1)  Manage your your expenses so they don't exceed your income. 2)  Spend money thinking of your future as well as your present. 3)  Begin saving early to take advantage of compound interest. 4)  Avoid collecting credit cards and using them for borrowing. 5) Always honor your debts and other financial obligations. 6) Project your income and expenses for the next 12 months and track variances. 7) Focus on the relationship between the risk and projected return of investments. 8) Maintain organized records for tax and general financial planning purposes. 9) Have a plan and a purpose for your investing. 10) Obtain a financial education to be in a position to make intelligent financial decisions.

The nonprofit Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), based in San Diego, CA., makes available a "Money Skills Kit" especially for parents and grandparents which was designed to help adults teach young people about money and values. The "Money Skills Kit" includes a reprint of the article "18 Ways to teach your children or grandchildren the value of money," The 10 Commandments of Personal Finance For Young People in 2001" and a report titled "Allowances? Work? Or Both?"


The "Money Skills Kit" is available free on the Internet at the ICFE's Web site: http://www.icfe.info. Those parents, grandparents, teachers and consumer educators and interested others without Internet access may receive a copy by return mail by sending $1 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope (with 34 cents postage) to: ICFE "Money Skills Kit", PO Box 34070 San Diego, CA 92163-4070.