Eric Tyson’s Keys to Personal

Financial Success

Take charge of your finances. Procrastinating is detrimental to your long-term financial health. Don’t wait for a crisis or major life event to get your act together. Read this book and start implementing a plan now!

Don’t buy consumer items (cars,  clothing, vacations, and so on) that lose value over time on credit. Use debt only to make investments in things that gain value, such as  real estate, abusiness, or an education.

Use credit cards only for convenience, not for carrying debt. If you have a tendency to run up credit-card debt, then get rid of your cards and use only cash, checks, and debit cards.

Live within your means and don’t try to keep up with your co-workers, neighbors, and peers. Many who engage in conspicuous consumption are borrowing against their future; some end up bankrupt.

Save and invest at least 5 to 10 percent of your income. Preferably, invest through a retirement savings account to reduce your taxes and ensure your future financial independence.

Understand and use your employee benefits. If you’re selfemployed, find the best investment and  insurance options available to you and use them.

Research before you buy. Never purchase a financial product or service on the basis of an advertisement or salesperson’s solicitation.

Avoid financial products that carry high commissions and expenses. Companies that sell their products through aggressive sales techniques generally have the worst financial products and the highest commissions.

Don’t purchase any financial product that you don’t understand. Ask questions and compare what you’re being offered to what you can get from the best sources, which I recommend in this book.

Invest the majority of your long-term money in ownership vehicles that have appreciation potential, such as stocks,  real estate, and your own business. When you invest in bonds or bank accounts, you’re simply lending your money to others, and the return you earn probably won’t keep you ahead of inflation and taxes.