Emergency fund

If you have an emergency fund set aside you will find that most emergencies become mere annoyances.

Instead of worrying about how to pay for something to be fixed, the annoyance is having to replace the item at all or waiting for the repairman.

Be prepared. Have an emergency fund of three to six months of living expenses set aside to turn big problems into little problems.
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Tomorrow

You never hear or see the words “credit cards” in advice from any reputable financial planning source.

You can't borrow your way to prosperity. You can't borrow your way out of debt. You can't prosper on rented money.

Becoming debt-free today is the only way you will ever have a tomorrow.
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Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy sticks with you for life. Don't declare it unless you have exhausted every other possible solution.

Those who have filed admit it never goes away,
and that it carries a stigma. Many forms you'll fill out later in life ask the question, "Have you ever filed bankruptcy?" You'll always have to answer yes no matter what your financial life has become since then.

Bankruptcy is an absolute last resort.
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Plan for them

Insurance is due at least every six months. Homeowner association fees at least quarterly. Christmas comes every December 25th. Birthdays are the same date every year.

Why didn't you save money before these events became expenses? You really have no good excuse, do you?

These are the easy expenses. You know when they're going to happen. Plan for them. Going further into debt isn't an acceptable solution.
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See what you think

If you don’t like being debt-free you can always go back into debt.

But, try being debt-free first and see what you think.
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Congress

Congress doesn't want you to save. They want you to spend.

That right there should tell you being debt-free is the way to go.
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Don’t buy into the lie

Where does it say you have to be up to your ears in debt and that payments are a fact of life?

Nowhere is that written down. Don’t buy into the lie.
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