Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Hope

Some of the creators (bloggers as I’ve mostly gotten off social media personally) have recently begun starting or trying to start new routines in their lives. Many are for health benefits, some for work schedules, and I had the idea that this would probably work for me as I am nothing if not driven by routine and lists and schedules. What do you think?

I’ve been reading a bit about it:

• • James Clear’s article “How to Build New Habits by Taking Advantage of Old Ones” gives a scientific type introduction.
  • S.J. Scott wrote a whole book about it, you can find it here on Amazon – Habit Stacking: 127 Small Changes to Improve Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness <-NOT an affiliate link or find it at your local library
  • Reddit commentors seem to agree that is can be a life changing process and offer recommendations for other books.
  • “Habit Stacking Makes New Habits Last—Here’s How It Works” on Real Simple really broke down how to start with step by step directions and tips.
  • The “The 9 Best Habit-Stacking Combos for Forming New Wellness Routines” article provides a list of basic ones to start with. There weren’t really applicable to me, but some might find them inspiring.

Eight Elements of Habit Stacking

According to S.J. Scott (reference above), there are several elements to a habit stacking routine:

1. Each habit takes less than five minutes to complete.
2. It’s a complete habit.
3. It improves your life.
4. It’s simple to complete.
5. The entire routine takes less than 30 minutes.
6. It follows a logical process.
7. It follows a checklist.
8. It fits your life.

Now each of these speak my language to the core. You?

My favorite aritcle of the ones I read was this one “Habit Stacking: 17 Small Productivity Habits” on the FS blog.

How to Apply to Me and My Finances

I am nothing if not a creature of habit. So, of course, I returned to Google to help me find specific examples of Habit Stacking for Finance. This was the most robust list I found “How to Habit Stack Your Finances“. I also appreciate this article by Chihee Kim especially how she focused on learning and retaining more about financial literacy. Every time I learn something, and really get it, I just realize how ignorant I am about finances.

Now I’ve got to do the work. I’ve going to follow the steps outlined in this article (listed above as well) and begin this journey.

Have you used Habit Stacking in any aspect of your life? Did you find it beneficial? And were you successful at you achieving your goal?