Top Financial Tips for 2010
If you have been hanging around at this Personal Finance Blog very long, you may remember my 2009 Top 10 Personal Finance Tips posted in Jan. of last year.
Personally, I thought that was one of my finest posts (if I do say so myself). But alas, I only received 18 comments…not nearly as many as the 65 comments that have been exchanged on the Quicken Loans post.
Anyways, here are my thoughts for 2010, in no particular order:
1.) Save as much of your income as you UNCOMFORTABLY can! I know this seem like an impossible and crazy goal, but I took some time last week to plug some family budget numbers for my team of 5, and surpisingly, it appears that if we made some marginal sacrifices, we could save ALOT more money every month than we currently do. Now I haven’t discussed it with my wife yet, but I believe she will be on board, and that it makes sense to hunker down and become “uncomfortable savers”. No doubt, we will thank our “younger” selves in the future!
2.) Place a bet on US stocks. I believe that over the next 20 years, investing in strong US based companies is going to provide significantly better financial returns than CD’s or Money Market accounts. Make it a point this year to talk to your financial advisor or stock broker about some potential investment opportunities.
3.) Study IRS tax laws! I feel like a significant path to wealth is to be wise and strategic with your money. One step in the right direction in 2010 will be to actually do TAX PLANNING. Hire a good CPA and really invest your time into understanding your options within the US tax systems, then take the steps necessary to take advantage of every tax deduction or credit that you are legally entitled to…the IRS is not going to do it for you! If you don’t educate yourself, and take advantage of good things like Electric Vehicle Tax Credits, or Energy Efficiency tax savings, no one is to blame but yourself!
4.) Work Harder! This one is a carryover from 2009, but is still a timeless truth! Times are STILL tough and many great people are losing their jobs. My suggestion to you is to work that much harder at whatever it is you do to bring home the bacon. Become the “we cannot lose, period” employee at your job. This is often thankless extra effort, but it is worth it in the long run. I believe great effort is always richly rewarded over the long haul!
5.) Strive to become debt free! Easy advice, enough said! Too many people WAY smarter than me have preached on the debt topic!
6.) Be Generous and Be Thankful! Life is a gift, and is way too short to not take full advantage of it!
7.) “Have fun, love people, and drink great coffee!”
HERE IS TO A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2010! -TAM
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January 25th, 2010 at 2:13 am
What a great list of advices! This is a very valuable resource! thanks for sharing
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January 25th, 2010 at 3:08 am
Hey, at least you got 18 comments; I can barely get one comment on my finance blog! lol
Pretty good tips, but I have a mental problem with #4. Man, people are working harder, and it seems like they’re not getting out of it what they’re hoping to get out of it. I never recommend that anyone burn themselves out if they’re already giving their all. Instead, work on figuring out how you can attain either more balance or other ways of generating more income.
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January 25th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Great article, and good to see that you are finding the time to do some posting again.
I’d have to say that I agree with Mitch on that one too. Hard work is a virtue, but you need to have balance in your life and there are much more important things than burning it at both ends. I get what you are trying to say though
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January 25th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
The best idea i liked is to work harder. If you cant cut your expenses, work harder to ensure that you can get what you want?
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January 25th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Haha I love the last tip-”Have fun, love people, and drink great coffee” Cheers to a better financial year!
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January 26th, 2010 at 1:44 am
Yo! I try and listen to Clark Howard every day when I get a chance.. I think between him and you.. i could surely save some $$
Nice tips!
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January 26th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
[...] on a post earlier this evening where the writer (another buddy of mine) said in one of his financial recommendations that people should work harder to make more money; he wasn’t talking about internet [...]
January 27th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Also, speaking of working hard. Many people are starting to pick up side jobs in order to earn a little extra whether that may be becoming a freelancer or even working part-time at your local grocery store. Whatever it is, work hard at it because it will help pay the bills. Who knows…If you love freelancing so much and discover your niche, you may even transition into that full-time! Here is an article that can help those of us who intend on picking up freelancing jobs and how to budget with the common unsteady income: http://www.gobankingrates.com/budgeting-for-freelancers/
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January 29th, 2010 at 5:46 am
Good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
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February 1st, 2010 at 8:59 am
Work Harder is most important requirement in this year. you given very creative list, i only say if we follow this Seven we can reach Heaven.
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February 1st, 2010 at 1:56 pm
I like the one that suggests ’strive to become debt free’ - i think once you have that one in check, the rest of your personal finance habits should fall into place - hopefully
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February 1st, 2010 at 4:33 pm
@ OneAdvice: I like that one as well. It’s not hard to strive to become debt free. However, actually making a plan that will help us become debt free rather than us just hoping to be debt free is the way to go!
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oneadvice Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Thanks Credit Girl
- Totally agree, we can’t just hope and pray we will become debt free, i guess we all need to have a plan in place.
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February 2nd, 2010 at 1:45 am
These are 7 excellent tips which I think everyone should take into consideration this year. I like your number 4 point “work harder” because that is so true. You have to be willing to work hard to achieve all 7 of these goals.
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February 2nd, 2010 at 7:20 am
I personally feel that becoming debt-free is pretty much the best way to be in the present economic climate. I really do not fancy being indebted to a large financial institution that can adjust interest rates at their every whim. Definitely my top financial tip for 2010…..never forget to have as much fun as possible along the way though!
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February 5th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Great tips. I’m working on debt free myself. I’m still unsure of the American Stock Market for long term investment right now though.
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February 10th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
One advice I have received that is similar to one of your tips is “the first thing to plan for in advance throughout the year is taxes.”
With tax laws ever present a hot debate in our government system, and the rising demand for a middle-class type of income, tax planning is important.
As far as debt-freedom goes, I always enjoyed the theme from The Good Earth, start each new year debt-free. It may not be possible with a mortgage but it can be done with everything else, credit, etc…
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February 11th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
I’ve always said if I didn’t have to pay taxes I would be rich! Have to be careful about trying to minimize your tax bill though. I once followed an accountants advice about investing in a Bruce Willis movie as it would defer paying taxes for 7 years. Great plan until the tax department changed the rules and backdated it and caught us all in it’s evil net.
Cost me $20000 in fines etc. and took many years in court, a class action. before we got it back.
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The Almost Millionaire Reply:
February 13th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Is that a true story? You were investing in Bruce Willis movies? How did that work? Very interesting story…tell us more!
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February 14th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
>Personally, I thought that was one of my finest posts (if I do say so myself). But alas, I only received 18 comments…
Yes, some of my favorite posts didn’t turn out to be as popular as I would have thought while others are surprisingly so.
I say live within your means and invest the rest, your financial means will grow.
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March 1st, 2010 at 8:28 am
Saving as much as possible UNcomfortably, along with being as debt free as possible, is my personal way of handling y finances. Not having a load of unnecdcessary clothing and household goods accounts really frees your ability to save up a lot.
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March 5th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I think you should post us some more financial tips for 2010 and beyond.. this is obviously a very popular post!
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Personally i think the comment from victoriapool was less helpful than the article. I do like that you included pensions in the list as most other website completely ignore them!
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March 9th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Transposing numbers or mistyping are common errors. List your name and Social Security number exactly as they appear on your card. Double-check everything.
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