Niall Ferguson Quotes

The thing I have discovered about working with personal finance is that the good news is that it is not rocket science. Personal finance is about 80 percent behavior. It is only about 20 percent head knowledge.

We all need to save money to send our kids to college, to buy our first house, and to retire. But the truth is that most of us don't save very much.

Today, there's no excuse for not learning how to get our financial houses in order. Some of us close our eyes, take a deep breath and say a prayer when it comes to managing our finances.

For the vast majority of Americans who work hard and play by the rules, paying the bills may be hard some months, but it's something we always do.

Without any formal personal finance instruction in our high school or college curricula, many college seniors who graduate in the red will continue to make common financial mistakes that only exacerbate their debt burdens.

You have got to be the masters of your own financial future.

Show people tend to treat their finances like their dentistry. They assume the people who handle it know what they are doing.

I'd say the main way people get into terrible financial trouble is just to spend too much money relative to their income, and that is an endemic problem in the United States of America, and that's the kind of thing that should be taught about in schools.

Young children need to develop good habits that will be useful to them the rest of their lives. It is important to keep the lessons age-appropriate. For example, when your children start earning allowances, that would be a good time to teach them how to put some money in the bank instead of spending it all.

My dad was fiscally conservative, and I was influenced by that. He didn't believe in spending more than you had because it gets you into trouble.

Financial literacy is just as important in life as the other basics.

High bankruptcy rates, increased credit card debt, and identity theft make it imperative that all of us take an active role in providing financial and economic education during all stages of one's life.

You've gotta have a healthy balance of keeping your eye on how much money is in your account and making sure that it can sustain a healthy, happy life.

I am naturally cautious so I guess I am a saver. I'm a firm believer in not borrowing money, which is a lesson passed down to me from my parents and grandparents.

I was never stupid with my money, because I grew up without it. So when I started to make some, I was like, 'Okay, first rule of thumb, I'm not buying it unless I've got the money to buy it,' so I have no debt.

I've had to take out a couple of loans; I'm not gonna lie. I want to pay off my debts. I want to start stacking some cash and set myself up for the future.

It's important for students to learn to make smart money management decisions before heading off to college or the entering the workforce.

I never have known a man of ordinary common-sense who did not urge upon his sons, from earliest childhood, doctrines of economy and the practice of accumulation.

Those carrying a credit card balance should scale back to making the minimum payment each month so they have more money to put into savings.

I say all the time I think there should be some courses in the regular schooling system that isn't, even like about credit, things that matter later in life. I learned the harder way: 'Look, I got a $500 credit card in the mail, let's go shopping!'

I don't like being in debt, and I wouldn't borrow money for anything.

If you are worried about job security and do not have an adequate emergency fund (ideally eight months' worth of living expenses stashed away in a federally insured bank or credit union), you need to focus more on saving money than paying down the balance on your credit cards.

I started out from a pretty modest background, so I always had a pretty good sense of money. I always had to work for my money, save my own money, I always bought my own stuff with my money... trying not to waste money unnecessarily.

The only way you will ever permanently take control of your financial life is to dig deep and fix the root problem.

I'm very careful with money - both my parents were very sensible with it and I grew up to become an obsessive saver.