“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
Tolstoy
One of the realities of adulthood is that money matters. Money is an integral part of our lives, and often determines the quality and texture of our lives.
It also cuts across other areas of our lives affecting our health, relationships, and career decisions.
Which means that improving your financial health should be a key objective before you make any major career or life changes.
When we talk about our finances, it’s not just about increasing our income. It’s also about:
- Giving from a place of gratitude and abundance
- Reducing our expenses
- Saving more money, and
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- WHY FINANCIAL HABITS
- 10 MONEY HABITS THAT WILL BOOST YOUR FINANCES
- 2. Create a spending plan or budget.
- 3. Be open to income opportunities.
- 4. Cultivate gratitude.
- 5. Invest in your financial knowledge.
- 6. Get professional help.
- 7. Save and invest strategically.
- 8. Join a group or community that promotes financial management.
- 9. Say ‘No’ more often.
- 10. Review your progress.
- GOOD HABITS REQUIRE CONSISTENCY AND COMMITMENT.
WHY FINANCIAL HABITS
Habits provide the vehicle for our transformation.
Our ability to do the right and good things will usually compound and lead us to our desired goals and dreams. So having good financial habits is our way of altering our financial life.
When it comes to habits, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits says there are four steps to forming a good habit:
- Cue – make it visible.
- Craving – make it attractive.
- Response – make it easy.
- Reward – make it satisfying.
The first point is so integral. When we create the right environment that feeds a new habit, we are more likely to follow through. Remember these four steps as you read through the following 10 habits.

10 MONEY HABITS THAT WILL BOOST YOUR FINANCES
- Get comfortable setting BIG financial goals (using the IGP method)
Here’s the thing, growth is scary, and it takes a level of courage and grit to keep going, however it is the very means to transform your life, in this case, your financial life.
And many times, the bigger and more audacious the goal, the higher the level of change it proffers. Like life-changing stuff.
Once you have an idea of what your financial goals are, it could be to hit a certain income goal at the end of this year or in 5 years, the next point is to run your goals through the Inverse Goal Planning Method we discussed here.
This gives you an insight to the areas of your life that need to adjust to make room for your new goal.
2. Create a spending plan or budget.
Fewer than 46% of people kept a budget or spending plan according to a national survey (of over 1,000 respondents), this suggests that we are more likely to wing it than to set out a clear plan of action related to our finances.
However, budgeting is a great financial habit to practice because it provides a “guardrail” against overspending, helps us plan better and achieve our financial goals.
Deborah Smith Pegues, author of the One Minute Money Mentor for Women says that where a friend is about to make a purchase, she would usually ask:
“Would you still buy that if everyone in the world were blind?”
It’s a funny yet relatable statement and helps us get to the heart of our spending decisions. Knowing what motivates us can help us curb any excesses.
3. Be open to income opportunities.
One interesting practice to increase your financial resources is to have positive expectancy. This is about having a mindset that money will come regularly and from unexpected sources according to Robin Sharma in the 5am Club.
Some of your major income opportunities may not come from your 9-5, but from interactions with friends, investments, and even from you own exploration of your environment. Don’t turn down such opportunities simply because they are not conventional. Of course, you want to make sure they are:
- Legal
- Not get rich quick schemes.
4. Cultivate gratitude.
“Gratitude is a currency of life that you can always cash.”
Cultivating gratitude is a good habit that cuts across every area of your life not just your finances.
The ability to thank God for the things you have and for the benefits you enjoy opens you up to even more blessings.
It’s about celebrating the small things, knowing that life is transient, and every day is a gift.
You can do this by creating a gratitude journal where you highlight one good thing that happened with your finances that day.
For instance, it may be that you avoided an impulse purchase and got to save the money. That’s a big deal and should be remembered.

5. Invest in your financial knowledge.
Growing your financial intelligence is an important part of a successful career transition. Having adequate knowledge on how to build and sustain your wealth will pay dividend now and in the future.
According to Alux (a personal finance app and youtube channel), “financial ignorance is expensive, it leads to costly mistakes like late fees, high-interest debt, and bad loans.”
6. Get professional help.
You can procure the services of a financial adviser (for more detailed expertise or that of a personal finance coach (who is usually cheaper), where you need more of support and accountability with your financial goals.
If this is not something you’ve ever considered, here are some reasons you should seek professional help with your finances:
- Because you recognise that there are people with more knowledge in this area.
- You don’t have the time to do the kind of deep dive that may be required for certain investments.
- For the complicated areas of finance like taxes and alternative investments like crypto
- For the structure, support, and accountability
7. Save and invest strategically.
Your financial habits would be incomplete if you do not save and invest on a regular basis.
Your ability to save is the very foundation of financial freedom, and the manner you invest speeds up the process.
One way to do this is to automate the process.
You can set up a direct debit with your bank to ensure a certain amount of money goes to your savings every week, month or whatever timeline serves you best.
8. Join a group or community that promotes financial management.
According to James Clear, “One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behaviour is the normal behaviour.”
In effect, you are able to build and maintain good habits when you’re part of a group where:
- Your desired behaviour is normal.
- You already have something in common with them (a desire to build wealth)
You could join an accountability group such as this or a personal finance group where members receive periodic trainings on personal financial management and income opportunities.

9. Say ‘No’ more often.
No is a complete sentence.
Get in the habit of saying No to the distractions, the expectations and the nonsense that often comes our way every day.
You also want to learn to say no to the requests that go against what you are trying to build.
As an African child, I understand the burden to send money back home. Some have sacrificed their future life on the back of meeting steep financial obligations back home.
If this is you, then you must learn a better and healthier way to navigate these obligations.
It means that there will be times you need to say no or not yet.
10. Review your progress.
Form the habit of reviewing your financial progress on a periodic basis. This may be done weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly. I usually recommend at least a monthly reset where you:
What other financial goals were achieved – courses taken, group memberships or tasks (as the case may be).
Check how much income you’ve earned.
Your level and type of investments (this may require balancing your investment portfolio so its diversified).
Major expenses for that period and any changes in the next period.
GOOD HABITS REQUIRE CONSISTENCY AND COMMITMENT.
Commit to the process and be consistent.
This means creating an environment that promotes good financial habits including interacting with people who practice such habits, getting into an accountability program like ours or speaking with professionals.
You can also tie certain rewards to achieving your goals, at each stage of the process. May be your goal is to save $20,000 by the end of the year. Don’t wait till you have saved the entire amount to reward yourself. You can tie a little reward to each milestone of $5,000, this will likely motivate you to keep going.
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