Best Financial Advise (credit card debt, fund, pay, real estate)

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by downtownnola

Never go into debt for anything except a house, a car or a student loan.

I would take the car out of this advice though--it is a depreciating asset therefore it will cost you more in the long run then it was ever worth to begin with so taking a loan on a car is never a good idea--however, not everyone can afford to pay cash for a car.

[2goldens]

Save 10- 20% from (gross amount) each paycheck into your savings account.
Savings account = joint with one of your children so you won't touch it.
It works for me.

[shuke]

Best advice I never took: don't get married.

[John23]

-The less you have to deal with, and worry about interest rates the better. Pay off your CC every month and it doesn't matter what your interest rate is.

-Never borrow money where the lender can change terms at will. I.e. racking up CC debt, and the lender can change your interest rate at will. That's madness.

-Never take advice from mainstream "experts". The ones that believed in the "new economy", believed real estate would never go down, etc. These guys don't know anything.

-Use common sense instead of just blindly following the crowd.

For example, in the stock bubble, people bought stocks and didn't have a clue what they were buying. Yet you wouldn't go into a shopping mall, walk into a few random stores and invest $10 or $20k without knowing what you were doing.

-Most good financial advise is just common sense. Yet alot of people make it more complicated than it is because they have something to sell, or an agenda to push (i.e. magazines to sell, newsletters, funds, "advice", "planning services"). Alot of people dont have an incentive to tell you the obvious and tell you whats in your best interest.

[yellowsnow]

Always live considerably below your means. If you are married and you both work, structure your finances so you can live on only 1 income. Then save/invest the other!

[davidt1]

Beware of shills and folks claiming to be financial experts on the internet.

[nyrgoal99]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

I would like to know what was the best financial advise you have ever received.
And if there was one financial book you would recommend what would it be?

#1 Rule, Never Lose Money
#2 Rule, Never forget Rule #1

-Warren Buffet-

[Sunnydee]

Save 10% to 20% of each paycheck and increase your savings every time you get a raise.

Have the amount you choose to save withdrawn from your check and invested before you get your paycheck in other words pay yourself first.

Buy a reliable car and keep it for a long time.

Pay off your credit card each month.

If you don't have the money in the bank, don't buy it.

Don't borrow money or lend money to friends or family.

Learn to love what you have instead of always wanting more or better.

Don't replace it until it's worn out or broken.

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket or all of your money in one place.

These words of wisdom came form my Dad. Thanks, Dad! You taught me a lot!

Read The Millionaire Next Door for more good ideas.

[NewToCA]

Save at least 5% of your take home pay, and pay yourself first.

[Padgett2]

If it's on sale, and you don't really need it, it's not a bargain.

Don't buy because everyone else has one. You didn't have it last week and you got along just fine. You won't need it next week either.

If you have your car serviced properly, it will last a long long time. A salesman's demonstator car will cost a good deal less than a new one and will last as long as a new one. Forget about depreciation and all that blah. It's the cost per year that really counts, not what the car is worth on the open market. Insurance is MUCH cheaper on an older car. Get a higher deductable on your policy.

Remember that while the ads say it only costs pennies per day, those pennies multilplied by 365 days for the year, saved, will make it easier to pay one of those nasty bills like Electricity for one month.

I hate clipping those silly coupons in the paper for the supermarket, but I save 2-5 dollars a week just on those things I would buy anyway like toothpaste and soap. That makes it possible to spend time in a nicer hotel on vacation. I know, 104-260 bucks a year isn't much, but it makes life a little easier when it comes to paying bills.