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Show "Spend Less Than You Earn" The n Best II Advice I Can Give by JOHN N Americans are hit with so much financial advice these days that it's impossible to understand and keep up with it all. Most of us want to know the bottom line what are the most important financial steps to take? To cut through the clutter, American Profile asked five top personal finance experts to offer their single best piece of advice. Here's what they had to say: ARDINI "Start Now" "Start now. Your money compounds more the longer it's invested. Invest in a S&P 500 index fund, a mutual fund that puts investors' money in 5(X) of the best companies in the world, including General Electric, Microsoft, and Pfizer. These funds beat 5 percent of all other mutual funds, while charging lower fees, earning about an 1 1 percent return since 1926. In addition to starting now, invest often monthly if possible. Start now, invest regularly, keep commissions low. and enjoy yourself." Jiff Fmxi: ulnar aruilit and jxirtfalio manager far Tlx Motley Fwl financial edu-cat'wn edu-cat'wn iiiup.in and author The Motley Fx)l's Investing Without a Silver Spoon. "You Can't Control the Market" "Investors should focus on what they can control and ignore what they can't. You can't control the market. The fact is it's extraordinarily difficult to pick winning stocks, find superstar fund managers, or guess the stock market's direction. direc-tion. ViTiat to do? Focus instead on the stuff you can control. That means making sure you save enough, keeping a tight lid on investment costs, minimizing your portfolios tax bill, thinking carefully about the investment invest-ment risks you take, and making sure you don't react too emotionally to the market's ups and downs." Jonathan Clement, jworial finance columnist with The Wall Street Journal and uuthtr oj 25 Myths You've Got to Avoid If You Want to Manage Your Money Right. "Spend less than you earn. Successful financial planning really stems from that simple statement. If you retain a portion of vour current income, you'll soon ask yourself a question: What should you do with that money? And that question is the beginning of wealth creation. It is essential that you do not spend 100 percent (or more) of your current income on current expenses. One day, expenses housing, education, medical, retirement retire-ment will exceed your alTordabihry if you are relying solely on current income. That's why you'll be glad (and relieved) that you've got post income to rely on. Spend less than you earn. That's how rich people got rich." Ric llddiiun. authir of llrnx Ixst-selling his an perianal finance, including the imi I) nLisid paperluck lersron of Ordinary Ordi-nary People, Extraordinary Wealth I "Strike a fil Balance with Money" J if "As w'tn most other life challenges, you should strive to strike a balance with money. For example, too many people overspend and fail to live within their means. This prevents them from saving to accomplish goals and can saddle them with credit card and other high-interest consumer con-sumer debt. At the other extreme are misers who save too much and who have difficulty spending and enjoying their money. Take the time to discuss with family and contemplate your financial finan-cial and personal goals so that your financial decisions are toward that end. Then, gradually implement your plans. Invest in your relationships with family, friends, and in your health without these, all the money in the world won't be worth having." Eric Tyson, financial counselor, syndicated columnist, and best-selling author of Personal Finance for Dummies. "Work with a Fee Based Adviser" "When seeking financial help, work with a fee-based adviser and not an investment salesperson who charges commission when buying or selling investments. Fee-based advisers generally recommend rec-ommend iess costly investment options with better tax consequences, conse-quences, which maximizes the overall return on your investments. They also hav e less of a tendency to frequently move in and out of stocks, preferring to buy and hold for the long run a proven investment strategy. Finally, this arrangement allows you, the investor, to know exactly what die planner's costs are and how much he or she is charging for the service." Thomas Grady, author of j.K. Lassers Preparing for the Retirement Boom and partner at a financial planning firm uith $500 million of assets under management. John Saidini. a Michigan-based financial counselor, is a regular contributor to American Profile. it v-j j Page 18 'American Profile |