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You no longer need a Wall Street Journal subscription or a professional financial advisor to access excellent money advice (though those things can’t hurt). Many of the best personal finance experts are now accessible to the general population through blogs, podcasts, books and social media pages, where they share their tips on investing, saving money, budgeting and more.
Read: 12 Crucial Money Tips for Every Phase of Your Financial Life
Learn More: Is a Financial Advisor Worth It?
This year, I spoke to some of the most trusted names in the personal finance space to get exclusive tips and advice for GOBankingRates’ “Money’s Most Influential” franchise — here are some of the top pieces of advice they shared.
Make Investing a Habit
“The single best thing you can do with your money is to build an investing habit, and start that habit immediately. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like you have much to invest — even $20 or $30 a month can compound to great sums over time.” —Andrew Sather, co-host of “The Investing for Beginners Podcast”
Don’t Follow the Herd When It Comes to Investing
“The crowd is often wrong and certainly too emotional, but it has power to move markets. Sidestep damage from the herd and move in after they’ve trampled the market. Hold certain stocks longer term — I have Apple and Amazon, but had stocks I loved and knew would be great over the years but closed out. [The biggest mistake people make when it comes to investing is] they lose faith far too fast. They want stocks to go up every day, and I’m noticing more are measuring [their] portfolio against the market on a daily or weekly basis. NUTS.” —Charles Payne, host of Fox Business Network’s “Making Money with Charles Payne”
Don’t Do This: 50 Terrible Ways To Try and Save Money
There Are No Shortcuts to Wealth
“Don’t take shortcuts. While it may be tempting to try to cash in when a company like, say, GameStop is rocketing upward on financial markets, the reality is that you’ll almost always be late to the party. Study the ‘greater fool theory.’ Understanding how it works will open your eyes to the fact that there are very few get-rich-quick schemes that actually work.” —David Lazarus, award-winning business columnist for the Los Angeles Times
Align Your Money Behaviors With Your Personal Values and Goals
“Figure out for yourself what you value. It’s really easy to get messaging from others and to allow other people to spend our money. It’s critical that you are self-reflective and figure out what it is you actually value so you can spend, save and invest in alignment with your …….
