Financial Strategies that Helped Me

Here are some simple financial strategies that have worked for us and I'm sharing with my kids.

• Pay yourself first.   Put 5, 10, 15% or whatever into a savings account.  When I first started working, I would pay all my bills and expenses first and whatever was left at the end of the month was my savings.   Except for my first month of working, I was pretty good at having something left at the end of the month.   Later, I realized a better approach would be to take out my savings first, and the pay my bills and spend on expenses afterwards.
• Buy only what we need.  Marketers are adept at getting consumer to buy stuff.  The challenge to sort the needs from the wants.   Do I really need the best smart phone, cable TV, a large screen TV or a luxury car?  The answer is probably not.  Not buying these can reduce spending by hundreds of dollars one time or every month.  A related rule to this is to live below our means.
• Spend cash for everyday expenses. Using only cash is an easy way to limit spending.  Once the cash runs out, the spending stops.  A corollary to this is pay off entire credit card bill due every month.

OK, not everyone can follow these strategies.  But if one can, it is one path to a successful future retirement.

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This is not financial, saving, spending nor retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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