Tuesday, August 22, 2006

My Money Rules

I read a lot of other personal finance blogs and I don't want to repeat what they say. However, here are some of my financial principles that I live by:

1. Never put anything on your credit card if you cannot pay it off that month.
2. Save as much money as you can.
3. Make all your savings automatic so you are not tempted to spend it.
4. Max out your Roth IRA as early in the year as possible.
5. Max out your 401K, if you can.
6. Do not be ashamed to live with your parents - it can save you a LOT of money.
7. Buy everything you can on sale. Become friendly with the sales staff and find out when your favorite stores have sales.
8. Do not buy something you do not need or will not use because it is on sale.
9. Open a high yield savings account for your emergency fund. Fund it with at least $5,000 or 3 months living expenses, whichever is higher.
10. Be willing to splurge once in a while. It's no fun to always be on a budget, even better, put the splurge in your budget.

There are many more rules, but ten is a nice and even number.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That list is a good 10! I have a similiar list, it's 1) Stop buying stuff. You don't need it
2) Get out of debt
3) Sign up for your employer's retirement plan
4) Start saving for a house or condo
5) Project a positive attitude at work. Find a new job if you aren't enthusiastic about this one.
6) Stop going out to eat
7) Go for a walk
8) Keep your car in mechanically good shape. Take it in for regular maintenance.
9) Stop assessing your situation against your friends' and family's situation. Do the opposite. Set an example as someone with clear financial priorities
10) Stop watching TV

calgirlfinance said...

That's a great Top 10!