Money Management Tips from Professionals
When it comes to making financial decisions and managing your money, who do you ask for tips or advice? We think it's always a good idea to consult with experts, and that's how we pulled together these bits of financial wisdom. Here are some money management tips from experts that you can apply to your own trading, investing, saving, and financial planning:
Understand Every Investment You Make
”For each investment you make, you really, really have to understand the risks that you're taking. Don't outsource that task to your financial advisor…. If you're not willing to do that work, you should just keep your money safely in a bank.”
Greg Collett
Formerly COO of Deutsche Bank's commodity ETF business, currently a lawyer representing defrauded investors.
Dare to be Different
“You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.”
Dave Ramsey
Host of the "Dave Ramsey Show" and author of "The Total Money Makeover"
Cut Your Losses Short
“The ‘it'll come back’ mentality is dangerous. One great way to do this is through the use of stop loss orders. Don't fear them. Use them. They are your best friend.”
Blain Reinkensmeyer
Principal at Reink Media Group, hobby investor, and full-time webpreneur. He is responsible for all equity broker reviews and business development on StockBrokers.com
Don't Follow the Crowd
“I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”
Warren Buffett
American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century
Diversify Your Investments
“A common mistake people are making in retirement planning is failing to diversify their investment strategy from a concentrated stock position. There is no reason why you can't diversify your risk when it comes to the stock market.”
Clark Kendall
CFA, CFP®, AEP, President and Founder of Kendall Capital Management
Believe in Yourself
“No one ever achieved financial security by being weak and scared. Confidence is contagious; it will bring more into your life.”
Suze Orman
American author, financial advisor, motivational speaker, and television host
Monitor Your Credit
“Check your credit report for errors! One simple mistake can cost you money. If you are not looking at your credit report to protect it against errors, who is? 15 minutes, twice a year is easy for anyone.”
Jeanne Kelly
Credit Coach
Budget Realistically
“Frugality isn't about cutting your spending on everything. That approach wouldn't last two days. Frugality, quite simply, is about choosing the things you love enough to spend extravagantly on—and then cutting costs mercilessly on the things you don't love.”
Ramit Sethi
Author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Go Bank Shopping
“Comparison shop when it comes to choosing a primary financial institution. It's a very basic concept, but one that many people fail to grasp. The big banks are often the default choice, yet smaller and institutions like community banks and credit unions are considerably overlooked.”
John Gower
Analyst for NerdWallet, a personal finance website
Invest in Education
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin
One of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Author, politician, scientist
Start Saving NOW, Even if it's Just a Small Amount
“You don't have to start big...small steps over a lifetime really add up. Start funding your emergency fund with $10 a month, start investing with $50 a month. It is more important to get going than to wait for the big amounts of cash!”
Andrea Travillian
Personal finance expert specializing in money management basics and beginner investing.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.”
Robert Arnott
American entrepreneur, investor, editor and writer
Manage Your Trading Like You'd Manage a Business
“Individual traders must manage their trading just like a business. In other words - keep expenses low, focus on improving profit margins, develop several streams of income, and build large cash reserves.”
Charles Kirk
Full-time, independent trader, creator of The Kirk Report
Live Under Your Means
“Live under your means. Know exactly what you earn each month and spend less. That's a step beyond living within your means. Take responsibility and choose where your money goes, instead of being influenced by whims, advertising, habits or peer pressure.”
Kevin Gallegos
National consumer finance expert, Vice President of Freedom Financial Network
Be Consistent
“The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.”
Ben Graham
Economist and professional investor. Graham is considered the first proponent of value investing
Keep Emotions in Check and Be a Disciplined Investor
“One of the biggest mistakes I see people making is investing based on emotion rather than a disciplined, systematic process. In particular, I think people need a disciplined plan for risk management as mitigating large draw-downs in your investment portfolio has the potential to add more value over time than maximizing every ounce of upside in the bull markets.”
