Inspired by JD 's comment:

It's important to take the best bits of financial advice from the experts, and to discard the rest.

So, what do you think is the best bit of financial advice you've read from an expert? Post it here!

Every payday, automatically deduct 15-20% of your salary to save and invest. (David Bach and others)

Reduce your 'must-pay' expenses (rent/mortgage, car payment, insurance, credit card payments, basic grocery bills...) to 50% of your after-tax salary. (Elizabeth Warren). (Because if you suddenly get laid off, it's easy to cut back on clothes and food and electronics, but much harder to move or sell your car).

The bit of advice is to pay yourself first. Like Fillanzea said, automatically deducting a percentage of your salary is best way to get to financial security.

1) Start post-tax savings accounts (Roth IRAs) as soon as you have earned income, say age 15 or 16. NB: The source of said savings does not have to BE earned income, if you have cash gifts or family matches available. -Scott Burns

2) Buying a brand-new car is a privilege, not a right. They depreciate in value very quickly, so it is quite possible to be upside down on car loans. Proceed accordingly. -who hasn't said some version of this?

3) Have some idea of where your money is going, be that through a strict envelope budget, an automated plan that splits out savings, required bills, and discretionary funds, or something in between. -a range of experts with a range of approaches

And this is mine:

4) Read. Read your financial institution agreements, read your credit card applications, read your year-end investment account statements. Read newspapers. Read books. Read blogs. Understand the financial sea in which you swim or you will founder.

One of my favorite books is The Millionaire Mind + The Millionaire Next Door (don't read one without the other as they go together so very well). . .One of the sticking points was an example the author used of a carpenter. This carpenter makes money by hammering nails into studs. When that carpenter drives the final nail in a house, his income ceases. So, he finds another builder and starts again hammering nails. Each nail represents his income. When he stops driving nails, his income stops. The author, on the other hand, types characters onto a page. Each letter typed represents a stream of income. The book doesn't sell one time, it sells over and over and generates income to him nearly perpetually. He can write the pair of books and do no more "work" for literally years. What I've come to realize is that a regular J-O-B provides income only while I'm hammering nails and that when I stop so does the income. That is a scary and risky proposition for me. I may not have the talent to write a NYT best seller, but that ain't the only way to become financially independent - opportunities abound.

The point is, and this came from Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad, spend your money on things that make money. Avoid spending your money on things that don't. Although Kiyosaki gave me that inspiration, it was Stanely (The Millionaire Mind) who backed it up.

Dave Ramsey Inspired:

Dave says, "If you were the CFO of You, Inc., would you fire you?"

I love that question, though I haven't heard it on the air in recent times.

Building off that question, I have my entire financial picture plugged into Quicken. All 401K holdings including exact number of shares (to the thousandths of a share) and price paid, our car (one account for it's value and one account for it's associated loan), our home (one account for it's value and one account for it's associated mortgage), our real estate investments, our business equity, our pocket cash, our ING account, our other personal assets (only those that truely have a resale value), and every other finanical "item" in our life. I regularly make one-sided entries for depreciation or appreciation in those fixed asset accounts that do flucuate. In other words, a complete set of "books" for my life. Having done that and because I've comitted to keeping it maintained (which is really simple and quick), the reports generated keep score for me. From a Balance Sheet (same as Net Worth) to weekly, monthly, quarterly income statements, to investment performance reports, and even end-of-year reports that make doing my taxes a cinch. I can review a 5 year net worth chart or a one month net worth chart or anything in between. I know if I spent more than I saved for any given time period.

Every business out there maintains a set of books. Personally, we too are a business - whether we are pimping ourselves to an employer or investing in widgets, without a complete set of financial records how will you ever know if you are winning?

The only way to answer Dave's question with an affirmative 'NO!' is to maintain complete accounting documents that tell the story of your financial past as any CFO who fails to compile those documents for a company would certainly be fired.

I’m fond of reminding my kids that there are two ways in which to earn income: people at work and money at work.

Hence, get a job and continue to learn and improve, increasing your earning ability. Then, put a regular portion of your earnings to work for you by investing it for the long term.

Sounds simplistic but, without discipline, it's not even simple.

While this certainly isn't from an expert source, I think about the old spaghetti western cowboy movie For a few dollars more oftentimes when reading GRS posts. In that movie, the main villain, Indio, says to his fellow bandits in a chilling Spanish accent, "The problem isn't getting the money, it's keeping it."

I think about western movie one-liners sometimes when I'm planning out major decisions or reading interesting articles.

In JD's recent review of "A farmer's wife", he detailed a movie about a struggling family working a farm under harsh conditions. Seemingly very little actual planning went into their financial decisions.

Did you find yourself thinking:

1. Oh, those poor folks....OR
2. Well, I guess he shoulda armed himself (in Clint Eastwood style from Unforgiven)...meaning he needed more planning and preparation

I think this is key. Nor is owning a home (especially in one's twenties), or eating lunch out everyday, or daily $4 coffees. It's strange that younger people especially have to read or be told this (including me!), but it seems that the way we consume has changed so rapidly that it's easy to think all these things are normal and worth obtaining at any cost.

The way to lose weight: eat less, exercise more. It's that simple.

The way to get ahead financially: spend less, save more. It's that simple.

Of course the devil is in the details, but if you keep the basic mantra in mind it helps you stay focused.

Though I haven't chimed in with anything here, I think this is a great topic. I intend to add to it over time as I discover new nuggets of wisdom...

JD,

Why not turn this collection of quotes into a post on your blog ?

shhhh...

Actually, it may become the first GRS Writing Project. (Which I've decided will come in August, by the way. Probably early August.)

David Bach The Automatic Millionaire
Save 10-15% of your income and make your investment automatic. He says to take yourself out of the equation. Do this by having your investment deducted from your paycheck before you ever even see it. He talks about the government and how they use to let you hold on to your income taxes until tax day but they found that people wouldnt save their money to pay their taxes. The govt. solution was to make taxes automatic by taking them straight out of your paycheck before you even see it. If it works for gov. it can work for you.

Spend less than you earn. DUH!

Ramsey
Pay off debts and regain control of your greatest tool to build wealth, your income.

Take full advantage of your 401k and employee match if available. Never turn down free money

Once 401k is maxed out open and fully fund a roth IRA

These three un-origional ideas are the best advice for anyone who wants to retire but shockingly the majority of people dont follow thes very simple steps to help secure there financial security. I dont get it.

Establish an emergency fund. If you have one you understand. If you dont you will learn.

Start investing for your retirement now. Not tomorrow, not next week, NOW. Take advantage of the power of compound interest. The sooner you start the sooner you can retire. Make money work for you. Money is a tool and you are the boss. Dont work for money.

Dont let money control your happiness. Mental and physical health is an important part of financial security.

Teach your children about money. Show them that money is a tool. Teach them about compounding intrest. Inform them about the dangers like credit cards and show them how to be responsible so they dont get into financial trouble. As a parent you should do your very best to keep your kids as close to a zero balance as you can so they are in a position to succeed when they start earning a real income. Give them the head start that you wish you could have had. I wish my parents had done that for me.

Above all enjoy your life. We will all make mistakes. The ones who stand up and brush themselves off the quickest will be the most successful. To quote a billboard here in Austin. "Perserverance, Pass it on."

Lots of good tidbits here.

Strangely enough, an offhand remark from Maria the governess to the kids in The Sound of Music really resonated with me: Enough is as good as a feast.

Darn good advice for enjoying a frugal lifestyle, and widely applicable to non-financial situations in life as well. Never hurts to practice gratitude for what you do have, rather than fixating on what you don't have.