Failure to plan is expensive.  Choosing to anticipate is the way to head off the big financial blows, because you are buying a commodity more precious than money: time.
— Mary Hunt, Live Your Life for Half the Price

The first ritual of wealth and the most important rule of financial success is: Pay yourself first; it’s okay to keep some.
— Tod Barnhart, The Five Rituals of Wealth

I hear this all the time:  “But it [smart personal finance] is so hard.”  Well, it’s easier than you think, and it’s certainly easier than becoming a financial statistic.  Being a financial failure is what’s really hard.
— Tod Barnhart, The Five Rituals of Wealth

When advised to budget, most people respond: “But I just don’t have enough money.”  In fact, most of these individuals have a lot more money than they think; they just lack control of it.  Making more money is not the answer.  The sad truth is that if you’re out of control, no matter how much […]

Some people never realize that they can redirect their present incomes and become wealthy.  They buy into the popular culture and ignore the wisdom of the ages.  You are responsible for your choices.  Recast your habits and you will change your life permanently.  You may change temporarily by sheer force of will, but it will […]

A lot of people get confused about what to do first when it comes to saving money: pay off debt, save for their retirement, or just put money away for an emergency fund. Listen, if you are paying 18 percent interest on your credit card debt, it makes absolutely no sense to start a savings […]

I know you think you’ll feel better if you buy a new shirt, buy a new blouse or go get your hair done because you’re feeling down a bit; life’s gotten to you.  But, the truth is, if you have $500 in your savings account, then you’ve got self-esteem, because that’s the one thing you […]

Remember what I said before: A job is only a short-term solution to a long-term problem.  Most people have only one problem in mind, and it’s short-term.  It’s the bills at the end of the month.  Money now runs their lives.
— Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad

It’s like I’ve said, “I’ve been broke a lot of times, but I’ve never been poor.” My mother taught me to put some money aside for a rainy day. But our industry is the worst in the world for money — same with athletes. After I played a benefit concert to pay for my friend’s medical […]

Hang on to your hat because I’m going to tell you something that may be hard to swallow.  Money is not for spending.  It took me the longest time to understand this — money is for managing first and then for spending.  That truth profoundly changed my attitude about money.
— Mary Hunt, Debt-Proof Your Marriage

Living paycheck-to-paycheck has little to do with the size of the paycheck.
— Mary Hunt, Debt-Proof Your Marriage

“My parents never taught me about money” is a commonly-expressed explanation for people’s financial dilemmas.  The fact is that all of us were taught by the financial behaviors modeled for us by our parents.  The first things most of us learned was that you rarely talk about money, but when you do, you “talk” about […]

Most people have it all wrong about wealth in America.  Wealth is not the same as income.  If you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier.  You are just living high.  Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.
— Thomas Stanley, Ph.D., and William Danko, The Millionaire […]

I advise that you take the wisdom of Algamish and say to yourselves, “A part of all I earn is mine to keep.”  Say it in the morning when you first arise.  Say it at noon.  Say it at night.  Say it each hour of every day.  Say it to yourself until the words stand […]

You are worth what you saved, not the millions you made.
— John Boyle O’Reilly