How Much Are Your Poor Habits Costing You?

Poor Habits destroy your life. They act as an anchor, holding you back from success and the accumulation of wealth. Poor Habits, like all habits, are invisible and, like all habits, their daily impact is imperceptible.

Each Poor Habit you engage in is seemingly harmless and of little affect. But, over time, Poor Habits, like snowflakes, accumulate. Eventually, that accumulation causes an avalanche – a job loss, a heart attack, bankruptcy, divorce, etc.

But that is an abstract. Abstract because it paints a picture that is far into the future. Too far to cause worry today. So, rather, let’s consider the more concrete, understandable impact of Poor Habits. Let’s consider the financial costs of some very common Poor Habits.

• Smoking Cigarettes – The average daily smoker, smokes approximately 15 cigarettes a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Depending on what state you live in, the average cost of one cigarette is between 30 cents to 60 cents. This Poor Habit costs the daily smoker between $4.50 – $9.00 a day. Annually, this amounts to $1,643 to $3,285 a year. Over a lifetime of say, fifty years, this one Poor Habit costs you between $82,150 to $164, 250. Had you, instead, invested that money, earning 6% a year, you would have accumulated between $521,000 – $1,040,000.
• Drinking Alcohol – If you were to consume on alcoholic beverage every day for say fifty years, this one Poor Habit would cost you approximately $100 a month. Had you, instead, invested that money, earning 6% a year, you would have accumulated $381,000 over fifty years.
• Buying Lunch – Buying lunch every day costs, on average, about $6 a day. The cost of bringing lunch in from home would be about $2.50 a day. Had you, instead, invested that $3.50 difference, earning 6% a year, you would have accumulated $140,000 over a forty-year work-life.

These are some common Poor Habits. Poor Habits have real, measurable financial costs. Before you blame some third party for your poverty, consider the cost of your Poor Habits on your life.

Your financial circumstances in life are dictated by your habits. Change your habits and you change those financial circumstances.

Accumulating wealth often requires the elimination of just one or two Poor Habits. Self-made millionaires know this little secret to success. They understand that if they forge good habits, success and wealth are inevitable. Stop blaming others and start taking responsibility for your financial circumstances. Blame does not change those circumstances. It only rationalizes them.

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