While it’s always a good idea to take advice from a professional, or at least a family or friend that you trust that has done well on their own, there are plenty of myths about finances that have been said over the years, but it turns out can actually be ignored, as they are not good advice at all. Now that 2018 has begun, now is the time to take control of your finances and finally get ahead.
You Can’t Invest Unless You’re Rich
As it turns out you don’t have to keep up filling out opinion outpost to make extra cash to save up for investing, as it doesn’t take the rich to open up a brokerage account, let alone save for retirement. For your work 401k account, the more you can contribute you early on the more it can grow over time, and also take a look to see if your employer offers any matching contributions, as free money to grow for you. For a brokerage account, you can open with little money and contribute each month if you want to buy a few stocks at a time.
Using Credit Cards are a Mistake
Now I can see that if you have a problem with credit cards as far as charging and being able to payoff the balance, then maybe you should use with caution, but if you can handle the responsibility, you can get back in return from credit cards, such as fraud protection, a payment grace period, not to mention earning rewards just on the purchases that you would be making anyways. Gaining points to redeem as gift cards, airline miles, or even a cashback check each year, just rewards alone could be enough to use a credit card for every single purchase.
Having More Income Means You’re Wealthy
Now I have been guilty myself if any raises have come along, and you’ve often heard, the more you make the more you spend. If you are making little money, there is little you can do to go overboard, unless you are charging beyond your means on a credit card, but the more money you have coming in the more you have on hand to spend, before putting in an emergency fund, paying off debt, or saving for your future. If you can live on a modest income and save the excess, you will be in good shape in the long run.
Larger Debt Payments Should be Paid Off First
If you have a number of credit cards or loans that you are trying to pay off, some will say that the higher balances should be paid first, not to mention the highest interest, so that less will be wasted paid towards interest and can go against the balance. While sure this makes sense, but if you are looking for motivation to see how your hard work is helping, sometimes paying off the smallest balance can give reward seeing that zero balance, and can feel you accomplished something when you move onto the next card.