The Smartest Advice on Money I Ever Got. What's Yours?
Before I share my own, totally boring, advice from over the years, I wanted to share my fav. quote from an article in this month's Money Magazine (Aug). It comes from their "Smartest Advice I've Ever Got" article which covered 30+ smarty pants, and the one thing that stuck by them over the years.
My awesomest was from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, on her father being the "most frugal human being" she's ever met:
"Borrowing money is like wetting your bed in the middle of the night. At first all you feel is warmth and release. But very, very quickly comes the awful, cold discomfort of reality."
How awesome is that? I seriously WISHED someone had told me that back in the day...i'm not sure if it would have changed anything, but it sure would have stuck :) I think i need to start hanging around some more clever people...
The smartest advice I ever got isn't nearly exciting, but it IS helpful! While my mom and grandma have always been the most frugal of the group - creating my addiction to yard sales, thrift stores, and Ta Ta Ta TJ Maxx - it's my dad who's usually the go-to guy when it comes to the overall picture.
The one thing he's always harped on, along w/ many others, is to "never put anything on a credit card that you can't pay off". Plain and simple, but oh so true! It may not be as sexy as Elizabeth's quote, but it sure is smart. And while I may not pay the purchases off asap, I ALWAYS have some sort of plan and timeline in mind before swiping.
What about you guys? Do you recall any helpful advice over the years?
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Here's another post I wrote on the role money has played growing up.
My awesomest was from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, on her father being the "most frugal human being" she's ever met:
"Borrowing money is like wetting your bed in the middle of the night. At first all you feel is warmth and release. But very, very quickly comes the awful, cold discomfort of reality."
How awesome is that? I seriously WISHED someone had told me that back in the day...i'm not sure if it would have changed anything, but it sure would have stuck :) I think i need to start hanging around some more clever people...
The smartest advice I ever got isn't nearly exciting, but it IS helpful! While my mom and grandma have always been the most frugal of the group - creating my addiction to yard sales, thrift stores, and Ta Ta Ta TJ Maxx - it's my dad who's usually the go-to guy when it comes to the overall picture.
The one thing he's always harped on, along w/ many others, is to "never put anything on a credit card that you can't pay off". Plain and simple, but oh so true! It may not be as sexy as Elizabeth's quote, but it sure is smart. And while I may not pay the purchases off asap, I ALWAYS have some sort of plan and timeline in mind before swiping.
What about you guys? Do you recall any helpful advice over the years?
----------
Here's another post I wrote on the role money has played growing up.
Labels: advice, education, loaning money, money quotes
posted by J. Money at
11:07 AM
16 Comments:
Probably one you don't here very often, but the best advice I've received is to tithe. Give money back to God and develop a giving heart. My financial life has turned around since I began.
Your post and JR's comments are both on the spot. Living within your means has been good advice for my family. Living well below your means leads to serious peace of mind and prosperity. There's no insurance anyone will be a millionaire but knowing how to manage your money can make you feel like one.
Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com
This post has been removed by the author.
The best advice, while not the most spend-thrifty, is "You can't take it with you." I don't interpret this as "spend away today, since you might not need it tomorrow;" Rather, I think of this as a guideline to prioritize how to spend my money. What is the most important to me, what will I most remember when I'm old and may or may not have money... the trip I took to Europe, or the dinner I had at the expensive restaurant down the street? I do believe in enjoying onesself, and most of the time it costs money to do the more memorable things, but I regard those as "worth it" and it helps me to feel at peace with spending money on those occasions, rather than feel regretful that my savings account is shrinking.
The best advice I got was also the best advice you got, only a little more specific. Never put anything on the card you can't pay off at the end of the month in one full payment.
My mom always emphasized the horror of credit card interest rates.
My dad is Mr. money smarty pants; not sure how I turned out the way I did. Anyway, he has loads of great money advice but the one thing he told me is don't loan out money you can't afford to loose'
Another great one, 'if you can't afford to pay cash for it, then you don't need' ie stay away from plastic.
I can't remember any specific advice, but I think I learned about basic money management and frugality from my parents...that whole "learning by osmosis" thing. Bargain shopping, budgeting, cooking at home, etc. etc.
"Never keep up with the Joneses, drag them down to your level, it's cheaper" ~Quentin Crisp
I love this one and it's so true!! :)
Nice! You guys have some smart parents, eh?! If only we'd always listen ;)
And JR, you're right we don't hear that one too often, thx for bringing it up! I really have to add that to my list.
My mom told me it's always smart to save your money. She said "You'll never regret it." And it's so true. No one ever says "If only I hadn't saved all that money, then everything would have been alright."
I don't have any advice, but the advice you mentioned made me laugh so hard! Great stuff!
My dad's advice is similar to yours: If you don't have the money to pay for it in cash, you just can't afford it.
He has always preached about saving your money and spending it wisely versus using credit for everything. He's a very frugal person and his habits have helped our family get through some very tough financial times with no major debts. We have always lived below our means and only ever purchased things we could afford in cash.
Thank goodness I take after my dad!
"If you don't have the money, you can't afford it."
The meaning behind this is basically that credit card debt just isn't worth it. (Of course, this statement doesn't apply to mortgages - if only I had the cash to buy a house outright!)
I know this is an older post, and I've taken up space with one comment already, but I thought of two more pieces of advice! Both are courtesy of my mom.
1) "If it goes on your a$$, it's not an a$$et!" This applies to clothing, and her point is that you are better off spending your money on something that retains value as an asset, rather than something that loses almost all of its value immediately.
2) "Don't underestimate the power of the pen!" My mom is not afraid to write a letter to a business as a form of complaint if she is dissastisfied with a situation or service. This applies more to life than to finances, but it's positively affected my finances lately. I recently received a $50 flight voucher on Delta, a free hotel stay voucher, and three months of free HBO when I wrote letters to voice my complaints about service, rather than just sending an email to customer service via a company website. I think that writing a letter makes a bigger impact on the reader than an email, and if you specify how the company can rectify the situation, they will usually oblige in an effort to keep your business. (Within reason!) Be a proactive consumer! (And sometimes you can save money in the process!)
#1HB4BD - Have i ever told you how much i love your mom? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
A quite indispensable bit came from Dave Ramsey in, "get out of debt and stay out of debt". But really, for direct advice, my father also takes the cake...
Smartest Advice
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