5 habits that make you lose money and how to avoid them

No matter how conscious and controlled your budget is, believe me: there are habits that make you lose money in your routine.

And this isn't minimalist talk, because the idea isn't that you start cutting your expenses to the bare minimum. The truth is that we all end up losing control of some expenses throughout the month.

However, for those who want to build an emergency fund and create healthy financial habits, it is important to reduce these expenses as soon as possible. 

That said, that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today, so if you’re tired of seeing your money go down the drain every month, check out the information below!

Yes, you have habits that make you lose money

If you've spent hours browsing YouTube videos to learn about financial control, you probably consider your financial life to be in good shape.

After all, if you've already cut up your credit cards and started detailing your expenses in a spreadsheet, where could you be going wrong?

But the fact is that no matter how controlled the monthly budget is, we all end up slipping up sooner or later, and as a result, some superfluous and unnecessary expenses take a few cents or reais away.

And, often these slips are imperceptible, but, one way or another, you end the month with the feeling that the money has evaporated from your account.

No, it didn't evaporate, you spent it without realizing it, and that's where the importance of knowing the habits that make you lose money.

This is because the problem is not always with large withdrawals or high-value transfers, after all, these are easy to notice.

But remember that to get R$ 100 out of your account, you just need to go to the bakery 10 days a month to buy cheese bread and croissants. It may not seem like much on a daily basis, but it ends up being expensive.

So, the first step is to recognize that these habits exist, and then correct them.

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5 habits that make you lose money: know them and solve the problem!

As we saw earlier, no matter how regulated our financial life is, we all lose cents or reais every day, without even realizing it.

Whether it's buying bread in the morning, or accepting to fill up at a gas station that charges R$0.50 more per liter of gasoline, these small expenses can take money out of your account without you realizing it.

For this reason, we have separated 5 habits that make you lose money, in order to help you identify situations that take your money without you realizing it.

1. Using accounts with fees and no income 

Although digital banks have changed this scenario a lot, there are still accounts that charge fees today.

These rates may be affordable, but no matter how cheap it is, if there is the option to use the free service, paying for the use of an account borders on waste.

This problem becomes even worse when the account, in addition to having fees, also does not offer any income, so the money just sits there, without any gain for the customer.

Therefore, considering that there are currently accounts with income, such as Mercado Pago, Nubank and PagBank, having one that charges you fees and does not yield anything is an unnecessary financial loss.

Therefore, to solve this problem, try to find out about profitable account proposals, and switch your use to a service of this type.

2. Having a credit card as a supplement to your income 

Although credit cards have become popular, it is important to understand that there is interest on both the bill and purchases.

So, to make a purchase on debit the amount is X, whereas on credit this usually increases by R$ 2 or R$ 3, and in the case of installments, the fees are even higher.

In addition, banks often charge administration fees on card statements, not to mention the annual fee.

Therefore, having a credit card as a supplement to your income is one of the habits that make you lose money, since you lose amounts that you wouldn't lose if you used the money as a debit card.

It is worth mentioning that using credit in this way represents a risk of debt, so be careful and use this resource with caution and in cases of extreme need.

3. Subscribing to services without assessing real need 

Especially when it comes to movie and series streaming services, it can be difficult to choose an option.

This is because each company offers specific programming, so to have access to all titles it would be necessary to subscribe to more than one service.

But, everyone who does this ends up in the same situation: in practice, they only use one platform, while the others are deducted from the card and are never accessed.

The same goes for music subscriptions, products and even services in general.

Therefore, before making any type of subscription, it is important to understand whether that service will really be useful for the entire period.

This is because subscribing to something that you will only use for 1 day of the month is one of the habits that make you lose money.

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4. Not having an emergency fund 

Many consider that not having an emergency fund is not one of the habits that make you lose money, after all, you are not losing anything, even though you do not have easy financial solutions.

But remember that people who do not have this type of reserve usually need to take out loans or have no other option but to accept interest for late payment of bills when an unforeseen event occurs.

In both cases, losing money is inevitable, so making this type of reserve is the best solution to avoid interest and financial losses.

So, to solve the situation, try to set aside a small portion of your salary each month. It may seem like a small amount at first, but after a few months of saving it will be enough to cover unexpected expenses.

5. Consider conscious consumption “minimalist talk”

Finally, one of the habits that make you lose money, is precisely not worrying about conscious consumption because this practice is considered an adherence to minimalism or radical sustainability.

But we must remember that conscious consumption means reducing unnecessary expenses and purchases, which is good for the planet and your pocket. 

So, by adopting this consumption method, your purchases will be made based on real reflection of need, which reduces expenses that could be avoided.

This way, you will start to save more, and only see your money leave your account when it is really important.

So, now that you know how to solve these problems, put the tips into practice and see your financial life change forever!

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