Two pieces of advice....

I was tagged by Krystal and Saving Diva to continue Moolanomy's My One Money Advice (MOMA) Meme. Moolanomy is trying to promote financial responsibility and awareness in our hyper consumption society.

The question: If you can give one advice, tip, or story related to money, what would you share?

Since I was tagged twice I will share two. I think both are extremely important.

Always have a plan

I can't stress this enough. I know from personal experience that you can not achieve your goals with out a plan. This applies to every aspect of your life, especially your finances. I can't tell you how many people I have known that have had the most amazing dreams that didn't come true because they didn't have a plan. A plan is a set of actions that you will need to take in order to reach yours goals. Preparing your plan opens your eyes to many different resources, organizations, and individuals that may be able to help you reach your goals. There are so many resources out there that we are unaware of. We are unaware because we don't try to find them or even think to ask because it seems impossible. Preparing your plan also identifies your weaknesses and allows you to work on them which will then allow you to attain your goals. For example: If one of your goals was to buy a house by April 2008, your first step is to save money. You need to save at least $9,000 for a $200K home, thats about $1K a month. If you are currently saving $500 a month then your are not in the position you need to be in order to attain your goal.

So go back to that list of 2007 financial goals, and if you haven't done so already, create your plan for each one.

Knowledge is like oxygen, you can't survive without it

I don't care if you google it, if you go to the local library, or if you visit all the financial advisors in your county. Knowledge is essential. I mean it's like oxygen. You can not survive without it. You want to be financially responsible, get yourself some knowledge. Anytime you run across something you don't understand, research it. Don't wait for someone to tell you. Find it out yourself. So many people have missed out on remarkable opportunities because they just didn't know. And many more have gotten themselves in jambs because they just didn't know. My first and only collection account on my credit report happened because I didn't do my research, I didn't read the fine print, and I just didn't think I needed to know any more than I did. Good news is that I did my research, gained knowledge, and fought back. Collection account came off my report within 2 months.

Financial responsibility isn't something you just pick up. You have to learn it. Teach yourself.

I am tagging SingleGuyMoney, Single Ma, and D.C. Can't wait to read yalls.

Update: I also tag Rad @ Daddy Financials.......LOL.....thats what you get. LOL