The Power of Small Habits
People tend to think it’s the big modifications they make in their lives that drive transformative change. I’d argue that it’s the small habits, the tiny wins, that spark drastic change. Small habits like, making your bed every morning or running every evening for 5 mins can ignite change. There’s something contagious about small wins.
Let’s be real, we all have some bad habits that our life would be better off without. What if I told you that it’s possible to change bad habits? There’s a way to hijack your routine that only requires awareness.
What Are Habits?
A habit, by definition, is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
As described by Charles Duhigg in “The Power of Habit“, a habit is comprised of 3 things:
Habits are extremely hard to give up, but our goal is to to enhance the habit by replacing the old routine with a better routine.
Here are 3 little money habits that inspire big change.
Set Aside Time For Yourself
I know, what does setting aside time for yourself have anything to do with getting that money? It has everything to do with productivity and creativity, both which are needed to make money.
I DESPISED getting up early in the mornings. Just ask any of my college roommates or ex-boyfriends (cual de todos jaja). I was notoriously known for setting my alarm an hour early and hitting the snooze button every 5 minutes before getting up. Yup, I was that person.
However, one weekend I woke up early, like 5 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I got out of bed and decided to make myself some coffee. Then I sat at my desk checked my emails and read some articles while I sipped on my coffee. I grew to really enjoy the unplanned “me” time I had that morning.
As a result, I’d wake up on the first alarm and head straight to the kitchen to make myself coffee. I created a ritual where I spent the first hour of my day reading and enjoying coffee. It was unintentional, but I noticed an increase in productivity and focus in my day.
The hour I spent focusing on myself actually helped reduce amount of time I spent mindlessly scrolling through social media. I also noticed, I stayed focused on tasks for longer. And finally, I noticed that I began getting much more creative with the way I solved problems.
BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch)
I used to keep my evenings extremely busy after work. I’d go run, meet up with friends, go to yoga, go to Bachata classes, etc. I’m an Aries and in my early twenties it was real hard to keep me still. I would jam pack my evenings so much that I wouldn’t give myself time to prepare my lunch.
For example, for the first month at my first job out of college, I ate out almost everyday. Then I saw what it was financially costing me to live this way. I kid you not, I spent roughly $400 in one month on eating out for lunch at work. It would cost me $4,800 a year to keep this habit up. I was Shook!
Immediately, I started to pack my own lunch. I began to look forward to making my food. It became a habit and even on the weekends when I didn’t work, I automatically whipped up some lunch. I began to only eat out on special occasions. I embraced that “Hay comida en la casa” lifestyle.
What Value Does this Bring Me?
In college and growing up, my family didn’t have much money. When I graduated from college and landed my first high paying job as an engineer, I balled out hard. I had never had that kind of income before and it felt nice to not have to worry about making ends meet. I didn’t maintain the same level of frugalness that I had before.
As a result, I started to buy myself the things I couldn’t afford before, like taking myself on shopping sprees for clothes and shoes. At some point, I was in the process of moving and realized that I had accumulated a lot clothing that I rarely used. After this realization, I became hypercritical of my purchases. I started auditing myself with questions like, “if you buy this will you actually use it? Or will it just sit in the closet”? I began to question the actual value that items would bring to my life. As a result, my closet is a perfect example of minimalism. I absolutely love every item in my closet serves and each serves a purpose.
Consequently, I don’t feel bad about dropping $75 for a pair of jeans anymore because they last me years now and I use them constantly. I also don’t buy new clothing often since everything I need I already have in my closet. I ensure that the Return On Investment (ROI) for my purchases is extremely high… and that includes the items in my closet.
Habits are Powerful
These small habits transformed the way I create and spend my money. I began applying these principals to all other aspects of my life, which helped me develop financial prowess.
Money is a mindset.
