6 Habits of Successful People

Being a bookkeeper, organizer and financial concierge is not all telling my clients “Do this to avoid penalties,” or “Do that to get better interest rates.” I also learn many good practices from them. The successful people I have worked with, who are at the top of their industries, share many of the same habits – and I thought I would share those with you today.

• Have a good relationship with your money: The first place to start romancing your money is to develop a spending plan. You will find that sticking to a plan becomes easier over time.
• Know how much money you have: You don’t want your account balance to be some sort of formless, vague idea. If your spending plan is going to stick, that means getting a handle on all of your accounts.
• Don’t blow it all on toys: As great as race cars and sailboats are, they are depreciating assets. The savvy spenders I know are aware that such toys do nothing but eat away at the bottom line. So do what they do: Think it through before you make large, discretionary purchases.
• Think positively: In my experience, successful people have a tendency to think more positively and that makes them more productive.
• Surround yourself with positive people: You are much more likely to seal a deal or gain a referral from someone who has a forward-thinking, expansive personality as opposed to someone focused on the past. Surround yourself with positive-thinkers, and the positivity will snowball.
• Ask a lot of questions: The people I know who have achieved great success and wealth always ask a lot of questions – of their accountant, their financial adviser or even their mechanic.

If you were to take only one of these tips away with you, I recommend checking your bank balance every morning as a first step. From there, you can go on to make a spending plan and perfect the rest of your new financial habits – and don’t hesitate to share anything new you learn with me!

Judith Heft, Principal, Judith Heft & Associates is a personal financial concierge with offices in Greenwich and Stamford. She can be contacted via email at [email protected] or by phone 203-978-1858.