I made this list after reading a stack of books about financial habits back in 2018-2019. It’s helped keep me on track to save money, make prudent financial decisions, and changed the way I think about money and spending. Enjoy.
Top habits
- Save 10-20% of your income per month.
- Max out your 401k.
- Pay off your credit card balance each month.
- Never buy or sell individual stocks.
- Buy inexpensive well-diversified index mutual funds and exchange trading funds.
Financial Wellness
- Wealth is measured in your consistent income, not the amount of cash or assets you have.
- Above all else, pay off your debt as quickly as possible.
- Work out monthly living expenses, and get 6 months in the bank for emergencies.
- Only get credit cards you can pay off instantly in order to build a credit score. (e.g. weekly grocery purchases).
- Do not get a credit (e.g. credit cards or loans) to fix financial situations.
- Don’t buy depreciating items (e.g. cars) with credit.
Investing
- Buy inexpensive, well-diversified index mutual funds and exchange trading funds (ETFs).
- Passive trading often yields better results than active trading.
- Never buy or sell individual stocks or use managed funds.
- For long term investments, riskier is okay.
- Do not look at your investments.
This isn’t financial advice, so don’t take my word for it!