#1 – Buy Products You Don’t Understand

• People research meals more than financial products
• Be actively involved, ask questions
• Treat financial decisions with the same care as major purchases
• Commonly misunderstood products: gold, hedge funds, reverse mortgages

#2 – Take Advice From The Wrong People

• Many professionals are not legally required to act in your best interest
• Goods advisor will welcome questions
• Without an advisor, you’re still taking advice from the wrong person… yourself
• Fear, pride, and ego prevent people from seeking help
• Don’t make excuses, pay a professional

#3 – Make Money More Important Than It Is

• Overvaluing money causes financial and emotional distress
• Reflect and challenge assumptions behind your habits
• Don’t tie self-worth to financial status
• Focus on how money supports your ideal lifestyle

#4 – Take On Too Much College Debt

• Student loans limit life choices: career, home-buying, family, retirement
• See college as a business decision, not a rite of passage
• Start early conversations with kids about costs and funding
• Tailor support based on their goals and initiative

#5 – Buy When You Should Rent

• Renting is buying flexibility
• Buying can be smart — but only if done right
• Don’t ignore hidden costs of ownership
• Run an objective financial analysis

#6 – Take On Too Much Risk

• No single thing is worth jeopardizing your entire future
• Indexes have long-term positive returns
• Anything that can break, will break
• Make it so the break doesn’t ruin you and you can get to the long-term returns

#7 – Fail To Protect Your Identity

• Identity theft feels distant… until it isn’t
• Be skeptical (not paranoid)
• Use two-factor authentication, change passwords, monitor credit
• Never email sensitive information or wiring instructions
• Assume anything online could be seen by a scammer

#8 – Overindulge During Early Retirement

• Overspending is often rooted in emotional stress
• Dream: think ahead about what retirement actually looks like
• Healthcare, inflation, and unexpected costs shrink funds

#9 – Saddle Kids With Your Own Issues

• Parental behavior shapes kids’ attitudes
• Even well-meaning parents create anxiety, insecurity, and self-doubt
• Common pitfalls: spoiling, extreme frugality, attaching too much emotion to money
• Cultivate your own healthy relationship with money

#10 – Don’t Plan For Aging Parents

• Aging will happen whether you talk about it or not
• Avoiding the topic leads to preventable emotional/financial stress
• If you don’t plan, you’ll still bear the financial and emotional burden
• You’ll end up having reactive (and harder) conversations later

#11 – Buy The Wrong Insurance

• Insurance is thankless
• Insurance is essential; shifts financial risk to others
• Don’t underestimate your life insurance needs and leave loved ones hurting
• Continuously review your changing situation

#12 – Don’t Have A Will

• The most preventable mistake of all
• Your family will pay emotionally, financially, and with hassle
• Necessary regardless of age or wealth
• Dying without a will takes months and incurs legal fees
• Your spouse does not automatically inherit everything
• Run estate plan by loved ones
• List where key documents are located
• Provide contact information for key advisors

#13 – Try To Time The Market

• Trying to time the market leads to emotional decisions
• Gamblers believe they’ve “figured out” games of chance
• People mistake success for brilliance and setbacks for bad luck
• Past success is not an indicator of future competence
• Emotional decisions without data are successful by chance
• Passive investing is more effective than active investing
• Over 85% of active managers don’t beat the market
• Warren Buffett recommends index funds