7 Surprising Things That Could Leave Your Personal Finances in Ruins

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Personal finance can be a cruel mistress. We can go for years creating our perfect little pot of money, but it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye. There are lots of obvious ways this can happen. Death, for example. Divorce is yet another common one. But, there are some things that you might not expect. You need to be aware of them, and being on your guard is crucial if you want to avoid a nightmare scenario.

And, we’ve come up with a list of seven things that you might not have thought about. What would you do if you found yourself in one of these scenarios? Think about it.

Your Bad Habits

You might not think that your smoking habit is doing all that much damage, but it is. The same goes for your alcohol addiction, or your needless gambling habit. That money adds up, and before you know it, you could be out of pocket. It’s amazing how much money you can save when you put a stop to these. Of course, that might not be easy, so it might be worth looking at a rehab center to help.

Using Multiple Credit Cards

Once you start getting multiple credit cards, the world is pretty much your oyster. You can do whatever you like, and spend as much as you need. It’s an amazing feeling of freedom that borders on dangerous for some people. Once you start adding multiple cards into the mix, it becomes harder to track expenditure. If you lose track entirely, you might find that you can’t pay off any debts that you get into. Suddenly, you’re in a huge mess, and it’s all because of those damn cards.

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Using Credit Cards At All

If this 2011 article from Business Insider is to be believed, you probably don’t want to use credit cards at all. They mention that McDonalds observed transactions for both cash and card. The results came out that customers were more willing to spend money on their cards. It makes sense, really. I think we’ve all been in the position where we’ve spent a little extra on our cards. It isn’t real money in front of our eyes - we don’t have to part with anything. That’s quite scary, and potentially an argument to quit using credit cards as much as possible.

Your New Job

Wait, what? Am I saying that your new job could lead to financial ruin? Sorry to spoil the party, folks. To be honest, any job could do that. The obvious danger comes in the form of slips and trips. Workplace injuries are common, and a personal injury lawyer might be able to come to your aid if this happens. However, some jobs can put your finances in ruin based on their nature. I used to work in a cell phone store - I found myself spending far too much on cell phones entirely. The same thing could happen to you, depending on the circumstances.

A Traumatic Event

We’re not talking about the financial costs of a funeral or divorce with this one. Instead, we’re talking about the emotional aspects of a traumatic event. It plays havoc with your mind, often leading to overspending to try and ease the pain. Before you know it, your finances could get very much out of hand. The act of spending is often thought about in relation to personal finance, and the emotional side of it is just as potentially damaging.

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Ignoring Your Credit Score

It’s commonly thought by many that checking your credit score will lead to it worsening over time. In some cases, like consistently failing to get a contract, that might be the case. However, ordering your report to check isn’t going to do any damage in most cases. In fact, it might even do the opposite, improving your report. Ultimately, ignoring your credit score entirely isn’t your best bet. Of course, doing the right things to bolster that score is also very important.

Your Bachelor’s Degree

You don’t need me to tell you that getting a bachelor’s degree is an expensive thing. Ultimately, you’re doing it to get a higher paid job at the end of it all. But, that isn’t necessarily guaranteed. That aforementioned Business Insider article mentions that 2 million fresh graduates were out of jobs at that time. That’s a lot of people, and you might just find that your personal finances take a huge hit until you find something. Hopefully, you’ll get your money’s worth out of it!