David Houle
Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager at Season Investments
Don't Hold Onto a Bad Trade
“My top tip for traders is to look at each of their trading positions each day as if they didn't have it and ask themselves if they would open it. If the answer is "no", then the position is no longer justified, and therefore should be closed. This simple mechanism allows traders to trick their biggest enemy (emotionality in trading) and stay objective.”
Przemyslaw Radomski
Chartered financial analyst and owner/editor-in-chief of Sunshine Profits, website dedicated to gold and silver investments
Don't Be Intimidated By the Stock Market
“Everyone has the brainpower to follow the stock market. If you made it through fifth-grade math, you can do it.”
Peter Lynch
American businessman and stock investor, research consultant at Fidelity Investments
Create a Budget
“The most impactful approach to money management is spending less than you owe… By establishing a structured spending plan, which accounts for all expenses, you can focus on eliminating unnecessary expenses and commit your disposable income to building wealth.”
Thom Fox
Community Outreach Director at Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp
Maintain an Emergency Fund
“Saving at least $1,000 in emergency savings should be a non-negotiable part of your overall money management plan. This holds true regardless of any existing debt you're trying to pay down. Why? Because should an unforeseen financial crisis hit your front door, without a savings safety net, you'll only fall deeper into debt; preparedness means everything when it comes to financial success.”
Jennifer Calonia
Editor for GoBankingRates.com, an online personal finance resource
Always Keep Learning
“Invest in yourself. Your career is the engine of your wealth.”
Paul Clitheroe
Australian television presenter, financial analyst and financial advisor
Don't Over-complicate Things
“Wealth building is simple and can be fully explained in just one sentence: Spend less than you earn and invest the difference wisely. If you get that right you will be wealthy. Everything else is just details.”
Todd Tresidder
Money Coach at FinancialMentor.com
Set Up Automatic Savings
“People should take every opportunity they can to save money because it really adds up, and the best way I know to do that is to make your savings automatic.”
David Bach
American financial author, TV personality, founder of FinishRich.com
Maximize Your Earning Potential
“Run your household like a business and manage your finances like a bank! The lack of money is not our problem it's the mismanagement of life holding us back from maximizing our earning potential.”
Mark A. Wingo
Author of Wingonomics, Creator of Get Your PhD in Wingonomics and President and CEO of New Beginning Financial Group, LLC
Save First
“To have a successful and secure financial future, it is important to adopt the mindset of saving before spending. If you set aside funds for the future each pay cycle, you are sure to have plenty of money in your retirement account and any other long-term savings account.”
Gyutae Park
Co-owner of Money Crashers Personal Finance
Invest Wisely
“When buying shares, ask yourself, would you buy the whole company?”
Rene Rivkin
Australian entrepreneur, investor, investment adviser, and stockbroker
Review Your Accounts Often
“Set aside an hour twice a month to update your budget and make sure your accounts are balancing. It's much easier to keep spending under control if you stay on top of things and catch yourself before you are too far over budget.”
Kathryn Garrison
CFP® and senior financial advisor from Moss Adams Wealth Advisors
Put Your Money to Work for You
“It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.”
Robert Kiyosaki
American investor, businessman, self-help author
Spend With Purpose
“Keep it simple, understand what you own and why.”
Gary M. Shor
MBA, CFP®, VP Financial and Estate Planning, AEPG® Wealth Strategies
If You Want Different Results, Do Something Different
“The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it's different.’”
Sir John Templeton
American-born British stock investor, businessman and philanthropist
Simplify Your Finances with Automation
“Set it and forget it. Manage big planning items (retirement, saving for college, vacation planning, etc.) easily by making them automatic.”
Carla Blair-Gamblian
Loan Consultant and credit expert at Veterans United Home Loans
Spend, or Don't Spend Based on What is Important to You
“How you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world.”
Vicki Robin
Co-author of Your Money or Your Life and Yourmoneyoryourlife.info
Now that you've learned money tips from the best experts in the business, build your own financial education with one of our classes.