There are a lot of personal finance experts out there. Some are popular and some are not. I’m a definite money nerd, I love to read anything regarding personal finance. As with most things in life though I rarely agree with anything or anyone 100 percent. I prefer to evaluate the “experts” stance and decide for myself what knowledge or advice they offer that will apply to my situation. Below are some of the more popular personal finance gurus and the advice they offer that I believe in.
Dave Ramsey
You’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of who this guy is. He’s a little abrasive at time for me. I’m also not in agreement with everything he preaches but some of his advice is spot on with me.
Ramsey is known for his 7 Baby Steps and his first step of saving $1,000 for your starter emergency fund is super important in my opinion. Everyone needs an emergency fund!
David Bach
Find your Latte Factor. Bach has gotten a bit of a bad rap because people read about giving up their lattes and they freak out. Settle down people. The point of the Latte Factor is finding the little things you spend money on mindlessly and cutting out/back on those things to save more money. You can then take that money and pay down debt or start investing.
Eating out is my latte factor. This doesn’t mean I can’t ever eat out. If I’m eating out three times a week then I could cut that back to twice a week or even once a week. I can skip the pricey soft drinks when I’m at the restaurant, that would cut my total bill down. Boxing up half my meal and using that as my lunch the next day would spread the cost out over two meals.
Your latte factor might be actual Starbucks, books, expensive gym memberships, beauty boxes, etc. Again, you don’t necessarily have to eliminate your latte factor, you could always just cut back. Of course if it’s a bad habit, such as smoking or drinking too much, then this is the perfect excuse to break that bad habit once and for all.
Warren Buffett
Live within your means and income! Even if you aren’t a money nerd like me, you’re probably at least familiar with the name Warren Buffet. He’s one of the wealthiest people in the world and he founded and runs the Berkshire Hathaway company that owns companies like Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, and Geico.
A popular fun fact about Warren Buffett is that despite being worth something crazy like $80 Billion dollars (yes, I said Billion, not million), he still lives in a home he bought in Omaha, Nebraska in 1958 for $31,500. He generally starts his day with a diet coke (we would soooo get along!) and a McDonalds breakfast sandwich. Save your money and instead of buying expensive cars and toys, invest your money.
So since this guy is worth $80 Billion, I decided he deserved the opportunity for me to share a second piece of advice from him. Invest in yourself. Keep learning, whether that’s by reading or surrounding yourself with people smarter than yourself. Take care of yourself and your relationships with others.
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Personal finance is just that in most cases, it’s personal. That being said, the advice above is not rocket science. An emergency fund is a lifesaver when an unexpected and unbudgeted event happens. If you’re overspending in a certain budget category then cut back and save some of that money for either paying off debt or setting yourself up for a more secure financial future. Don’t live your life on a champagne budget when your income will only buy you wine coolers. And you should always be working to improve yourself and if you’re hanging around with people with bad habits, whether it’s financial or otherwise, then you need to cut those people loose.
