Bad habits clearly are not just bad for your health, but also bad for your pocket. So instead of holding on to these habits, take a step back and look at things from a new perspective.
When it comes to bad habits surrounding money, the effects can be painful: You might, for instance, pay thousands more in interest, leaving you with no cash to cover your emergency expenses.
Take a look at some of the habits that you should revisit, not just for year health but for your finances as well.
Smoking
Smoking can be expensive in a lot of different ways. First, there is the cost of cigarettes. It’s one of the chart-topping bad habits.
We can all agree that smoking has no positive health benefits. But it’s also bad for your financial health.
If you think you are okay with spending extra rands on this habit, cigarette taxes keep rising, meaning your habit will probably cost more in the future.
Also, the added costs may come later in life as you deal with serious health issues from the side effects of smoking. Remember, medical bills can be very expensive. Give up this habit and save your money - and your health.
Fast food
Although it has some of the lowest quality on the market, fast food can be surprisingly expensive.
You may even think that it can be almost as inexpensive as cooking at home, though this depends on where you eat out and what you cook at home. But eating out can be expensive and becomes a habit that can be harder to break.
Eating a large amount of fast food can also increase the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase, which might be a sign of liver damage.
By packing lunches for work and getting up a few minutes early for breakfast, you can save a significant amount of money. It’s also healthier and often tastes better, too.
Sugar addiction
While there are numerous ways, sugary foods and addictive drugs are similar. People often binge on sugary foods like ice cream the same way as a person addicted to alcohol, opioids, or other types of drugs. Quitting sugar and quitting drugs or alcohol can lead to withdrawal symptoms.
The only difference is, except for alcohol, most addictive drugs are either illegal or require a prescription. Sugar is legal, and sugary sweets can be purchased almost anywhere.
According to research, men should not consume more than about 36g per day, and women should limit it to around 25g per day.
Swapping out sugary foods for healthier alternatives, like fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains, helps keep blood sugar levels naturally lower.
Coffee
Coffee is such a popular beverage that its consumption levels come second only to water in some countries.
Similar to alcohol, coffee is much more expensive when served fancy. If you have a habit of getting your daily caffeine fix in the form of an expensive cappuccino, you might want to rethink it.
Though fancy cups of coffee are currently the trend, it sure doesn’t seem to be doing any favours for your wallet.
Research also shows that coffee’s bitterness may stimulate the production of stomach acid.
As such, many people believe that coffee irritates your stomach, worsens symptoms of gut disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and causes heartburn, ulcers, nausea, acid reflux, and indigestion.
Bad habits can be broken. Work on replacing bad habits with one or more good habits. Once that's done, you'll be well on your way to a rewarding financial future and a healthier lifestyle.
This article first appeared in the digital magazine. Read more here