The BEST advice you ever received!

TasmanianMinimalist

A few years ago I got into debt and it took a long time to get out of it. Throughout the years my frugal parents had tried to guide me but I thought I "knew best".

They gave me good financial and frugal advice, but I chose to think I knew more than they did. Of course I was dead wrong. They gave me lots of good suggestions, very few of which I took on board.

The best bit of advice I ever got is hard to pinpoint BUT one which I always regret not heeding is this:

My dad said, when I got my first job and in every job thereafter I should give him $5 each pay to invest for me, until I was thirty.

I began small time jobs when I was nine and worked every year since...I did the maths a while ago and had I have given him that weekly five dollars, then the pay off when I was thirty (or now when I am 44) would have been immense.

But I never did do this..a small outlay for a big return!

What was the best piece of financial/frugal advice you were ever given?
Did you heed it? Or like me, the fool, did you ignore it?

Can't wait to hear your answers.
Thank you, TM

Ectophile

Let's see $5 x 52 months x 20 years = $5200

That's not a lot, really. Barely a few weeks' pay. With compound interest, it would be a bit more, but you have to take off what you've lost in inflation.

So it might buy you a nice sofa for the house that you can't afford to pay a deposit on.

TasmanianMinimalist

Personally I think that's a lot, for some people it could be the difference between a very sticky situation and coming out ok for a while. Quite apart from the amount however, it's the principle and good habits it could have helped form. I own my own house now outright, so I would have used the money for good elsewhere.


Thank you very much for your contribution.
TM

CathA

Best advice?- here goes!

Buy cheap, buy twice.
Measure twice, cut once.

And the most important-listen to your mother, because, you know what, she DOES know what she's talking about.

TonyMMM

"pay yourself first"

= decide how much a month you want to save and move that amount into a separate account as soon as you get paid.

Highly effective .... doing the opposite, i.e. saving whatever is left at the end of a month never works.

martinsurrey

The best piece of advice I've been given

"Look at what sub forum you are posting on before you press submit"
-Abraham Lincoln

Norman_Castle

The best advice I had was on the back of a matchbox. Keep dry and away from children.

fuzzyduck22

Ectophile wrote: »

Let's see $5 x 52 months x 20 years = $5200

That's not a lot, really. Barely a few weeks' pay. With compound interest, it would be a bit more, but you have to take off what you've lost in inflation.

So it might buy you a nice sofa for the house that you can't afford to pay a deposit on.

Barely a few weeks pay???? Wow I want your job!

I'm the opposite from a lot of people, I took advice from my Mother as i was always told she knows best. It was not good advice and I now know better! My Mum although full of good intentions, doesn't always think things through or look at the bigger picture.

I do wish I had done the whole 'put away 10% of your salary' thing from when I first started working. Looking back it would have been unnoticeable for a good few years until I got my mortgage. Maybe I will start now! Never too late. :money:

cajef

When you are going to post on an internet forum make sure your posts are in the right places and not in any place that just takes your fancy.

kathrynha

Don't buy owt on t'never-never. If you want some'ut save t'brass up first.


Advice from my Grandad and other than the mortgage it's advice I have stuck to.
We have money in savings for emergency purchases that come up, that we are getting interest on rather than paying someone else the interest, and when you have gone to the effort of saving up it allows you the time to decide if the purchase is really worth it, and makes you appreciate the things you have.

esuhl

Best advice ever...?

Never make eye-contact whilst eating a banana.

Also, the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.