Introduction

I have always been a firm believer in the idea that you can’t build wealth without first establishing good habits with your money. Making smart financial choices doesn’t happen overnight, but if you follow these money rules, you’ll be on the right track to building your wealth one day soon!

1) Have a clear financial goal

A financial goal is something you want to achieve with your money. It can be something big, like buying a home or paying off student loans, or something small and short-term, like saving up enough cash to buy yourself a pair of new shoes.
It’s important to have a financial goal because it helps keep you motivated when times get tough and the temptation to spend is strong. Without goals, we’re more likely to fall into bad habits like impulse shopping or overspending on unnecessary items that don’t bring us closer to our long-term dreams.
Creating a financial goal takes some thought—you need to think about what you want out of life as well as what steps will help get you there. Here are some examples:

1) Only buy what you need.

2) Don’t let advertisers influence your purchasing decisions.

3) Don’t buy things to impress other people.

4) Don’t buy things because it’s a good deal, even if it’s not something you need (e.g., buying a dishwasher on sale).

5) Don’t buy things just because they’re free or cheap, either (e.g., buying expensive clothes at Goodwill).

2) Pay your bills on time

This rule is very important in the world of finance because it helps you avoid late fees and maintain good credit. If you have automatic bill payment set up, make sure to also check that your bank account has enough money in it each month to cover these payments. Otherwise, they might be declined or held up by the bank due to insufficient funds.
If paying a bill late is unavoidable, contact the company or person who sent it (e.g., landlord). Explain why you’re behind and see if there’s any way they can work with you so that this doesn’t happen again next month!

3) Pay off the credit as soon as possible

This rule of money is to pay off credit card debt as soon as possible.
Credit cards are a great way to build up your credit score and earn rewards. But, if you don’t pay off the balance on time and in full each month, you can end up paying interest charges that make buying that new pair of shoes more expensive than they were in the store.
Don’t let credit card debt build-up. Most people have at least one or two cards with balances on them. Paying those balances off as soon as possible will save you money because it will lower the amount of money being spent on interest payments each month–and possibly prevent any negative hits to your credit rating or rating (which could affect whether or not banks will offer you loans).

4) Track your spending

You don’t have to be a finance nerd to know that tracking your spending is a good thing. Tracking your spending helps you notice where the most money goes, which can help you make better decisions about what to spend in the future.
The first step when tracking your spending is having an organized system for categorizing it—do this by listing out what categories of items each transaction falls under. For example, if you spent $5 at the grocery store, put that item under “groceries” and write down how much was spent on produce versus bread and other goods.
Once all of your transactions are categorized into their appropriate category, tally up all of them at the end of every month and see how much money went into each one—this will give you an idea of where (and how much) money went during that period. If there are any big outliers from what was expected or budgeted for (such as a large purchase), try to figure out why so that future purchases can be planned accordingly and reflect those needs more accurately

5) Don’t be afraid of the bank

You’re not alone in your fear of the bank. I’ve been there, and so have many people I know. It’s okay to be afraid, but don’t let that stop you from learning about money and how it works. Here are some tips:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you don’t understand something, speak up! The worst thing that can happen is someone will tell you “no,” but if they do say no, ask why and ask again until they give a real reason for their decision. It’s also possible that your question might lead them to rethink their position on something or change their mind about explaining things in a way that makes sense for everyone involved (including themselves).
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed—whether it’s with opening an account or deciding how much risk you want in yours right now (more on that later). Trust me; most bankers want nothing more than seeing happy customers who feel comfortable asking them questions because those customers will probably stick around longer than others who won’t come back after one bad experience with checking out at the desk without having talked through everything first instead of saying “I’ll figure this out later.” And even if there isn’t anything wrong with the system itself, sometimes it takes time to get used to.

6) Save for emergencies

How much to have in your emergency fund: Aim to save three to six months’ worth of living expenses. The amount you need will depend on how much money you bring in and how much debt you have. If an emergency fund is new for you, start with $1,000 and work up from there.
How to save for emergencies: Set aside at least four percent of your pay each month into an interest-bearing savings account (you can even do it automatically by linking up your checking account). If possible, try to get a high-yield savings account that pays 5% or more annually—the more interest earned on your balance, the better off you’ll be when unexpected expenses come knocking.

7) Establish a budget and stick to it

A budget is a tool for managing your money so that you can have the things you need and want. If you don’t have a budget, then it’s likely that the money you earn each month will go to things other than what’s important to you.
A good way to create a personal budget is by using an online tool or spreadsheet program such as Mint, You Need a Budget (YNAB), or Quicken. These tools help track where your money goes each month and give advice on how much should be spent in different categories like “bills” or “miscellaneous”.
It’s important to stick to the budget when creating one because this will show if any expenses are changing from month to month that could cause problems later down the line (like being late paying bills). This may require some sacrifices now—for example not going out with friends after work every week—but long-term savings will make up for short-term cuts eventually!

8) Build credit slowly and wisely

Credit is a tool. It will help you get the things you need. Credit is not something to be afraid of; it’s a necessity in this world. You want to make sure that when your credit card bill comes, it’s something that can be easily paid off (if not the next day). It is important to only borrow what you can afford to pay back and with interest rates so low right now, there is no reason not to take advantage of them.

9) Start early with investing

It’s important to start investing as soon as possible, because the sooner you start, the more time your money has to grow. The longer you wait, the more money you’ll need to save because of compounding. For example, if someone who starts investing at age 30 earns 5% in their investments each year (and never adds a penny), they will end up with over $1 million by age 65—but that same person will only get half as much if they invest for just ten years instead of twenty-five.
The sooner you start saving for retirement, the less money it takes for retirement—and saving early is one of the best ways to guarantee yourself financial security later in life.

10) Be smart with money

Saving and budgeting. It’s easy to spend your way into debt and dig yourself into a hole that’s hard to get out of. But if you’re smart, saving is just as important as spending especially if you want to own your home or start investing in stocks and bonds.
When it comes down to it, the stock market is all about risk versus reward: The higher the risk, the higher the return over time (and vice versa). Investing means buying shares in publicly traded companies so that you can benefit from their growth by receiving dividends on those investments while also earning money when they go up in value through appreciation (or “capital gains”).

Conclusion

When it comes to money, you want to be smart.
You want to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your hard-earned cash and not spending too much.
You also probably want to know how much you can save for retirement or when it makes sense to start investing in stocks instead of just keeping everything in a savings account.
We hope these rules will help guide you through some of those decisions!

10 Rules I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Money