The personal finance habits you develop when you’re young will determine the standard of living you enjoy (or regret) when you’re older.  Take it from me, adding just a couple of these to your financial routine can make a big difference at the end of the year when you look at your bank statements.

How many of these 50 ways to be smarter with your money do you commit to (most admit to less than half):

1. Maintain only two forms of debt:  Mortgage and (minimal) car payment.
2. Donate your time, not your money.  Getting involved is far more valuable to yourself and the organization.
3. Don’t panic when good investments go down.  Investing should not be based on emotion, stick with your strategies.
4. Avoid any fees – they take from principal and reduce compounding.
5. Get your spouse involved in family finances – it’s better for your marriage and for future financial decisions.
6. Renting is cheaper than owning – we have a good 10 years of this staying true.
7. Have a 3 month cash reserve for unexpected emergencies.
8. Save up for your big purchases, don’t put them on credit – helps determine what you need/want and what was just an impulse buy.
9. Lend family members your time and expertise, not your money – sorry.
10. Max out company matching/contribution to 401(k).

Of course it’s easiest to say “make more money and spend less”, but sometimes that’s not possible or even desirable.  Here are 10 tricks to increase your net worth without increasing your income:

1. Auto-deduct from your paycheck.  It’s not necessarily bad to spend 100% of the paycheck you receive – just make sure your savings are taken out before you get it.  Most employers who allow for direct deposit allow you to specify multiple accounts.  This makes it easy for your living expenses to go into a checking account and a set amount to go directly into a separate savings account.  If this is not an option for you, automatic monthly transfers from checking to savings can also be effective.  $50 a check can add up quickly.  Recommended best-selling read:   The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg.
2. Transfer, pay down, then eliminate your debt.  We all know that credit card interest rates are sky high.  If you’ve run up a high balance, consider transferring the balance to a new card (cancelling the old one) to take advantage of the lower, introductory rates.  Follow this up with paying off the balance, then allocating what you were paying in credit card bills to amounts you’re contributing to savings.
3. Contribute to a Roth IRA account.  Most people do not realize that there is typically NOT a penalty to remove the funds you’ve contributed to a Roth IRA.  Since the government also allows for qualified contributions to be withdrawn for education, housing and medical, why not contribute (get the tax benefits) then withdraw down the road if you need to? See IRS Site for the complete list of qualified distributions^*
4. Pay extra mortgage principal.  A typical new mortgage payment is comprised mostly of interest ($1100 payment can be $960 interest, $140 principal).  An efficient trick is to pay extra principal each month to avoid paying interest on it in the future.  Paying an extra couple hundred bucks per month could allow you to pay your 30 year mortgage off in 15 years.