According to the Oxford Dictionary, a habit is something you do often and almost without thinking. However, it is generally accepted that it takes 21 days, or 21 repeats of an action, to create a habit. So, while you may now have a habit you often repeat without thinking, you had to repeat it consciously 21 times or for 21 days, at some point, to create it.

The great news is that it takes exactly the same amount of effort to create a habit than to break it, or replace it with a new habit: 21 repeats or 21 days.

Valerie Leeming, executive director of Interface, an employee financial benefit schemes company which provides financial training and services to the employees of some of the leading corporates in South Africa says, "Think about your habits — do they serve you, add value to your life, make you happier? If you have a spending habit that is not conducive to creating wealth and prosperity, use the next 21 days to change it into a savings habit. Here is a great example of what changing just one spending habit can do for you.

"Let’s say you change a spending habit of buying a can of Coke at R7 a day, which translates into R210 per month, into a savings habit and you save the R7 every day for a whole year. At the end of the year your savings amount to R2520. If you invest this money at 10 percent per annum, and keep it up for 10 years — adding R2520 to your savings every year — by the end of year 10 you will have saved over R44 000 as a result of the power of compound interest!" says Leeming. (Click here for more examples of how powerful a wealth creator compound interest is.)

Creating savings habits can have an enormous impact on your financial future. Here are a few more examples of good financial habits you can adopt in the next 21 days:

• Only go shopping when you are not hungry.

• Packing a healthy lunch for work instead of buying take-aways.

• Only buying the items on your shopping list.

• Using your credit card for real emergencies only.

• Saving a percentage (how much should you save?) of your income every month.

• Spending 10 minutes a day on your finances.

• Target a specific habit, not a general behaviour.

• Become aware of the triggers and situations around the habit you want to change. Catch yourself in the act and immediately change the action into the new habit.

• Thoughts form habits. Avoid berating yourself or feeling guilty about bad habits — it only reinforces these habits. Instead, take action!

• Clarify in your mind the importance or benefits of changing a habit — unless you really want to change a habit, you probably won’t.

• Visualise yourself practicing your new habits and vividly imagine the results of breaking old habits.

Editor's comments on page two...

Why we don't save Most of us live from paycheque to paycheque. Why do we do it? Why don't we save?

Six steps to debt freedom Karin Muller of Sanlam discusses six steps to clearing debt and living a credit free life...

Pay less estate duty How to ensure the beneficiaries of your estate gets most of it when you die...