I would always complain to my grandmother about not having any money left over, being broke. She'd ask, "Did you pay your bills?"
I'd say, "Yes."
"Did you pay your mortgage?"
"Yes."
"Do you have something to eat?"
"Yes."
"Baby, that's a good broke."

Jon Rico W.
Chicago, IL.

I was starting a business on a shoestring and needed to rent a small office. The landlord was comfortably retired and owned several properties around town. He said he owed his financial success to a single piece of advice he heard years before, and he wanted to pass it on to me.

"Over the years I have seen times when stocks were flying and real estate was out of fashion" he said. "Other times real estate was booming and stocks were falling every day.

"The true secret to financial success," he confided "is to keep a few million dollars in each."

I haven't been very good at following that advice, but anyone who does is guaranteed to have a lot of financial success.

Years ago when all 4 of my children were at home and going to school, I would find school shopping to be very expensive. A friend mentioned to me to start a "school clothes savings account". So I set up an account just like my Holiday Account at the bank and put a set amount each month into the school clothes account. It has been great to be able to have that set amount of money each August to work with when shopping for clothes or paying for the beginning of the year school expenses. Of course, the older my children get, the more I'm needing to save each month!

Hear ye, You Youth! It wasn't exactly surprising advice but a surprise that I adhered to that advice. When IRA's were introduced, I funded mine to the maximum allowed by law for any given year for 20 years. I also rolled over a 401k from a former employer to a self-directd IRA account. From those beginnings in 1983, I now have a comfortable cushion of retirement funds AND own my townhouse outright. What freedom this gives me to live my retirement in peace (or in travel, as my body-health dictates).

The most surprising financial advice I ever received was to move back in with my parents after college. And it makes perfect sense. I mean, how can I afford to pay back four years of school loans from a private college when I have other expenses like rent, or a mortgage? This way I can live rent-free with my parents and avoid all of the silly overhead costs. It's a great plan! Now what I really wish is that I'd listened when someone told me that getting a simple liberal arts degree wouldn't help me find a decent-paying job after college. That would have been really useful. Aren't parents great? I hope I outlive them!

When I started working out of college, I bought a used car and paid it off within three years. When I finally made my last payment, my mother told me to open a savings account and put that same amount I was spending on car payments into a New Car Fund. That way I would have a down payment saved up for when I do need a new car. After a year of no car payments I have over $1000 saved to put down on a new car and it's still growing!

As a kid, when my dad said "You don't need it", I always felt he was being too much of a tightwad. As an adult, I came to realize that his comment was very important in establishing "needs" versus "wants" and subsequently how I spend money. And even more so, my Father in Heaven assures me He will meet my "needs".

While attending a book signing my husband and I got the opportunity to speak with the author. She told us to value our credit score. My husband and I had racked up neary $25,000 in credit card debt and were discussing our options, one of which was bankruptcy. We knew our credit scores were high so we decided to chip away at our debt. We should be debt free by next year!

My Mom always told he that if you "earn a nickel, save a penny." This simple phrase has always stayed with me. As a result I'm a great saver...now I'm learning to spend! My mom also taught me to manage my money and to set aside "fun" money...for guilt-free, (seemingly) frivolous purchases, be it a great pair of shoes or a vacation or whatever. Thanks Mom!

A friend shops with coupons and puts whatever savings from the trip to the grocery store (including store specials) into her savings account from her checking account through her on-line bank system.
It is amazing what you can save for those little
"splurges".

My brother-in-law back in my country has a family with no job and was always depending on us for money. I complained about it once to my generous bestfriend, and she told me something that stuck to my head, "Be grateful that it's not you who are dependent on them". From then on, I realized that it's always better to share to those who have less because all of it comes back in multitude.

Never pay retail. My mom taught me the best bargin hunting tips from a young age. We rarely shopped at the mall, and when we did, we bought it on sale with a coupon. To this day I still go to discount clothing stores to dig through the racks and only buy cereal on sale. It adds up quickly and no one knows that my jeans are last season.

I realized that taking my lunch to work filled up my pocket books and my tummy. I save going out to eat for special occasions.

Since my husband and I had no credit upon returning after years in Europe it had to be established. With the help of our bank we deposited monies in a savings account as collateral for an equal amount loan. As a result this helped us establish credit while gaining interest on the savings. Later when our children needed to establish their own credit we did the same for them with the condition that any withdrawels from the savings account could only be done by my husband or myself. It worked great.

When I was in high school my best friend, Tom, and I started a handyman/lawn mowing business. Tom would put half of what he earned into the bank, gave 20% to his church and "peed away" the rest. He told me that as long as he took care of the future and took care of others, he was going to have fun with the rest. We are now 37 and he is retired with tuition for his 5 kids saved up already, no mortgage on is current home and continues, to this day, to give 20% to "others" since "they need it more than me." He firmly believes tha this taking care of others first gave the world permission to take care of him. I can't help but agree.

Grandma once told me it was better to give than to receive. I didn't understand the concept until many years later. God's economic plan cannot fail. The more I give away the more I receive. We were able to pay cash for our retirement home last year. To God be the glory!

Ask youself...Are you buying this item for yourself or someone else? If it is to simply look good or to show something off, it wasn't for you...it was for them.