40 Things Everyone Must Know About Money

by RJ

in Money Management

Money TreeAfter reading thousands of blog posts, hundreds of books, and dozens of research papers all on personal finance,  I’ve come to a few conclusions about money. Well more like 40…

Here’s the 40 things I find that everyone should know about money in order to live a rich life. (My favorites are in bold)

  1. If you want happiness, spend your money on experiences, not on stuff
  2. A financial goal not written down and with no deadline, is only a financial wish
  3. The only person that will truly ever care about your money is you
  4. There is no single way to manage your money correctly
  5. You can have anything you want in life, as long as you prioritize it
  6. Investing in index funds, isn’t average
  7. The goal for an investor is to earn the highest return after-taxes and expenses
  8. 99% of financial news is meaningless
  9. The 1% of financial news that does matter isn’t on TV
  10. Investing really can be as easy as putting your money in a good targeted retirement fund
  11. The best investment, is an investment in yourself
  12. You have a limited ability to save money, and an unlimited ability to earn money
  13. You control what’s possible, by what you believe is possible
  14. Money without time, is worthless
  15. You don’t have to make money back, the same way you lose it
  16. Compound interest really is magical
  17. The fastest way to decrease your net worth, is to borrow money to buy an asset that depreciates
  18. It’s not about how much you make, but how much you keep
  19. You can borrow to pay for your kids college but not for your retirement
  20. For a young investor, it’s better to focus on how much you save, rather than focusing on a marginal increase in investment returns
  21. An employer match is an immediate return on your savings
  22. Money can make you money, which can make you money
  23. The goal of money, is to manage it to reach your goals in life
  24. Investing is simple, it’s just not easy
  25. The purpose of a budget isn’t to determine where your money went, but where your money should go
  26. The unexpected will happen, an emergency fund is your insurance
  27. The cheapest insurance is self insurance
  28. What can’t be self insured, must be insured
  29. It’s better to actively manage your life, not your investments
  30. You can only change one financial habit at a time successfully
  31. When trying to change a financial habit, make that change as small as possible
  32. Your environment, shapes your decisions
  33. Information, doesn’t lead to action
  34. You don’t lack willpower
  35. You overestimate how much money you need to live your desired life
  36. Money is a tool to get what you want, it’s not the end goal
  37. Your mind is your greatest asset
  38. There’s a small correlation between your salary and happiness, but only to a certain extent
  39. If you THINK you can afford to buy something, you can’t
  40. Life isn’t about money, it’s about time

What am I missing? Let me know in the comments.

If this advice on financial planning was helpful, do you mind helping me out by taking a second to retweet, stumble, or share this post on Facebook? Thanks!

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Photo by: Aaron Paterson

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

ReadyForZeroNo Gravatar September 13, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Pretty great list!
Here are a few that the readers may find helpful:
-Spend less than you earn!
-Debt is a deep hole that is easy to get into, but incredibly difficult to get out of.
-Avoid high interest debt as much as possible
-You can’t declare bankruptcy on student loans. Borrowing for it is ok, but only borrow what you need.
-If you find a way to make money that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

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TanyaNo Gravatar September 15, 2011 at 9:55 am

There is wonderful stuff here – not just about money but about all of life. Thanks!

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