How you choose to spend and handle your money today will really impact your finances later on. Lots of people like to live in the moment. They just don’t look at money and the long term options or risks that it can have. If you choose to be just a little more careful with your finances, you can see a lot of benefits.

If you choose not to learn how to handle money better, then it can hurt you in the future. Debt can get out of hand in a blink of an eye.So here’s a list of the top 10 ways that you can ruin your finances:

Spending Without Budgeting

If you just go out and buy anything you want, you’ll run into trouble pretty quickly. You can try just making a mini list in your head, and promising yourself that you’ll only buy the things on there. Creating this list when you’re out shopping can help you keep focused on buying only the things you need.

Buying All of The Latest Things

You might love following the trends, but they’re called trends for a reason! They fade after time, and usually very quickly. So you might love it in the moment but afterwards you might be feeling buyers remorse. A perfect example of this is buying a new iPhone every year. It’s tempting to keep up with the latest technology, but this can be a dangerous path.

Using Your Credit Card For Everything

If you use your credit card for paying the bills, or even for emergencies, what will you do when your available credit finally runs out? Your monthly payments will increase and it’ll be a lot harder to pay down this debt. If you’re using your credit card for every purchase to earn rewards, it’s important to pay off the balance in full each time (no exceptions).

Paying For Bills Late

If you make late payments you may have to pay late fees and those can stack up very quickly. If you are making payments on a credit card and you’re late over and over, this could really have an impact on your credit score! Especially if you’re more than 30 days past due. Your interest rates will likely go up up if you’re over 60 days late, and you’ll end up owing even more money. Once your credit is damaged, you could have trouble getting other loans at a favorable interest rate in the future.

Not Checking Your Credit Report

Make sure you stay up to date on this. There could be incorrect information on there that you might have overlooked. Identity theft is a growing problem and making sure there is no inaccurate information can help save you a lot of time and hassle in the future.

Using Money From Your Retirement

Borrowing against your 401k or any type of retirement account should be looked at with caution. You immediately lose out on compound growth which is the core of how your 401k account will grow over time. If you’re in a situation where you’re considering taking money out of your retirement account, look into other options to lower your overall expenses. These include negotiating with your creditors, credit counseling programs, or even taking out a personal loan to consolidate your debts.

Prematurely buying a home

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with renting. In fact, more and more people are deciding to rent instead of buying a home. Purchasing a home as its benefits, but there are a lot of expenses that come with homeownership. Most people want to furnish their home with better quality furniture and kitchen appliances since they know they’re staying there for the long term. You’ll also have to be prepared for increasing property taxes and emergency repairs you’ll have to make.

Nasty Habits – Smoking

The financial cost of smoking is obvious. A pack a day can cost you anywhere from $150-$350 per month depending on where you live. However, there are other implications of smoking. Smokers pay more for insurance, dry cleaning, and dental care. Your car will also have a lower resale value if you’re a smoker. Kicking this nasty habit can not only save a few hundred bucks immediately, but it will also help you save even more money on your health down the road.