I was thinking about all of the advice or topics I've read, or learned on this forum and blogs. These are in no particular order of importance, because different ones will be most, or more important to everyone.
1. Make a budget, and stick to it
2. Live at, or below your means
3. Track your spending, know where every penny goes
4. Distinguish between a want and a need
5. Save, save, save. Establish an emergency fund and don't touch it for anything other then a true emergency.
6. Pay off your debt, understand why you went into debt, and then don't fall back into it.
7. Learn to cook, meal plan, batch cook. Plan before you grocery shop.
8. Have adequate insurance. especially health insurance, but also dental, vision, home, car etc.
9. Treat yourself every now and then. Save for the fun things in life too, whatever they are for you.
10. If you own a home, pay it off early, or at the very least , before you retire.
11. No one is perfect! If you fall off the wagon, go back into debt, whatever it might be, start over. And don't beat yourself up for it.
12. Learn to invest, and then do it.
I'm sure there are others!
Also, things happen to derail the best laid plans. Think they can't happen to you? They can. Things like:
- stock market crashes, bubbles that burst (housing market, tech) banks fail, unexpected job loss, recession, inflation, serious physical and mental health issues, pandemics, war, bankruptcy, losing your home, divorce, death of a spouse or partner, etc.
I am not fear mongering by mentioning these things, they have all happened in my lifetime. Not all TO me, but they have happened. Some have seriously derailed my own financial plan for my life, sometimes things just happen that are out of your control. Well, I'm rambling, but these are my financial thoughts right now! Maybe it's because the world seems in such turmoil.
October 11th, 2023 at 12:37 pm 1697027821
October 11th, 2023 at 05:21 pm 1697044918
I’d add - make the system work for you. Don’t pay fees for bank accounts. Choose a credit card with rewards that are useful and use them to their fullest advantage. Pay attention to coupons and sales, and stock up in a reasonable manner. Don’t let food go to waste, Pay attention to interest rates and move funds when it makes sense.
October 12th, 2023 at 01:41 am 1697074881
October 12th, 2023 at 10:18 am 1697105926
October 14th, 2023 at 03:04 pm 1697295894
October 17th, 2023 at 12:05 am 1697501101
October 20th, 2023 at 06:01 am 1697781699
October 23rd, 2023 at 03:02 pm 1698073353