According to scientists, it takes an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic, or in other words, to become a habit.

But does that include financial habits? Unlike exercising or eating right, smart financial habits offer results you can immediately see. With online banking, for example, you can see the effect of your financial decisions night or day by checking your account balances.

And like healthy eating and exercising, it’s easier to build good habits at an early age than to undo a lifetime of unhealthy decisions. If you’re like most people, the longer you allow a bad habit to rule your life, the harder it is to break free, both mentally and emotionally.

Financial habits are no different than other habits. Many people struggle as adults because they didn’t learn good financial habits in their younger years, and later don’t know what to do to help themselves.

Our goal at Wealthy Habits is to help kids and teens develop the necessary habits and skills to become independent, financially secure adults.

Here are three habits that we encourage them to adopt and carry into adulthood:

Habit #1. Spend less than you earn. This sounds simple, but so many Americans use a credit card as “extra income” when they run out of money. Budgeting is one way you can help ensure that you spend less than you earn.

People avoid budgeting for all sorts of reasons – budgets take time to set up, make it harder to say “yes” to frivolous spending, and tell us things we don’t want to know, like how much that gym membership we never use is costing us.

If setting up a budget seems stressful, you can take advantage of one of the many programs and apps that make budgeting relatively easy and painless. And I promise that setting up a budget is less stressful than running out of money before the end of the month or carrying a high balance on your credit cards.

Savvy individuals make sure they save for their future before spending a single dime of what they earn. We call this a Wealthy Habit.

Habit #2. Paying yourself first. Paying yourself first means automatically depositing money into a savings or investment account. That could mean setting up an automatic deposit from your banking account, putting aside a percentage of your paycheck in your company’s retirement plan, or scheduling a monthly EFT (electronic funds transfer) to an IRA.

This habit is one that could make a big difference when it comes to preparing for retirement and emergencies, yet few Americans have developed it. In fact, the Federal Reserve survey in 2019 found that 40% of Americans could not cover a $400 emergency in cash.

Habit #3. Understanding needs versus wants. Not everyone’s needs and wants are the same and they certainly aren’t the same as those individuals that lived 50 years ago.

Needs for most people include having a place to live, clothing to wear and enough food and water to maintain health. Other needs, such as transportation, utilities and insurance, can depend on where you live as well as other factors.

Wants come into play when your needs are covered. For example, you may need a phone to communicate with your family, but do you need the latest iPhone when you have a cell phone that is only a year old and works great? Do you need to go to an expensive restaurant when you have food to cook at home? Does your child need that $200 pair of shoes just because, “everyone has them!”

With this habit, you learn to ask yourself, “Is this a want or a need?” before you make a purchase.

An alternative habit is to ask yourself these questions: Do I need it? Can I afford it? Do I already own something like it (or that has the same function)?

If Your Teens Won’t Listen (or You Can’t Teach Them)

If parents don’t have these three financial habits themselves, it can be hard to teach them to their teens. Even if they do have these habits, their teens may not want, or be willing, to learn financial lessons from them.

If that’s the case with your teen, an online class may be the help you need. The Wealthy Habits Building Smart Financial Habits course is self-paced and covers topics such as ways to earn money, paying income taxes, and the importance of paying yourself first (see Habit #2).

The course has six lessons in all, and includes videos, activities and quizzes. Not only will your teen learn something and enjoy learning, but they’ll better understand the true value of good financial habits.