It is possible that your bank or financial app knows more about you than you know about yourself.
Why?
Because it tracks your every move. Everywhere you spend money. Everywhere you travel.
It tracks your habits. What time you made a purchase. What time you went where.
It also designs your profile. Are you a saver or a spender? Are you an investor? And if you are – are you risk prone, or risk averse?
How intentional are you in your habits? Do you know yourself as well as your fin app does?
Facing the mirror
I was certainly not aware, until I had to confront my habits. I was a spender, not a saver. High use of my overdraft gave me an over-spender score. This “bad” over-spender score dovetailed with a high debt commitment. You guessed right: I was carrying a big heavy load of commitment on my shoulder – a female Sisyphus.
My mind felt heavy. Until I decided to fix the heaviness – and move to lightness. It meant dealing with my habits, primarily my money habits.
Here are some behavioral indicators to consider:
Are you a spender or a saver? Shift the habit and first save, then spend. The solution is in automating savings once your income comes in.
Have you successfully earnt a salary raise? Congratulations. Don’t inflate your lifestyle. Instead set saving and investing goals, year after year.
Does your data show emotional spending patterns? Do you stay up late at night to browse on shopping sites? Is this happening more after stressful days or boring weekends? Are you using spending as an emotional gratification? Like in anger management (!) use the pause rule – count to 10 and if you are still interested then possibly it is an intentional buy.
What your money habits might be telling you
Your banker (whether an app, a bot, or a person) would know if you are risk averse. You are keeping large amounts of money in cash instead of investing because you don’t have the time to think about an investing strategy that is “safe”. You prefer to lose value of cash to inflation than take the time to study and understand investing options that are your authentic decisions (not copying others). Dedicate a regular chunk of time to reading, listening or talking to experts about your options. Make money work for you.
On your wish list every year you say travel is important. Yet your extra money goes to clothes, shoes, subscriptions and delivery food. Your stated goals don’t match your priorities.
Your financial tracker knows that – do you have the courage to face your reality?
Your money habits reveal the real you. Once you confront your habits, you can decide if you want to change or stay on the same path. If you decide to make changes, do them intentionally.
Then you can join the journey of financial independence.