Day two on my task, besides a keeping my permanent job in the Payment Industry safe I´m also planning on expanding my horizons farther... by giving consultancy services and a couple of extra jobs, starting the year busy after a sweet holliday in México so If you're doing well financially, chances are you had help if not I will help you...
Someone, somewhere along the way passed along the idea of financial wisdom that you took to heart. Maybe you absorbed the messages over time from some role model, such as a parent or grandparent. Or perhaps you just heard the right thing at the right time from a friend, an adviser or even a total stranger maybe like me the ispiration came by a book.
If you're not doing well financially, maybe you're finally ready to hear some advice that could make all the difference.
With that in mind, I asked experts and friends alike to share the best financial advice they ever received. The results were varied and enlightening you are free to comment at the end and contact me .
Save
"No matter how much or how little you make, always save a little bit."Pay yourself first Robert Kiyosaki's idea It's a reminder that whatever money comes into your life, you can (and should) be setting aside some of it.
"Save hard for the first 10 years of your married life."
Save hard for the first 10 years of your adult life" or "Keep living like a broke college student for as long as you can").
"Saving hard means having to make a lot of the right choices, "I researched every purchase, learned how to do lots of things by myself (car repair, sewing, cooking, home maintenance, etc.) and we could not only save money but we also used these skills to make money. When you are young, doing with less isn't a struggle because you aren't used to the luxuries yet.
We still save money even when we don't try to because we are in the habit of trying to do things ourselves, doing without if we can't find it at the right price, researching, waiting to buy, etc. We made a game out of getting what we want for less money."
Advice on spending
"Know the difference between needs and wants."Several friends also mentioned different versions of this advice, which is key to controlling your spending. When you can't distinguish between real needs and mere wants, you're constantly talking yourself into spending too much, specially when going out and getting drunk.
"What do you need that for?" Annoying? Maybe. But "now I hear her voice in my head whenever I am spending money. It keeps me from buying a lot of crap that I don't need."It also helps tobecome more environmentaly friendly.
"You need food. You want prime rib. That example is perfect for the want vs. need debate in my head!"
'We have everything we need and most of what we want, too.' That would make me realize that even though we weren't the richest family in town, we really did have plenty. I still think about that today when I'm lusting over some ridiculously expensive item at the mall here in Helsinki. It makes me remember that I have a place to live, plenty to eat and a great family as well as much of the stuff I want. I (usually) put the item back on the shelf and walk away satisfied with what I already have specially in my mind."
"Think of the true cost."
Anything you want to buy involves a number of costs. The price tag is just the start."I have to give up the cash for it that won't be able to work for me somewhere else. Then I have to think of all the time and energy I'll waste cleaning this item, keeping it out of my kid' hands, and packing it up and hauling it somewhere else when we move in a year now. Most of the time, the true cost of the item is too high for me."
"Buy quality."
My Mom taught me to buy high-quality things at stores that stand behind what they sell. That way, if anything wore out or quit working before its time, she knew she could take it back -- and she often did. You actually save money by buying things of higher quality that last than by getting cheap stuff you have to throw away in no time."
"Live within your means," or, more elaborately, "Be careful of adding new expenses to the ones you've already got of course I can't get a Ferrari not now, but I will."
"So I'm always asking myself, am I putting out more than I'm taking in?" "If I am, I know I need to turn that around, because it is unsustainable."
"Don't pay interest on anything that loses value."Avoiding credit card debt and borrowing only to buy property or other assets that will appreciate that's teh idea.
"Never pay interest on anything but real estate." In 6 years that I have spent in Finland, I have taken the advice to heart.
"We have never had a car loan or paid a penny of interest on credit cards. We have saved our money and invested our money SENT ME AN E MAIL IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MY PICKS.
i´m just starting out, but already living a variation on this advice, which is "save today for what you want tomorrow."
"We've both been saving for retirement, wedding and housing. The difference it will make is that we will be able to pay for things instead of borrowing or having (credit card) debt. Our lives together will be financially secure because of this!!!!"
Buildwealth!
"If you need more money, then go out and make more money."There are limits to how far you can scrimp and save. Often the fastest way out of debt and into wealth is generating more income.
I was never afraid of hard work and we never lacked for anything as I was growing up," "They taught me that as long as there is health, anything else can be worked for. To me the word 'retirement' didn't exist specially in México. You work until you can't work anymore.
"Own your own business -- including the building it's in."
David Bach learned this lesson as a money manager for Morgan Stanley before becoming the author of the New York Times best sellers "Start Late, Finish Rich" and "The Automatic Millionaire."
"Wall Street has developed lots of way more sophisticated methods for controlling risk but now the crisis keeps me focused on the real aim of the game, which isn't making money for its own sake, but to have enough of the stuff to get you where you want to go. It helped me get over losses in bear markets and in individual stocks. And reminded me that I can occasionally take a vacation, as long as the game in itself is fun and I'm not gambling more than I can afford to lose."
So keep in touch and above all keep positive.
