Minding the buck

7 Common Financial Mistakes People Make

Financial freedom comes to the diligent, to those who mind the little money. My dad taught me that those that don’t care for one cent don’t care about one million. Mind the little money; mind your money period or you may become slave to your money.

Today’s nuggets are on the common mistakes many people make when it comes to personal finance, the handling of their money.

1.     Not paying yourself first. Just put it on remote. Tuck away at least 10% of what you make. Do it and you will be glad you did. Automate this one.

2.      Little money impulse. You know those lottery tickets or the little goodies at checkout counters or convenience stores. Resist this one.

3.     Buy a fancy new car with borrowed money. This is a big, very big mistake. If you can’t buy cash you have not earned it yet. Think about the real cost of this one.

4.      Not negotiation or renegotiating. From big items like cars and houses to smaller items like furniture. $1,000 saved on the purchase of a car from a one hour negotiation. Think of the cost of this mistake.

5.     Only paying the minimum payment on credit cards. Pay the balance off. 

6.     Not sticking to a budget. Only the most disciplined people, the one percent, can have their finance in order without a budget. The rest of us need a budget!

7.      Failing to self-educate on personal finance. Make sure the sources of information are from people with the fruit on their trees. Perform a fruit check. No fruit- run run run! Run away from the broker that has been brokering for 30 years and he is still broke. Run like running from a plague.

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned or are not currently learning in church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others.

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)