Top 60 Jean Chatzky Quotes

When you’re setting up a budget, a general rule is to start with your fixed expenses – your housing and insurance payments, and car payment, if you own one.

While it’s true a small treat won’t blow your budget, indulging every day could – the same way a slice of cake probably won’t hurt but, if you make it a daily habit, you may have trouble fitting in your pants.

Anything past 90 days constitutes ‘severe,’ but all late payments stay on your report for seven years if reported.

I’ve gotten emails from people who purchased items from an infomercial, only to find out that the shipping was more expensive than the item itself. The lesson: If you truly want to order something you see on TV, go online to the product’s website and see if you can find out more information.

Too often, we make budget cuts – then blow the savings. Instead, think about your financial picture. Do you have high-interest rate debt? Paying it off faster will save you a bundle.

Whether you’re replacing one appliance that’s seen better days, or many because you’re moving or renovating, you probably know to look for the Energy Star label. That’s good advice.

Generally, there are three rules when it comes to borrowing money: You need to have good credit, proof of income and cash for a down payment. Most people have the first two, but it’s the third that trips them up. And nowhere does that come into play more than the mortgage market.

Couples that do save have stronger, more stable, less stressful unions. In other words, you don’t want to be fighting about saving; you just want to be saving, period.

Debt certainly isn’t always a bad thing. A mortgage can help you afford a home. Student loans can be a necessity in getting a good job. Both are investments worth making, and both come with fairly low interest rates.

There’s a laundry list of reasons why not to borrow from your 401(k). While the money is on loan, it’s not working for you – and if you leave your job, you’ll have to pay it back in 60 days or treat it as a taxable withdrawal.

Every minute you spend looking through clutter, wondering where you put this or that, being unable to focus because you’re not organized costs you: time you could have spent with family or friends, time you could have been productive around the house, time you could have been making money.

Our culture highlights the desire to always have more, even when we should be grateful for what we have.

These days, checks are direct-deposited, money comes out of a machine in the wall, and we swipe a plastic card to make a purchase. In other words, your kids can grow up thinking money comes in an endless supply if you don’t show them otherwise.

It’s not exactly a big surprise that women mature earlier than men do. As a result, they tend to display better judgment, particularly when it comes to money.

The older you are when you buy an annuity, the shorter your life expectancy will be – so the greater a monthly paycheck the same sum of money will buy you. When interest rates are higher, the size of the paycheck for the same sum of money will rise also.

After two decades of personal finance reporting, I’ve heard every excuse in the book for not saving money. That said, none of them really hold up – at least over the long term.

If you haven’t gotten a raise in the past couple years for a job well done, it might be time to ask for one.

People who are passionate about what they do reach financial comfort and wealth more often than those who are not. That argues for doing one of two things. Finding your passion and pursuing it. Or becoming passionate about what you’re already pursuing.

Do you have an emergency fund? If not, build one – aim for three months of expenses to start, then boost it to six. It will ease your anxiety and get you out of a potential jam.

Being charitable provides a boost to your psyche that is tough to replicate in any other way. But note that although any charity will happily take your money, you can give in other ways and still reap the same happiness reward. Volunteering and donating your old or unused belongings have the same result.

I’m big on setting goals, but I also think that if you have too many lofty ambitions and set goals for everything, you can sabotage your efforts by overextending your brain.

I’ve never been a fan of loans between relatives or friends. They can divide relationships.

I give out similar advice all the time: Take a month to write down where your money is going. By the end, you’ll have a road map that tells you where you can cut back.

If you live in a yard sale kind of neighborhood – in good weather, most neighborhoods are crawling with them on weekends – do a sweep to see what the competition is charging. No one is going to buy your $7 book if they can get it down the block for $1.

For most, the largest asset is their home. This becomes a sentimental issue, I know, but if you’re holding on to a home that you can no longer afford – or you need the liquidity – you need to think about solutions. One might be to bring in a tenant or roommate; a more drastic measure is to sell the home and downsize.

If you work in a home office, you can likely write off that space, as long as you use it only for work.

If your appraisal comes back too low – you don’t have at least 10% equity for a conforming loan or 20% for a jumbo loan – you might not be able to refinance at all, at least with a loan that’s packaged and sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That means you may have to pay a much higher rate.

Find the autonomy in your work. Autonomy is key to feeling good about the work you do, no matter what kind of work it is.

Show your kids that needs and wants are two different things. The best way to teach our kids to be smart consumers – and savvy savers – is to model good behavior for them.

It doesn’t help to follow every rise and fall of your portfolio. It’s better to tune out the day-to-day shifts, in fact. But getting a handle on the larger picture will make you feel more secure, and that goes a long way in calming your fear.

Where wealth is concerned, individuals aren’t stuck in little boxes. You don’t start out wealthy, stay wealthy, and end wealthy.

Nontraditional students often have the misconception that aid is intended only for high school students entering college. Luckily, that’s not the case.

Knowing where you stand in your quest to accumulate enough money for retirement is an incredibly important part of the planning process.

Wills are trumped by legal titles to real estate or beneficiary designations on financial accounts, retirement plans and insurance policies.

Optimism is an expectation that good things are going to be plentiful. The wealthy generally have the sense that life will bring good rather than bad outcomes. That doesn’t mean they believe that good things will be omnipresent, but that they will outnumber the not-so-good.

Many people focus on the 4 percent rule, which essentially says that as long as you withdraw no more than 4 percent from your retirement accounts each year, the money should last you 30 years.

Put all of your savings on autopilot, and you won’t likely notice the missing cash.

People with financial plans are much more likely to feel prepared, even in tumultuous times. They’re more likely to feel that their dreams and goals are secure. And, oh yes, they do actually save significantly more.

In money, and in life, you are very often your own worst enemy. You promise yourself you’re going to diet, then eat not one or two French fries but a whole plate. You decide to really commit to saving for retirement, only to wind up with a new pair of shoes in your closet.

Older couples bring obligations such as support payments and debt as well as decades of financial experience to a marriage.

One of my rules is: If it’s good for the planet, it’s usually good for your wallet.

One way to make sure you don’t lose assets in the future is to streamline your accounts. Consider using one bank for all your banking needs and one brokerage firm for all your investments.

Resilience isn’t a single skill. It’s a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasizing the positive.

To bring down your credit card balances, write down the benefits of reducing your debt. No more gnawing feeling that you’re throwing money away, perhaps. More money flowing to other financial objectives. Then consult the list when you have doubts.

If you want to give a tangible present, but you know the recipient wants cash, give a little bit of both. This strategy is helpful for occasions that involve a public opening of presents, like a bridal or baby shower. You can give something that can be wrapped and opened, along with a card containing a check.

You can cut the fat from your spending: Stop taking taxis, call your cable company and ask for the same deal new subscribers get, have dinner at home and then a drink out instead of a $100 meal with wine.

You could lose hundreds or thousands one day on paper and gain it all back the next, and it has literally no effect on your immediate future, provided the money you have in the market is money you’re investing for the long haul (meaning at least three to five years).

If you decide you need a secured card, use it to charge small items every month, then pay the balance off in full. If your credit score improves, and the bank doesn’t offer to upgrade your card within 12 to 18 months, give them a call. If they refuse, try another lender.