Top 10 rules of handling money and personal finance?
- Don’t be a monkey. Marketeers are brilliant at convincing us to buy things we don’t need and adopting lifestyles we can’t afford. Great way to throw away money for someone else ideas.
- Health. Watch your health, pay attention to your teeth. Good health translates to more money in the long run (e.g. crowns are very expensive). Eat healthy, exercise some (not too much), see a doctor, and temper it all with a cheeseburger and beer every once in a while.
- Addiction. Give up addiction to consumerism and habituation to debt. The cycle of buy, buy, buy to feel good, good, good is the gerbil wheel of financial doom. Know yourself and what’s truly important. Just say no.
- Revolving credit and debt. Don’t use credit cards. If you have to use one, pay off it off each month. Those few bucks you might get on cash back rewards are easily swallowed by the black hole created by criminally high interest rates. Think of growing your money rather than being enslaved by debt. Cultivate financial independence as much as you can.
- Do it yourself. Tons of videos online on how to do nearly everything yourself. No need to overpay for things you can do yourself. As Ben Franklin said “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Buy yourself something fun instead with the money you would have given someone else what you could have done all along.
- Patience. Want to play the stock market? Invest in mutual funds? Some other investment? Be patient. Some strategies don’t pay off for years. Don’t be like a rodent on a feeder bar hopping from one thing to another based on the whims of someone opinions of what’s hottest today or herd behavior.
- Good advice. Consult someone trusted on matters of finance. I always asked my father his opinion. A few friends who were successful financially were also trusted advisors. Be careful of “risk free,” “guaranteed returns” or other such claims. Be careful of multi-level (e.g. Ponzi) schemes… they can be very subtle but deadly.
- Save. Automatically put away a percentage of your earnings. Pretend like it never existed and you won’t miss it. Make it work even better by investing in a mutual fund or some other incoming producing mechanism. Companies matches are great too. Before you know it, you’ll have a nice nest egg.
- Live below your means. Live your life to the fullest, but don’t go broke doing it. Live frugally (smartly) but not poorly. Spend like a pauper and live like a king. Give away some wealth to helping others.
- Obsession. People in this country are obsessed with money. Save money, spend wisely, invest prudently. Money is important, keep it in mind, but not the only thing in mind. I see many people have very dysfunctional relationships with money. Don’t die worrying about money.