Put a cost on your bad habit and consider saving

That money you spend for breaching traffic rules or any kind of penalty due to your bad habit or carelessness can as well be saved for your retirement, your kids education, house rent, bills or for other purposes.

Some people work in an organisation where lateness is not only prohibited but has penalty attached, yet they indulge in lateness preferring to pay fine rather than keeping to the rule. Also, you may belong to an association or village/community meeting that has sanctionable rules and regulation and you still choose to breach some perhaps because you have enough money to spend.

Experts say, think of saving such money for the future. In case you do not want to use such money you can give it to charity organisations.

When it comes to handling finances, most people seem to have the skill, except for one or two problem areas. You may be great at paying your bills on time and sticking to your budgeted amounts except in one or two key areas where you struggle each month.

Or you may be fine at sticking to your categories, but you forget to send in your bills on time. Your bad financial habits cost you money. They keep you from reaching your financial goals, Miriam Caldwell, personal finance specialists said.

She has come up with steps that can help you save money and make lasting changes to your financial picture.

The first thing you should do is add up the amount that you are paying for your bad habits each month and over the entire year.

Once you recognise the situations and the habits, you need to identify the things that trigger the bad habits to come into play.

Once you can identify those moments and situations, you can begin to do things to prevent them. For example, if you know that you are hungry and tired on the way home from work, you can pack a snack for the trip home instead of stopping at a convenience store.

This will be less expensive, and you may have healthier options. If you have trouble with cooking at night because you are tired, you can use a slow cooker, make your meals on the weekends or find another solution that makes it easier to get dinner on the table.

Another thing she said can help is to change your routine. If you are habitually late when it comes to paying your bills on time, you can pay them all on the first of the month. You can also contact your loan and credit card company to see if you can change your billing cycle to coincide with your payday. This can make it easier to pay the bills when they are due.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE