been waiting [for],” said Smith. If they saved most or all of the raise instead of buying a new iPhone, he suggested, many people could reach financial independence much sooner than expected.