Best Advice - Part III
In the last two issues of this eNewsletter, I've been summarizing some of the "best financial advice" ideas readers have submitted. Here are a few more. Mary Ellen pointed to these words of wisdom from her parents: "Don't spend money you don't have. Credit cards are fine as long as you pay them off in full as soon as the bill arrives." Following that advice has enabled her to pay cash for each car she has owned and to even pay off her mortgage early. For Chris, the advice to maintain an emergency fund and to have no debt except a mortgage has enabled his family to weather several months of unemployment without touching their retirement or college savings. And Brittany pointed to her father's encouragement to always give away at least 10 percent of her income. Doing so, she says, has been a constant reminder of God's provision.
Matt's View
Isn't it interesting that the best money management ideas are not very complicated? And here's one other take-away: Among the many readers who cited their parents as the source of the best advice they've received, it was clear that their parents not only gave specific guidance, but also "walked the talk." As someone counseled us when we had our first child, "more will be caught than taught." Many thanks to all who wrote to share the best financial advice they've ever received.
This article filed in: Credit/Debit Cards , Debt , Giving , Homes/Mortgages , Saving
Managing Money by The Book
- "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" - 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
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