10 Timeless Personal Finance Tips

In honor of its 70th anniversary, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine this month released their top 70 ways to build wealth.  Knight Kiplinger, the editor in chief, listed his “10 Timeless Tips” as part of the list of 70.  They are awesome, and I wanted to share them with you here (worth passing along to any young person you know who is starting out).

1.       Wealth creation isn’t a matter of what you earn.  It’s how much of it you save.

2.       Your biggest barrier to becoming rich is living like you’re rich before you are.

3.       Pay yourself first.  Arrange to have your retirement and other savings deducted from your pay-check before the money hits your bank account.  If there isn’t enough left over for your bills, cut your spending.

4.       No one ever got into trouble by borrowing too little.

5.       Conspicuous consumption will make you inconspicuously poor.

6.       The key to stock market success isn’t your timing of the market.  It’s your time in the market – the longer, the better.

7.       Diversify, because every asset has its day in the sun – and its day in the doghouse.

8.       Keep a cool head when others are losing theirs.  When others are selling investments, it’s usually a good time to buy.  The foundations of great fortunes are laid in bear markets, not bull markets

9.       Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make unhappiness easier to bear.

10.   Sharing your wealth with others is more fun than spending it on yourself.