Financial Discipline:Good Money Habits You Should Embrace This Year. 

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A Yoruba saying holds that “Money is a visitor”. This means that money comes and goes, if care is not taken. In no time that #100,000 sitting in your account is all gone and there's nothing tangible to show for it, if you are not financially disciplined. 

Financial discipline is the habit of managing your money wisely and consistently. It simply means controlling your spendings, saving regularly, and making good financial decisions. 

You do not have to be a millionaire before you learn financial discipline. From your little income you can be financially disciplined. This saves you from money stress and constantly running from pillar to post for not having enough. It is a habit you need to embrace to ensure financial stability. 

The year is still quite fresh and taking your financial life more seriously may be an important step in building that financially stable life you've always wanted.

Have you always struggled with your finances or meeting up with financial goals? Have you always struggled with managing your funds or utilizing money well? Are you always going broke? Then it's high time you became financially disciplined. Here are good money habits that would help you attain financial discipline.

1. Tracking your spendings: 

One of the important ways to have control of your financial life is to track where and what your money goes into. Get a pen and a book, list out your daily expenses to the most insignificant. This would help you check where and how your money runs out. Examine whether or not you spend more money on needs than wants. Do not ignore, whatever you buy, keep a record of it. This helps you with accountability and helps you to understand how to go about cutting off unnecessary spendings and managing your finances more.

2. Cutting your coat according to your clothe – Creating a budget:

Once you have a list of your expenses and how you've been spending your money, create a budget. It isn't boring. It isn't too serious. It is discipline. Creating a budget makes you live within your income. It reduces the chances of over spending. It also gives the room for savings no matter how little. Create a budget that fits well into your income. Don't create a budget that your income cannot cover. Have more money spent on needs, less money on wants. Some experts have proposed the 50%,30,20% budgeting plan as a good start. 50% for needs, 30% or 20% on wants or savings, emergency funds and debts , to your own discretion.

3. Clearing Debts on Time:

One of the ways to avoid repeated circles of debt, is to clear pending debts on time. Clear them off. Keeping them waiting or pushing them on to the next income or budget plan is a trap. The financial drowning would be real. Pay debts on time to reduce the financial stress of paying off accumulated debt. You can divide your debt payments into different months depending on the time frame you are to pay back or your financial capacity. 

4. Becoming Frugal and avoiding new debts:

If it is not within your budget don't spend, don't buy. Cultivate the habit of always sticking to your budget. Don't spend anyhow or spend outside your budget. Always live within your means. If unplanned needs come up, you sort the power of your emergency funds. However, always make sure you patiently decide when making purchases or when you need to spend out of your budget. You may decide to delay a purchase before making it. So, as to not make decisions on impulse. This would also help you avoid incurring new debts. 

5. Saving and Investing 

No matter how little, always allocate a part of your income to savings and investment. Don't wait to spend, then save the rest. You might end up not having anything left. Always save a part of your income first. Decide what particular amount of money you want to save daily or monthly no matter your expenses and stick to it. You should split your savings into two: Emergency Funds and Future plans. Savings are like our future knights in shining armour. Make sure you always save something. 

Also, don't just save, invest. Let your money work for you. Invest in stocks or equities or cryptocurrencies, if you want. 

6. Automating Bill payments and savings 

Technology has come to make life easier, make use of it. To avoid being tempted to spend beyond budget or your savings, automate your savings and also payments for bills. You can set it at whatever time you want and at whatever amount. This helps reduce the illusion that there is money in your account, with every penny going to its necessary place.

In addition, you can use the spend and save option in your financial app, if the feature exists. This helps you save passively as you spend. 

7. Always Save that Extra Cash:

Don't spend extra cash, save them. That extra cash is not a ticket to “oble.” You need to stop that habit. If you don't have anything to do with money, invest it. Don't spend it or squander it. This is not to say you shouldn't spend money to have a good time but it should be within your budget. So, always save that tip, extra money, free cash, money from giveaways and so on.

In conclusion, financial discipline is not unattainable. You just need to embrace good money habits. Financial discipline is a key pillar of wealth. In fact, wealth is built on financial discipline. Financial discipline also helps reduce money stress, avoid debt problems, build wealth over time, handle emergencies better and reach financial goals.

Therefore, it should become a lifestyle. You don't have to always buy everything, you don't have to always be lavish to have a good life. You can enjoy yourself on a budget, go on that self-care journey on a budget. Money isn't only for spending, it can also work for you. Invest! These are little steps to building a financially stable life and achieving financial goals. So, dear reader, you can attain financial discipline and you need to embrace it.