I write about money every day, and here's the best financial advice I can give you

Flickr / Oleg Sidorenko

If this were my last post on money ... I'd want you to know the following:

1. Managing money is so easy once you figure it out. It's scary and frustrating and all kinds of annoying before hand, but once you "get it" you're good forever. It's like riding a bike — you fall down a ton early on, but the more you practice the better you get. You'll still fall afterwards, but usually only because you're trying to be slick ;)

2. The only one who cares about your money is you. People want you to succeed and love you of course (hi mom!), but at the end of the day it's all up to you and the actions you take or don't take. You're the only one who can live your life and knows what makes you happy.

3. Work on the stuff that excites you! It doesn't matter if it's paying off debt, saving for a house, investing in retirement — they're all GREAT ways to secure your future. Just pick the one that makes you happiest and focus on it until you get it. Then repeat. (And if you change your mind in two weeks? That's OK, too. There's no one watching you or rules to follow.)

4. Max out your 401(k) match. It's free money. If you don't know how to invest it, check these guys out.

5. Create a separate savings account when you're saving for something big. Nothing is more motivating than watching a pile of cash grow and knowing 100% of it is going towards your main goal. It's one of the easiest ways to score traction.

6. Use time to your advantage. No matter how hard we try, we can't slow down time. Invest those dollars now — even if they're just dollars — and get them on their way to making babies and grand-babies. You want your money copulating while you sleep.

Flickr / Oleg Sidorenko

7. Give yourself a break! Try not to be so hard on yourself, and focus on the future you and not the you that got yourself into a mess. You're smarter now and ready to do this thing or else you wouldn't be such a nerd reading about money right now.

8. The end goal is freedom, not millions of dollars. Sometimes (oftentimes) you need millions of dollars, but it's not about piling it up just to see how high you can get it. It's about living a life on your own terms and using money to buy you TIME. Time for your family, time for your passions, and most importantly time for yourself. That's the point of paying attention to it all — financial freedom.

God forbid this is my last post, but if it were that's exactly what I'd want you to know. This stuff isn't rocket science, but you have to want it bad enough to go out and make it happen.

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