It’s really easy to plan a money-saving scheme; the hard part though is actually doing it especially if it’s your spending habits you’re up against. If saving is never your personality, it’ll be hard to pinpoint where the money drains away since you are most likely to see your “excesses” as a necessity. So, if you are trying to avoid bankruptcy or merely attempting to make ends meet, here are some habits you might want to kick for good:

•    Acquiring several credit cards—and maxing them all out. Owning a credit card does something good for your credit standing but having several, maxed out ones can never be good not only for your credit standing but also to your financial health. Credit cards can give you an illusion of having a fund when in reality there’s none so to avoid this trap, it is best to just manage one to two credit cards and never make purchases you know you cannot pay.
•    Depending too much on your medical insurance. Even if you got yourself adequately covered, you must never assume that they will pay everything down to the last cent because that rarely happens. As you age, there will be more and more medical assistance your body will require, some of it won’t even be stipulated on your insurance. If you are to save for an emergency fund, try allotting 50% to medical emergencies.
•    Borrowing against your next paycheck. Okay, it may not be a paycheck but allowance—whatever it is that keeps you nourished month after month! Advances are good if done occasionally, however, if you find yourself always borrowing from your next paycheck, month after month after month, then you’re in trouble.
•    Keeping up with the green-eyed monster. So what if the elderly couple next door bought a brand-spanking-new car? Or your best pal is currently undergoing the knife to make her look younger? If knowing these things make your palms all sweaty and your skin all tingly with envy that there’s nothing you could do but reach out for your pocket and buy yourself something better than what they have, then expect to go bankrupt within 5 years!
•    Going for a second—and expensive—degree. I can understand seniors wanting a second degree for a career shift or just for “fulfilling the void” but going for an expensive degree in hopes of landing a high paying job is not good, not to mention unnecessary. If you have the money to spare then by all means go, but if your life depended on it, capitalize on your work experience instead.