You probably think you make decisions based on what makes you happy and what is the smart, responsible move. It turns out there are several factors that can blur your logical skills. Pride can often be one of them. Check out some of the ways pride can sabotage your success and how to overcome the pressure this emotion has on your finances below.
Comparing, Competing & Not Asking for Help
The biggest issue with pride affecting your financial life is that you can end up making choices based on how it makes you look to others instead of how it affects you. You may find yourself feeling better about yourself in relation to how much better you are doing than others. It may feel good to look successful among your peers, but this is only part of the picture. Owning a nice car doesn’t mean your retirement is funded.
Also, pride can sometimes stop you from asking for help. If you find yourself in credit card debt or need help balancing your investment portfolio, you may want to consider enlisting an expert to guide you through the process. But if you are too proud to ask for assistance, you likely won’t get it.
Be Realistic
One way to help get a real grasp on your fiscal health with no internal attitude influence is by assessing your checking and savings balances as well as revisiting your most recent budget. It’s important to make sure you are not overspending in each category and that you are saving enough to secure your financial future. When you take a hard look at the numbers, you will be more grounded in reality.
Prioritize Goals
Now that you know where you stand, you can set goals and avoid making decisions based on how others will see you or how proud you are. It’s a good idea to put saving for retirement and doubling down on any debt you have ahead of making the latest material purchase to keep up with your peers or feel good about how you look to others. Check your credit as well — you may find that your overspending has had some negative effects on your credit, lowering your scores and sabotaging other financial goals you may have like owning a home. (You can see two of your credit scores for free, updated monthly, at Credit.com.)
Letting your emotions and attitudes control how you make financial decisions can lead you to trouble in plenty of ways, but you can make a change. It’s nice to be proud of your financial accomplishments, but it’s not a good idea to let pride keep you from getting there in the first place.
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This article originally appeared on Credit.com.
This article by AJ Smith was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.
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