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Yesterday I mentioned a Money magazine article called “The Best Advice of All Time”. The web version has been posted, though it’s in the annoying “gallery” format. (It does contain links to supplemental information, though, which is cool.) Here’s a list of the “rules”, along with the quotes that author Carla Fried chose to pair with them. For detailed information on each point, follow the links.

  1. Be humble. “When you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it — that is knowledge.” — Confucius
  2. Take calculated risks. “He that is overcautious will accomplish little.” — Friedrich von Schiller [accompanying graphic]
  3. Have an emergency fund. “For age and want, save while you may; no morning sun lasts a whole day.” — Benjamin Franklin
  4. Mix it up. “It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not to venture all his eggs in one basket.” — Miguel de Cervantes
  5. It’s the portfolio, stupid. “Asset allocation…is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return.” — Gary Brinson, Brian Singer, and Gilbert Beebower
  6. Average is the new best. “The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.” — Warren Buffett [accompanying graphic]
  7. Practice patience. “It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!” — Edwin Lefevre
  8. Don’t time the market. “The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.” — Peter Lynch [accompanying graphic]
  9. Be a cheapskate. “Performance comes and goes, but costs roll on forever.” — Jack Bogle [accompanying graphic]
  10. Don’t follow the crowd. “Fashion is made to become unfashionable.” — Coco Chanel [accompanying graphic]
  11. Buy low. “If a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen to me.” — Warren Buffett
  12. Invest abroad. “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” — St. Augustine
  13. Keep perspective. “There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.” — Harry Truman
  14. Just do it. “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
  15. Borrow responsibly. “As life close in on someone who has borrowed far too much money on the strength of far too little income, there are no fire escapes.” — John Kenneth Galbraith [accompanying graphic]
  16. Talk to your spouse. “In every house of marriage there’s room for an interpreter.” — Stanley Kunitz
  17. Exit gracefully. “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” — Pablo Picasso
  18. Pay only your share. “The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.” — John Maynard Keynes
  19. Give wisely. “The time is always right to do the right thing.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
  20. Keep money in its place. “A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.” — Jonathan Swift [accompanying graphic]

I like the idea of creating a list of essential personal finance advice drawn from the subject’s brightest stars. I may have to start keeping a database of great quotes. Last week Vincent sent me a library of investment quotes, which features thoughts from many of the people listed above.

[CNNMoney: 20 timeless money rules]