Money Rule #1: Personal Finance Is More Personal Than Finance
When it comes to your money, you have to make the decisions that are right for you and your family – not right for your best friends or your siblings or even your mother. That may mean leaving cash in the bank because it enables you to sleep at night while the “experts” are telling you to invest that money so it can grow. It may mean making a lateral move at work because you think you’ll enjoy the work more than what you’re doing now.
Money Rule #2: Your Retirement Trumps Your Child’s Tuition.
If you don’t save for your own future first, you won’t be able to help your children when they need it. Worse, they may be forced to help you just when they’re trying to put their own kids through school. There is no financial aid for retirement but there is plenty of financial aid for college.
Money Rule #3: Don’t Shop Angry, Sad or Hungry
Shopping angry makes you more likely to say “what the heck” to unfortunate purchases, to spend or invest money on a whim. Shopping while sad makes you eager to buy just about anything. Shopping hungry makes you spend more money not just on food, but on everything.
Money Rule #4: Give Back
People who spend money and time on charity are healthier and happier. They sleep more and exercise more and that puts them in a better frame of mind. Grateful people are less likely to be felled by depression or stress-based ailments