Professor B.J. Fogg has a fun approach to changing habits. He has a program called Tiny Habits, and the concept is a simple way to ease you into new money habits. This blog includes excerpts from an article on B.J. Fogg in Success.com.
B.J. Fogg’s concept of Tiny Habits basically teaches you to break down your BIG Goal into tiny little actions that will build toward the big one. For example, let’s say you’re not great at paying your bills on time, and you incur interest charges because life just gets too busy. So your BIG GOAL would be to pay all bills on time and avoid interest. That’s a tall order. So let’s break it down into Tiny Habits!
1. The First Tiny Habit:
Your money habit should be to Open and Read your Bills the Week in which you Receive Them. Pick a time and make this your “bill time”. This time should be anchored to something else. Maybe it is Tuesday after dinner when the kids are doing homework. Maybe it is Sunday morning over a cup of coffee with your partner. Put this in your calendar as a date with yourself. Do this for a few weeks. Pat yourself on the back every time you do this. If it doesn’t work, pick a new anchor. You will eventually find a time that works for you.
Keep this habit up until it works. Yep, that’s all you have to do – open and read your bills after an anchor action every week to start. That’s why B.J. Fogg calls them Tiny!
Common Routines from B.J. Fogg you can use as Anchors to form your Tiny Habits:
- Pour coffee, set the cup down, sit down…open bills
- Sit down on the train, pull out your mail…open bills
- Load the dishwasher, close the door, pick up your mail, sit down…open bills
- Walk in the door, set down your stuff, drop the mail on the counter…open bills
Let us know what happens when you tackle this tiny habit for the next couple of weeks. You may be surprised at the results. And don’t forget – cheer yourself on every time you remember. You’re on your way to bigger money successes.
Information shown is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as investment, legal or tax planning advice. Please consult a financial adviser, attorney or tax specialist for advice specific to your financial situation. Behavioral Cents, LLC and any third parties listed, linked to or otherwise appearing in this message are separate and unaffiliated and are not responsible for each other’s products, services or policies.
BehavioralCents.com is a web site for women focused on how the mind naturally drives money behaviors. We hope to inspire women to understand their own automatic and emotional reactions to money, and better prepare them for financial independence. Thoughts always welcome: carrierattle@behavioralcents.com.
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a website for women focused on mind and money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence.