PERSONAL FINANCE IN 9 WORDS
IF YOU ARE DEBT-FREE:
- Spend less than you earn.
- Save and invest.
- Repeat.
IF YOU ARE NOT DEBT-FREE:
- Spend less than you earn.
- Pay down debt.
- Repeat.*
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- For more on paying down all non-mortgage debt vs. paying down all high-interest non-mortgage debt before investing, see “Investing 101/Before You Invest/Starting to invest early.”
- For more on paying down debt, see Paying Off Debt.
- For more on spending less than you earn, see Saving 101 and 10-Step Financial Fitness Workout.
- “Save and invest” assumes you have an emergency fund in place. Investing carries no guarantees of any particular results (see here and here). See also Investing 101.