Break the bad habit - for good

Breaking bad money habits isn’t just about willpower or budgeting apps, it’s about understanding the deeper patterns driving your behaviour. From impulsive spending to avoidance of finances altogether, many of us are stuck in cycles we don’t fully understand.

Here are some practical, actionable ways to break free from those bad money habits: 

Impulse Spending

Why it happens:
Impulse spending is often emotional. When we’re stressed, bored, or upset, we instinctively reach for something that gives us relief, even if it’s short-lived. Buying things offers a quick hit of dopamine, but it rarely solves the real issue.

How to stop:
Use the cue-routine-reward framework popularised by books like ‘Atomic Habits’ to break the habit.

• Step 1: Spot the cue.
  Set a phone alarm every 4 hours for two days. Each time it rings, jot down how you're feeling, where you are, and what you're doing. Are you more tempted to spend when you’re tired, alone, or on social media?
• Step 2: Understand the reward.
  What emotional payoff did the purchase provide? Relief? Distraction? A sense of control?
• Step 3: Replace the routine.
  Try activities that give you the same emotional benefit without spending: go for a walk or run, take a hot shower, go to the gym. Choose one and write it down somewhere visible:
  “When I feel stressed, I will do 10 rounds on the punchbag to let off steam.”

Over time, this new habit becomes second nature.

Getting Into Debt

Why it happens:
Thanks to something called optimism bias, we tend to assume everything will work out, until it doesn’t. Combine that with social comparison (trying to keep up with others who may earn more), and it's easy to justify spending beyond our means.

How to stop:
Make debt repayment feel immediate and manageable:

• Break it down into daily micro-payments from the day you borrow.
• Use your banking app to set up transfers to a debt pot or separate account. Most challenger banks will allow you to direct money daily into a separate pot.

There are various salary-linked solutions that can help with paying off debt as well. Salary Finance offers hassle-free savings accounts, advances on your earned pay, affordable loans repaid through salary and free financial education. To see which Salary Finance products you have access to, click here and select your employer.

Failing to Save

Why it happens:
We often see our future selves as strangers. It’s easy to ignore their needs when we don’t feel connected to them.

How to stop:
Build empathy with your future self by writing their story. Be specific and realistic:

“I’m Anna, a retired 68-year-old woman living in a small flat just outside London with 10 years’ worth of mortgage repayments left. I get £250 a month from my government pension and £1,000 a month from a private pension. My mortgage costs £450 a month. This leaves me, after bills and food, with around £200 spare.”

The more detailed the picture, the more real that future feels and the easier it becomes to save for it.

Changing your financial habits starts with understanding why they happen. To help you turn intentions into habits, check out our webinar on how changing your money mindset can change your money habits. Click here to watch.