20 Timeless Money Rules

Money makes the world go round, or so it seems. We find that (most of) our elders are careful money managers. However, this does not hold true for, barring a few, most young people today. 

Young people swear by expensive gadgets, like iPhone and BlackBerry, and branded clothes. Not that the possession of such stuff is bad; its just that our elders advocate moderation while fancy for such stuff does not exactly fit in the idea of moderation.

I reproduce here 20 Timeless Money Rules from my old blog; they were first published on CNN Money.

1. Be humble
When you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge. (Confucius)

2. Take calculated risks
He that is overcautious will accomplish little. (Friedrich von Schiller)

3. Have an emergency fund
For age and want, save while you may; no morning sun lasts a whole day. (Benjamin Franklin)

4. Mix it up
It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not to venture all his eggs in one basket. (Miguel de Cervantes)

5. It's the portfolio, stupid
Asset allocation...is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return. (Gary Brinson)

6. Average is the new best
The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund. (Warren Buffett)

7. Practice patience
It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! (Edwin Lefevre)

8. Don't time the market
The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them. (Peter Lynch)

9. Be a cheapskate
Performance comes and goes, but costs roll on forever. (Jack Bogle)

10. Don't follow the crowd
Fashion is made to become unfashionable. (Coco Chanel)

11. Buy low
If a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen to me. (Warren Buffett)

12. Invest abroad
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. (St. Augustine)

13. Keep perspective

There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know. (Harry Truman)

14. Just do it
It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

15. Borrow responsibly
As
life closes in on someone who has borrowed far too much money on the
strength of far too little income, there are no fire escapes. (John K. Galbraith)

16. Talk to your spouse
In every house of marriage there's room for an interpreter. (Stanley Kunitz)

17. Exit gracefully
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone. (Pablo Picasso)

18. Pay only your share
The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward. (John M. Keynes)

19. Give wisely

The time is always right to do the right thing. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

20. Keep money in its place
A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart. (Jonathan Swift)

 

Do you wish to add your own wisdom to this list? Go ahead and post your wisdom in the comments section.