7 All-time Best Pieces Of Financial Advice

A bunch of us at Annuity Gator got to talking one night with some folks about the best financial advice we ever received, and we realized something: all of this knowledge was like a gold mine. If you actually applied it, seriously, you could get rich. We decided to compile this “all-time best financial advice” and share it in the hopes that you’ll give it a try, share it with a friend, or maybe share some advice of your own. Will you do it? We hope so. What follows is the 7 all-time best pieces of financial advice we’ve ever heard.

1. PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

Whenever we got a check for our birthday or Christmas, my mom always told me, “Pay yourself first.” She wanted me to keep some of that money for myself for later. We always put our checks in our bank account, and then took out the amount we wanted to spend instead of just cashing the whole check.Now as an adult I still pay myself first. Ten percent of every paycheck goes into my 401(k), and another 10 percent goes into my IRA. I don’t even see that money in my checking account because the funds are automatically withdrawn. I never miss the money, and my accounts are growing. I’m only 38, but I’m close to having $1 million saved.

This is probably the most important piece of advice you can apply when building your retirement foundation. Most people pay their bills and save whatever is left over. If you get into the habit of paying yourself first, and then spend what is left over, you will grow more money.

2. DON’T’ PUT ALL YOUR MONEY IN ONE PLACE

My older brother always told me never put all of my money in one place. The first time we traveled together on an airplane by ourselves, he put a $20 bill in my shoe, another in my back pocket, and a fifty in my suitcase. I don’t even think I owned a wallet.This practice has stayed with me over the years. I have an amount of money in a money market savings account, an amount in a Roth IRA invested in mutual funds and a 10-year deferred annuity with an income rider for my retirement income.

Diversifying your money is one of the main tenets of good financial planning. When you have your money spread out in more than one place, then if one account loses money and the other gains, the returns balance out. You can also diversify your investments from a tax standpoint so that during your retirement, not all of your income is taxed the same way.

3. LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES

“Get a paper route,” my dad told me whenever I asked him for money. I think he started saying that to me when I was four. Problem was, I lived in the country where the houses were too far apart for me to bike. “Doesn’t matter,” he said. “If you look hard enough, you can always find an opportunity.”He was right. I did get a job, feeding my neighbor’s sheep when they were out of town. Word spread, and I started my first small business. By the time I was 18, I had over $10,000 saved.

Sometimes people don’t save or invest for the simple reason that they’re not making enough money. Things have gotten more expensive and a dollar can only go so far. But ask yourself, what are you doing with your free time? If the answer is binge-watching Netflix on T.V., then look around. There might be a money-making opportunity out there that’s within reach. Thanks to the power of compound interest, adding just another $50 a week to your savings can add up to $1 million MORE dollars assuming 40 years of growth than you would have saved without that extra $50 a week.

4. SAVE BEFORE YOU SPEND

My grandmother had this old yellow tin with a picture of a lemon on it that she kept on the kitchen counter. In that tin, she put the money she was saving. “This is for our trip to Italy,” she would say, tucking in a five dollar bill. As a kid, it excited me every time I thought about that tin, and everyone in our family put money into it. I’m sure she must have emptied it out a few times and put the money in the bank, but what stayed with me was that grandma never bought anything unless she had saved up for it first.

We live during a time of super loans, credit cards, and second mortgages. It’s easy to get people to lend you money when there’s something you want that you don’t have the cash for. While financing large purchases can lead to good credit and smart money management, saving up for smaller things such as used cars and family vacations is one way to keep debt under control.

5. LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS

I had a financial planner for a dad, and he told me that the only thing I had to do if I wanted to save $1 million was to live below my means. It didn’t matter if I was a school teacher, a plumber, or a truck driver, if I lived below my means, I could become a millionaire.He showed me how to do it. Whenever I got a paycheck, we divided it up into three parts: an amount to save, an amount to give, and an amount to spend. I used my “give” money for birthday presents for my family and friends. I used my save money to buy my first car. I’ve never been in debt, and I saved my first million before I got married.

The only thing you might add to this great formula is the fourth category. If you have credit card debt you’re looking to pay down, add that to the allocation to fund a consistent way to tackle debt. If you combine this with rule number one and pay yourself first, then you’ll be well on your way to financial success.

6. SAVE MONEY TO MAKE MONEY

My grandpa always used to say, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” On the weekends he would give me a pair of scissors and the Sunday paper and pay me 10¢ for every coupon I cut out. I used to get excited when I found the dollar coupons.A lot of people I know spend more money when they save money because they feel like they got a bonus. I don’t look at it that way. Every dollar I can save is a dollar that I can put to work for me earning interest. I’m always looking for ways to scoop up more money to put into my interest-bearing accounts.

Most people save only 10 percent of their income, but saving more can lead to early retirement. When you invest those dollars, they can go to work for you earning interest. Compound interest can have such a dramatic effect on the growth of your money, Albert Einstein called it the Eighth Wonder of The World, saying, “He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t…pays it.”

7. DON’T PUT OFF TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY

When I was a kid, I watched a bunch of men in suits come and take away our family cars. My dad was rich and had a lot of speculative investments in real estate and oil. His financial advisor warned him about these investments and told him he needed to get out of them. My dad knew they were risky and he kept saying, “I’ll wait until the end of the year.” Then he said, “I’ll wait until I hit the $2 million mark.” Then he said, “I’ll wait until I’m 60.” He kept putting it off, and then one day, he lost it all.

It’s easy to receive great financial advice; it’s another thing to actually apply it. If you’ve got a feeling there’s something you should be doing to better your financial situation, don’t put it off another day. Take the first step now. Make that phone call, ask those questions, talk to whoever you need to talk to, but get it done. Putting off good financial decisions can only cost you money. Do you need some good financial advice about how to plan for retirement? We’re here to help. No tricks, no gimmicks, just good, sound financial advice. At Annuity Gator we work for you, the investor, so our advice comes to you unbiased. We review annuity products nearly every day, so if you’ve got a question or want to have one annuity tested against another, we’re the people who can help. Just reach out to us by calling our annuity hotline at 888-440-2468 or fill out this confidential form. It’s easy, and there’s no string attached. Sometimes the best things in life really are free.