Smart Financial Advice

Great financial advice from Harry Gross:

Through many years of teaching, writing and lecturing, I have come across or invented many aphorisms that apply to financial situations. Here’s an abbreviated list. Enjoy.

• The only way to get ahead financially is to live beneath your means.
• If it sounds too good too be true, IT IS too good to be true.
• Don’t put all your money in one basket, no matter how good the basket.
• The man who passes on without life insurance does not die. He absconds.
• Disability insurance is the most undersold product in the insurance industry.
• Never use a credit card unless you can pay the balance in full during the grace period.
• If the whole world goes to pot, gold will open doors.
• Don’t give it all away during your lifetime.
• When a parent gives money to a child, both smile. When a child gives money to a parent, both cry.
• You cannot die without a will. If you don’t prepare one, the state does it for you.
• Never name a child as trustee for your spouse.
• Why does anyone need more than two credit cards?
• Tax-protester seminars are good for only the presenter.
• Watch out for the guy who has an ax to grind.
• When acting as trustees, banks have their own agenda.
• NEVER buy from someone you don’t know.
• Never buy on the telephone unless you initiated the call.
• There is no evidence that load funds perform better than no load funds.
• Is he trying to sell you that because it’s good for him or good for you?
• Leave a letter of instructions for your heirs.
• The education of your children is the world’s best investment.
• Don’t rust out; wear out.
• Cities and authorities may go down the tubes, but nothing will happen to any state.
• A flat income tax will only benefit the very rich
• Renting is often a better option than buying a home.
• Most market-timers perform poorly.
• An oral agreement is not worth the paper it’s not written on.
• Failure to return telephone calls is the most frequent complaint about lawyers.
• Very often, people buy a school district, not a home.
• The only person who can cheat you is a person you trust.