When it comes to personal finance and financial planning, everyone has an opinion. Of course some opinions are actually worth listening to. And some advice has even stood the test of time, such as what you'll read below from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Other advice makes more sense in our modern world. But the essence is the same: Plan ahead, focus and you'll thrive.
First, a look at what some of this country's greatest thinkers have to say. Farther below is advice from modern day seers.
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Money quotes from Edison, Franklin and others
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." –Thomas Edison
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"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship." –Benjamin Franklin
"My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil." –JP Getty
"Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time." –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing." –J. Paul Getty
"Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver." –Ayn Rand
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." –Benjamin Franklin
"Try to save something while your salary is small; it’s impossible to save after you begin to earn more." –Jack Benny
Modern day money quotes from Buffett, Cuban, and others
Modern day financial planners and investment gurus share advice on television, in books and via social media. Here is some solid advice from some of the most well known and prolific.
"Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble." –Warren Buffett
"Make sure you have financial intelligence… I don’t care if you have money or you don’t have money … you need to go and study finance no matter what." –Daymond John
"Personal finance is only 20% head knowledge. It’s 80% behavior!" –Dave Ramsey
Related: Dave Ramsey advises against a common financial pitfall
"A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life." –Suze Orman
"Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value." –Joe Biden
"Take as little risk as possible to reach your goals. No one is smart enough to beat the market - no one. Smart people can have this tendency to think that they will be able to "beat" everyone else." –Jill Schlesinger
"Money isn’t everything, but it’s right up there with oxygen." –Zig Ziglar
"Save your money. Save as much money as you possibly can. Every penny you can. Instead of coffee, drink water." –Mark Cuban
"Not having a plan is a plan, just a really, really bad one." –Alexa von Tobel, LearnVest
"Financial peace isn't the acquisition of stuff. It's learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can't win until you do this." –Dave Ramsey
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"Maintain a diversified portfolio, with the allocation between stocks, bonds, cash and so on set according to match the time when you will need the money." –Jill Schlesinger
"Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs." –Zig Ziglar
"The stock market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient." –Warren Buffett
“Financial planning is not just for the 1 percent. Everyone deserves the peace of mind that comes with having a good financial plan.” –Alexa von Tobel, LearnVest
"Have an emergency fund — 8 months' worth of expenses — and don't invest it in the stock market." –Suze Orman
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
