Financial Tips From Wealthy Friends

If there is one thing I’ve learned from my years of schooling (19 to be exact), it’s this: the moment you feel like you’ve learned it all, you’re doomed to failure. I may be a so-called “authority” on certain topics, but I hope to never consider myself an expert. There is always more you can learn.

So, when I got the idea for this post, I asked my dad to ask some of his friends who have all kinds of very impressive careers what their financial tips are. Obviously some of these are meant to be silly (I would imagine there was perhaps some alcohol involved in their conversation), but I hope you enjoy them. Do you have a live-or-die tip? Please leave it in the comments below!

Spontaneity is your enemy

Things like the newest car, the latest phone and newest technology can give you short term pleasure, resulting in a long term obligation. One tip I came across recently is utilizing the good ol’ fashioned shopping cart. When you’re shopping online and want something, add it to your shopping cart and sleep on it. If you still want it the next day and can genuinely afford it, go for it. If it’s less appealing later than it was when you added it, go ahead and skip it. The Internet is chock full of “order this right now or else” messages, and the vast majority of things can wait. I promise. As far as major purchases go, that takes even more time and mulling over. Ask yourself if you really, really need it or if you’re just trying to keep up with the proverbial Joneses. Oh, and stay the hell away from eBay and TopHatter.

Purchase your car. Drive it until the wheels fall off.

This goes along with the last tip and is one that I personally am really struggling with right now. My car works fine, but there are so many nice ones out there, right? Yes, but NO, Brittany. No, you may not. My current car (a Jetta named Carmella) still has a lot of life left in her, so I will force myself to keep her for a while. I recently set up a savings plan for about two years from now when I will, in fact, need a new car. Your car is a depreciating asset, so it makes precisely zero sense to spend more than you need to on it. As long as it’s serving it’s purpose, which is getting you from Point A to Point B (not impressing your friends, or allowing you to have a loud, obnoxious engine or because it has Sirius), it’s fine to keep.

When buying an Italian sports car, know a good Italian sports car mechanic.

Much like the men who make them, Italian sports cars can be very whiny. So, unless you have gobs of money that you don’t know what to do with, don’t buy one.

That being said, I am a firm believer in living your life while still being frugal. Everyone has a weakness and a splurge item, and I say, as long as you’re not putting yourself in to debt over it, going off retirement savings track and still giving to charity, go for it. BUT, as we can learn from this tip, make SURE you have the money to not only afford the item but the upkeep that goes along with it. Want to buy a nice car? Many nice cars are very expensive to maintain. A dog? Vet bills ain’t cheap. A pair of Manolos? Soles on those puppies wear out on the reg and need to be replaced. You get the idea.. If you make a major purchase, make sure you can afford to keep it.

Don’t date a girl who talks and chews her food at the same time. It will ruin your career.

I have a feeling there’s a story that goes behind this, but I’ll leave that to your imagination. In all seriousness, it is important who you surround yourself with. If someone is doing something to sabotage your career, whether intentionally or unintentionally, maybe it’s time to distance yourself. In addition to this, if someone doesn’t encourage you to be the best version of yourself, learn how to either tune him or her out or move on to greener pastures. Even if it’s uncomfortable, I am a firm believer in people who will be honest with you and always have your best interest at heart. I truly value friends who will say things like, “That’s stupid, you can’t afford that” than people who are spending enablers. Likewise, I love being around other ambitious people because it calls me to even more ambitious myself.

Bury your wealthy family members. Maybe they’ll leave you money.

Again, this is kind of tongue-and-cheek, but it is important to maintain strong relationships with family members, no matter how wealthy or not wealthy they are. At the end of the day, human relationships are all that matter, so keep things in perspective ;).

Marry someone who thinks like you- financially conservative.

This is insanely important. One of the top reasons for divorce is financial conflict. Talk about money early and often.

Pay yourself first.

We’ve read this a million times from a million different sources, but are we really doing it? Paying oneself first can mean many different things, but for me, it’s simple: automatic withdraws. We all know when paychecks hit our accounts, and I have it set up so $x comes out of my account and either in to savings or in to my investment account the same day so I never even miss the money that was there. I’ve trained myself to live significantly below my means, so much so that I really haven’t altered my lifestyle all that much from when I was teaching, which is sometimes crazy to think about. One thing that has changed significantly from when I was teaching, though, is that I’m way more aggressive with savings and retirement.

Say no to the extra pancake.

In seemingly every place from the breakfast diner to the realtor’s office, people are always trying to get more money of out of you if they can. Say no to the upsell in the small and large cases. In most cases, you don’t need it, and saying no to even the little things (extra pancake, for example) will add up financially. You’ll be glad you said no.

Like I said before, I love learning and really enjoyed compiling these tips. With it being summer, I personally really needed a kick in the pants.. gosh, why is this time of year always so expensive? Anyway, like I said before, I would love to read more of your tips in the comments section! Hope you’re having a great day!