While plenty of books and websites are dedicated to financial education, sometimes the most important lessons can be learned from a few simple words.
Throughout the years, many famous individuals—both financially savvy and not—have shared inspiring insights about money management. Most of these quotes have a similar message: it is absolutely essential to save what you earn, to have a plan for your future, and to resist spending funds that you do not already have.
It's not always easy, but referring to these quotes remind you why it's critical to save and wisely:
Quotes on Credit and Borrowing
"A credit card allows you to transcend time. For it allows you to put off until tomorrow what you bought today, while you are still paying off what you bought yesterday." -- Robert Morrissette
Quotes on Spending Money Irrationally & Living Within Your Means
"Money is a tool. Used property, it makes something beautiful - used wrong, it makes a mess!" -- Bradley Vinson
"The art of living easily as to money is to pitch your scale of living one degree below your means." -- Sir Henry Taylor
"The amount of money you have has got nothing to do with what you earn. People earning a million dollars a year can have no money. People earning $35,000 a year can be quite well off. It's not what you earn, it's what you spend." -- Paul Clitheroe
"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship." -- Benjamin Franklin
Quotes on Investing
"October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February." -- Mark Twain
"Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1." -- Warren Buffett
Quotes on Saving for the Future
"A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desired result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, to accomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find there is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending." -- P. T. Barnum
"If you wish to get rich, save what you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and dispose of it to his own advantage." -- Brigham Young
Quotes on Overall Planning and Money Management
"Getting straight with your money is as complicated as a trip to the grocery store: You need a comparison shop, add and subtract, stick with a plan, and ask questions - nothing more." -- Elizabeth Warren
Successful Money Management Skills
Regardless of where you are on your life path, it is important to develop successful money management skills. These skills and habits will help you towards a prosperous financial future.
Tip 1: Educate yourself on the inner workings of finances. In other words, learn how interest rates can work for and against you, based on whether you are the borrower or the investor.
Have a good understanding of the different types of financial and investment vehicles that are available in the marketplace, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, as well as when you should use each to accomplish a particular financial goal.
Tip 2: Creating a household budget is also key to attaining your overall financial success. This will help you keep track of exactly how much money is coming in and going out each month—and where your money is going. If you find that you are spending too much in certain areas, a budget can help you determine where various expenses can be trimmed.
Tip 3: Set your financial goals. Include goals for short, intermediate, and long-term categories. Short-term goals include items that you would like to accomplish within the next year. For example, you may want to have $1,000 saved by the end of the calendar year.
Intermediate and long-term goals are those that are further out in your time horizon. In setting these goals, you will want to divide them into smaller, measurable pieces that can be accomplished in stages.
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