20 Rules of Personal Finance

....not within your means. 

The only way to get ahead financially is to stay behind your own earnings power.

Carrying credit card debt is a great way to negatively compound your net worth.  But credit itself is important.

Likely the biggest expense over your lifetime will be interest costs on your mortgage, car loans, student loans, etc. Having a solid credit score can save you tens of thousands of dollars by lowering your borrowing costs. So use credit cards, but always pay off the balance each month.

If you want to understand your priorities  gain control of your finances, look at where you spend money each month.

The goal is to spend money on things that are important to you but cut back everywhere else. And if you pay yourself first you don’t have to worry about budgeting, you just spend whatever’s left over.

You have to have liquid assets to take care of things when life inevitably gets in the way.

Most of the time these “emergencies” are things you should plan on happening periodically. 

This is a huge personal finance margin of safety item. Just remember that insurance is about protecting wealth, not building it.

Everyone should have a back-of-the-envelope idea about where their net worth (assets – liabilities) stands.

 Before knowing where you want to go you have to know where you are.

Everyone should try to do their own taxes at least once just to understand how it all works. 

It can be maddeningly complicated, but it can help you save money over time if you know where to look. Take advantage of as many tax breaks as you can and always understand your personal tax situation.

Saving and/or cutting back is a great way to get ahead, but it’s an incomplete strategy if you’re not trying to earn more by enhancing your career. 

Too many people are stuck in the mindset that there’s nothing they can do to get a better job, take on more responsibilities or earn a higher salary. That’s nonsense.

...instead of thinking about retirement. The goal shouldn’t be about making it to a certain age so you can ride off into the sunset, but rather getting to the point where you don’t have to worry about money anymore.