Jean Chatzky Quotes

Now more than ever is the time to really work on learning a money management system that can work, no matter how low things seem right now.

Cut back your spending now.

The way to build your savings is by spending less each month.

Do you have an emergency fund? If not, build one - aim for three months of expenses to start, then boost it to six. It will ease your anxiety and get you out of a potential jam.

Look everywhere you can to cut a little bit from your expenses. It will all add up to a meaningful sum.

If I can pay the bills, I'm happy.

I don't have a mortgage or kids, so I can lie low and tighten my belt if I need to.

I didn't want to put myself in a position where I was living so expensively that if something happened next year or two years from now and I wasn't making the same money, I couldn't afford my lifestyle.

Before 'Power,' I got down to $86 in my bank account. I don't know if I feel successful as much as I feel relieved because for the first time in my life I'm not scared about how I'm going to pay my rent, and I can start to put money away.

Well, financially it's a little bit better. But it's better than than when I was a teacher. But I kind of - it's allowed me to buy a house. And I've been able to help my mother with some stuff and my brother. So, that's nice.

If you're comfortable with what you have and who you are, you'll automatically be more comfortable talking about your finances.

By working toward a financial objective, you'll start to see the money add up for retirement or the credit card balance go down. But it doesn't have an immediate impact on your day-to-day life, and when it does - like when you're pinching pennies to save more - the immediate impact could feel negative.

Savings is an important tool because it can help the poor deal with the ups and downs of irregular earnings and help them build reserves for a rainy day.

Thoughtful financial planning can easily take a backseat to daily life.

I'm in the lucky position financially where I don't have to do things I don't want to do.

If you're not staying on top of your money, you are putting your financial well-being at risk.

Make it a priority to have at least eight months of living costs set aside in a federally insured bank or credit union account.

Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don't want to run out of gas on your trip, but you're not doing a tour of gas stations. You have to pay attention to money, but it shouldn't be about the money.

You have no control over the market. You can't predict where it will go, and you can't bring it back from the depths. What you can do is save more. Make sure you have cash on hand - an emergency fund of at least six months of expenses.

The goal was to work enough to pay my bills and stop going through the couch looking for change. Going way beyond that isn't something I really factored in.

Efficient spending and saving will give the family more security, more opportunities, more education, and a higher standard of living.

My feeling is that maintaining financial independence is also a healthy way to keep my feet on the ground.

Gain may be temporary and uncertain; but ever while you live, expense is constant and certain: and it is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel.

Our incomes should be like our shoes; if too small, they will gall and pinch us; but if too large, they will cause us to stumble and to trip.

I get so frustrated when people tell me it's unrealistic to create an eight-month emergency savings fund, or have money saved for a home down payment, or pay off their $5,000 credit card balance.