Bulletproof Investing

CHAPTER 17Little habits, big results

Now that you have a plan, a map and a team, you need some productive habits. We all have habits. Our lives are the sum total of our habits. Habits are small decisions we make and actions we perform every day. Some are highly productive and propel our lives forward; others are just repeated behaviours. Unfortunately, some habits can hinder our progress.

My uncle John believes our habits define us as people and I could not agree more. Peek inside the life of a successful person and, at some level, it will be underpinned by good habits, whether they pertain to exercise, diet, work, financial matters or relationships. Deeply ingrained habits — good, bad and indifferent — become difficult to break. This reality works both for and against us.

Your habits are shaped by your thoughts, which in turn lead to actions and ultimately deliver outcomes. If we apply this model to the sphere of personal finance, it is very clear what we need to do to become financially successful. We need to develop good habits with regard to earning, budgeting and spending.

The tiny percentage of Australians who are in a position where they never have to worry about money (and that's no more than 2 per cent) shine a bright light on the difficulty adults have in developing and maintaining good habits in multiple aspects of their lives. Those who are disciplined enough to do so, reap the rewards financially and in a multitude of other ways. I believe the opposite is also ...