What if one piece of advice could change the way you think about money forever? In this expert roundup, top financial professionals, including a seasoned money expert and a Financial Consultant, share their most powerful strategies for mastering personal finance. From prioritizing saving to smart investing and mindful spending, these eight insights offer a roadmap to financial security. Dive into their wisdom and take the first step toward transforming your financial future.
- Pay Yourself First
- Build a Financial Foundation
- Invest Small Amounts Consistently
- Start Saving and Investing Early
- Create a Comprehensive Budget
- Avoid Spending Beyond Your Means
- Achieve Financial Literacy
- Live Below Your Means and Invest
Pay Yourself First
If I had to give anyone just one piece of advice it would be to pay yourself first. This means you prioritize saving a portion of your income every month—ideally at least 20%—before tackling any other expenses.
Automated contributions to savings, retirement accounts, or investments are a game changer here, taking the mental weight off and allowing you to pay yourself first without needing to test your willpower. The moment your paycheck arrives, your savings and/or investments go up. This approach will help you build financial security and wealth over time.
Erika Kullberg
Attorney, Money Expert, and Founder, Erika.com
Build a Financial Foundation
If I had to give just one piece of financial advice, it would be to start with a clear understanding of your financial goals and create a realistic, actionable plan to achieve them. It’s not enough to save haphazardly or make impulsive investment decisions—you need a roadmap tailored to your needs.
For example, if you’re aiming to buy a home, your savings strategy should prioritize building a strong credit profile, reducing unnecessary debt, and creating a dedicated fund for upfront costs like your down payment and closing expenses. As a mortgage professional, I often see clients delay their goals simply because they lack focus in their financial planning. Setting goals and aligning your spending, saving, and investing habits to those goals will save you time, stress, and money in the long run.
Beyond planning, consistency is what transforms financial goals into realities. Whether it’s contributing to a retirement account, paying down debt, or building an emergency fund, committing to regular contributions—even small ones—adds up over time. Many people overestimate what they can do in a month but underestimate what steady effort achieves in a year or more. I’ve worked with clients who started small, saving $50 per paycheck, and within a few years, they were able to afford a home, eliminate high-interest debt, or reach other milestones.
The key takeaway? Financial success is less about luck or big gestures and more about disciplined, consistent actions that align with your vision for the future.
Shirley Mueller
Owner and CEO, VA Loans Texas
Invest Small Amounts Consistently
Through years of studying the markets, I’ve found that consistently investing small amounts over time beats trying to time the market or make huge bets. When I started my business, I put just $200 monthly into low-cost index funds regardless of market conditions, and that steady approach has outperformed most of my attempts at picking individual winners.
Adam Garcia
Founder, The Stock Dork
Start Saving and Investing Early
If I had to give only one piece of financial advice, it would be: “Start saving and investing as early as possible to take full advantage of the time value of money.”
The time value of money (TVM) is a fundamental financial principle that says money today is worth more than the same amount in the future, due to its potential earning capacity. In simple terms, the sooner you start saving and investing, the more time your money has to grow through compounding interest or returns.
For example, if you start saving $100 a month at age 25, assuming a 7% annual return, you’ll end up with significantly more by age 65 than if you wait until age 35 to start saving the same amount. The extra 10 years of growth can make a massive difference, even if you contribute less per month later in life.
This principle is especially important for younger people who might not realize how much time plays a role in wealth-building. Starting early gives you a huge advantage in terms of compound growth. Even if you’re only able to contribute a small amount initially, it’s the time factor that makes the real difference in accumulating wealth.
The key takeaway is that delaying saving or investing can cost you more than you realize in lost opportunity—time is your most valuable asset when it comes to growing wealth.
Avi Bialo
Founder/CEO and Wealth Advisor, Wealth Solutions 360
Create a Comprehensive Budget
My single piece of financial advice is to create a budget for virtually everything you do. Planning ahead ensures you don’t make decisions blindly; instead, you can fully understand the financial implications before taking action. Budgets (in both your personal and business life) help track income and expenses, prioritize spending, and identify areas where you can save or invest. Let it serve as a road map, guiding you toward your financial goals and preventing unnecessary debt and stress. While it sounds simple in theory, it can be difficult and requires discipline in practice. But well worth it!
Jack Perkins
Founder and CEO, CFO Hub
Avoid Spending Beyond Your Means
Credit/debt is easy to get in the US, but I still try not to spend beyond my means even if I can technically afford to. The temptation to just say you can pay off your debt with future cash flows is tempting. In reality most personal spending should only be what you make. Debt spending is okay if you are buying/building an asset with a good future cash flow chance, such as rental real estate.
Zain Jaffer
CEO, Zain Ventures
Achieve Financial Literacy
One piece of financial advice that applies regardless of demographic is the importance of educating yourself and achieving financial literacy. This will put you in good stead and help you to make informed decisions about your finances. Some important areas that you should have a clear understanding of include budgeting, credit cards, banking, retirement planning, mortgages, investments, and insurance. It’s also important to update your knowledge regularly, as a lot can change in a short period of time, particularly when it comes to financial markets and fiscal policies.
Al Alof
CEO, ChicksX
Live Below Your Means and Invest
The one piece of financial advice I would offer is: “Live below your means and invest the rest.”
Financial stability and long-term wealth require this advice. Living below your means ensures you avoid overspending and accumulating debt, which can lead to financial stress and instability. Spending less than you earn consistently results in a surplus that can be invested for growth.
Investing the difference, which is the second part of the advice, is crucial for your financial future. As you allocate a portion of your income to investments, your money will generate additional returns over time due to compound interest. Investing regularly and wisely can lead to substantial wealth growth.
Ethan Richardson
Financial Consultant, Exquisite Timepieces
