Did you ever wonder what the best money advice that you’ve ever received was? This answer can certainly vary from person to person depending on who you ask and what their experience with money has been. So we decided to ask some of our financially-minded colleagues how they would answer this question.
What we discovered was some incredibly useful money advice that you can start putting into practice today. It’s never too late to start practicing smart money behaviors and some of these ideas might be new from the traditional money advice you’ve received in the past.
Here are five of the best money tips you can start acting on right away.
1.Invest Early
This money tip is tried and true and will likely always make the list. There is just no substitute for starting your saving plan early and allowing even the smallest amounts of your money grow over the long term. The power of compound interest is real and its ability to set you up for future success is undeniable.
We cover this topic at greater length in this related article: Get Into Good Financial Shape When You’re Young
2. Get an Estate Plan
When we asked our good friend Joe Saul-Sehy of Stacking Benjamins this question, he responded that estate planning is probably the best financial advice he ever received. The reason for this is that estate planning is something each of us knows we should take care of, but tend to put off. When he and his wife went to have their estate plan done, both of them felt a little shocked by how happy and relieved they felt having put all their important financial matters in order in the event they were unable to do so themselves.
Really, there are some hard things we all have to do and facing one’s mortality is never easy. Joe’s advice is to make a list of those four to five things that you ought to be doing and then get after it. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can set and forget about it with a greater sense of peace and security.
3. Work With a Sales Professional
We just loved this advice from Dr. Sarah Fallaw of DataPoints. The best money advice she ever received was to work with a sales professional, which seems strange until she explains why. Her insight revealed that the best sales professionals with the highest performance are also the ones that tend to deliver the best experience. There is a reason why they are high performers. When you are looking to negotiate a deal or make a large purchase, ask to work with the best sales professional so you can receive the highest value when engaged in a financial transaction.
4. Leave Empty Handed
Dr. Sarah Fallaw also added that another bit of good money advice that she has received was permission to leave the store empty handed. She remarked that sometimes you don’t have to buy something if you don’t need it or don’t find exactly what your’e looking for. It’s OK to walk away from the store empty handed. Just because you walk into the store or spend effort trying to find something, doesn’t mean that you are obligated to purchase. Delay your purchases and be more selective until you can acquire what you really want or need.
5. Invest in Yourself
Financial blogger, writer and speaker Michael Kitces, CFP believes investing in yourself first is the best money advice he ever received. He observed what you do right now with your time and energy matters. If you can find ways to become better at what you do everyday then you can build on your income and financial resources. Increasing your education and skill set is a way to improve your chances of long term financial growth and success. You are an investment that can yield the highest return. Think about the ways you are spending your money now and evaluate adjustments you can make so that you are developing a new skill or enhancing an existing one.
What is the best money advice you have ever received? We want to hear from you. Email me directly at [email protected], Tweet to us @moneyguypodcast using #bestmoneyadvice, or share with us on our Facebook page!
