(DailyChive.com) – While some reasons for being broke might seem beyond your control, the fact is, many people in similar circumstances have nevertheless found their way to healthier, more stable finances. It may be tough, but facing down the most common wealth-building obstacles is a highly rewarding experience in more ways than one.
Four of the Most Common Challenges to Building Wealth
1. Impulse Buying
We’ll begin by presenting an important guiding principle: developing wise money habits is largely an emotional process. As philosophical as that sounds, it also carries much practical weight. Even when buying staples, such as food, impulse buys often dominate what otherwise begin as planned shopping excursions. A full 60–70% of grocery purchases are unplanned, according to industry studies.
That’s well over half of purchasing decisions for basic staples — and we aren’t even talking about entertainment, restaurants, or recreational expenses. Consider your path to better finances a primarily emotional journey. If it hurts to abstain from impulse buys, consider it in a more empowering light: the more you curb the habit to buy on impulse, the wealthier you become right then and there. You could also calculate the cost of things in terms of labor hours, rather than currency.
Eventually, it becomes a source of satisfaction whenever you don’t purchase something unimportant that crosses your mind.
2. Losing Sight of Goals
Losing a sense of purpose absolutely tanks the innate human desire to achieve more and comfortably acquire the good things in life. Whether you’ve lost sight of your goals due to a history of not meeting them, general pessimism, learned helplessness, or any other (purely psychological) reason, the time to renew your latent determination is always now.
While we’re constantly bombarded with carrots on strings from pushy advertisements, it’s more than possible to take control of your own latent motivations in much the same way. Keep a notepad with you, and write down several significant purchases that would make a lasting difference in your life. Put them at the front so you see them frequently.
All it takes is frequent small efforts to remind yourself of what’s truly important to you, and lesser wants will begin to pale by comparison. This can also transform efforts to earn more each week into engaging rituals in stoking your inner desires.
3. Making Only Short-Term Purchases
It’s no secret that the best deals are reserved for those purchasing items in bulk. One study of the 20 most common purchases found consumers save about 25% with bulk purchases.
Consider the staples you can’t live without, and look for opportunities to buy larger quantities, especially during sales. Once you acquire a stockpile, exercise restraint to prevent yourself from using much more than you normally would.
You might even find that the feeling of abundance gradually diffuses any emotional charges you may have associated with the item when you were constantly on the lookout for it.
4. Losing Sight of the Most Valuable Resource
Take a good, sobering look at your most time-consuming daily tasks. Chances are, you don’t feel like they add much value to your life. If there’s some purchase that would immediately, even permanently, cut down on the time lost, chances are, you should do it.
For example, even those in small efficiency apartments could make room for portable dishwashers. If food preparation consumes more time than you’d care to know, look into food processors or other time-saving appliances. Even when it seems like you can barely afford to keep gas in the tank, strive to make at least one minor expense for something that boosts gas mileage (and cuts down on car maintenance), such as a fuel injector cleaner.
The time savings you achieve can then be reinvested in value-adding activities, whether making more money directly or refining your lifestyle further to save even more time going forward.
Begin With Greater Internal Rewards
At the risk of sounding like a zen koan or other sagely parable, you just might find that adopting new wealth-building habits can make you feel like a million bucks (even without the million bucks). Keep it up, and you’re bound to start seeing greater opportunities to cut expenses and boost earnings — the crux of any profit-seeking endeavor. Reduce your vices, master your lifestyle, and stay on the lookout for the job opportunity of your dreams, and it’s a matter of time before you strike it rich.
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