Are you feeling the financial pressure of Valentine’s Day? The pressure to buy the perfect gift, plan the most romantic dinner, and buy a bouquet of 999 roses can quickly add up and leave you feeling stressed. 

The good news is, with a few smart financial moves, you can enjoy a stress-free, memorable, and romantic Valentine’s Day from today onwards. 

Here are seven habits to fall in love with this Valentine’s Day and start building wealth:

1. Pay Yourself First

Every month, save a portion of your income after paying your “needs” such as rent, utilities, and food. Spend what’s left on your “wants”, such as entertainment, luxury goods, etc. This habit can help you build a corpus over time to sustain you during retirement.

2. Stay Away from Debt Traps

Live within your means and avoid taking on debt that could harm your financial stability. It’s important to keep an eye on interest rates and loan amounts and focus on paying down debt each month. Beware of postpaid items, including credit cards, “pay-later” schemes, instalment plans, and other traps that could put you into serious debt. 

3. Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

To minimise risk, invest in a variety of asset types. This will also prevent you from over-allocating to a single asset class that may be popular at the moment. Consider diversifying across different styles, market caps, and sectors, or creating a mixed portfolio that combines these strategies.

4. Limit Impulsive Buying

Your spending tends to increase over time to match your income, leaving you with a low savings rate despite growing revenues. To limit impulsive buying, it’s important to differentiate between needs and wants. While this may be a challenging habit to adopt and maintain, it is one of the most important factors to financial freedom.

5. Create a Monthly Budget 

Make a monthly or even a daily budget. List down all your debit and credits, and set a monthly budget for all your needs and wants. This allows you to have a clear picture on how much you can spend, and how much debt you are in. The most important part is, to make sure you follow it!

6. Start Investing 

It is never too late to learn and start investing! Investing can lead to substantial growth over time, but it takes discipline and time. Start from the basics, start small, and build confidence over your portfolio over time. 

7. Take care of your health  

Health is priceless. No point in having great fortune if you have to spend the rest of your life visiting a doctor every day. Invest in your physical and mental health by seeing physicians and dentists regularly, following a balanced diet and rest plan, and adopting healthy lifestyle activities. Moreover, maintaining good health can reduce insurance costs and gives your more time to enjoy the fortune you’ve made. 

Well, while these habits might not solve all of your financial problems, they would help you establish a foundation for financial independence by creating a budget, saving regularly, and investing wisely are all key habits to cultivate when building wealth.  Building wealth takes time and effort, but by following these habits, you can create a strong foundation for financial independence and security. 

Remember to enjoy the journey and be kind to yourself along the way. Start loving yourself and apply these tips today!