Excellent advice I already practice.
Sum Up
This is how to be smarter with money:
- Reminder – You Cannot Predict The Future: Timing the market isn’t investing; it’s gambling. And how would you react if I said I planned on funding my retirement through gambling?
- Ask, “What Does Money Mean To Me?”: Make a simple plan and then make sure your investments serve it.
- Feelings Can Be Very Expensive: Investing is boring. And make sure it stays that way. Don’t “play” the market. That’s how you get played.
- Use the 72-Hour Test: Very few things need to be bought immediately. Let them sit in your shopping cart for 3 days to prevent impulse buys. (The only exception is my book, which should be purchased immediately and in bulk.)
- Automate Good Behavior: Until our robot overlords arrive, make sure to take advantage of our robot underlings. The best way to be consistent about good behavior is to automate it.
- Use The Overnight Test: If all your investments got sold, which ones would you actually re-buy? And why doesn’t your portfolio look like that now?
- Know The Fundamental Rules of Investing: Pay off debt. Diversify. Keep costs low. Eliminate unsystematic risk.
- Be Ignorant And Lazy: “TMI” is a bad idea with people you’ve just met and with investing. If your money is already hard at work, why interrupt it?
Source: How To Be Smarter With Money: 8 Simple Secrets – Barking Up The Wrong Tree