There’s a small, but growing movement to try and ‘package’ personal finance advice into various ‘systems’ …. heck, I am [still] working on my own Grand Unified Theory of Personal Finance …
Hint: it will come with all sorts of strings attached 😉
… for example, take these Tips on Practicing Smart Personal Finance from Think Your Way To Wealth [AJC: I’ll leave you to read the post, which has some great suggestions].
But, if I were to write some of my own tips on ‘practicing smart personal finance’, it would surely begin with the end: know your objective.
Then it would suggest that you find our where you are today and come up with a plan to bridge the gap between the two; for example, my list might look something like this:
1. Understand WHY you need money
2. Decide HOW MUCH money you need
3. Plan for WHEN you need it
4. Find the Annual Compound GROWTH RATE required to get you from HERE to THERE
5. Get Started … take the first step
6. Make sure you don’t spend the money that you need to grow
7. Plan NOW for how you ar going to keep your money safe once you get there
8. Ensure your plan (this is not the same as – but, MAY include – insuring your plan).
That’s pretty much what I like to call Making Money 101, 201, and 301 … and, if you do it right, it’s not merely ‘smart personal finance’ … it’s Stupendously Intelligent Personal Finance 🙂
Great tips. I know that I don’t think about my retirement as much as I should. I usually just try and live day to day. I know that this is not the best way to live. Thanks for the important tips on how to budget so that I can retire one day!
Thanks for the mention AJC. I actually agree with you 100%- I just didn’t touch on it in the post. I certainly believe you cannot get anywhere if you don’t know where you want to go. You are inspiring me to go finish a half written post to that effect (of course, sitting there with several dozen other half finished posts!)
Enjoy your blog, keep up the good work.
In general your tips are good, however I don’t agree with statement “Plan for WHEN you need it” Sometimes it may be difficult to plan the time where you need money.