These Financial Literacy Quotes Will Inspire You

Financial Wisdom From The Experts

The world is full of wisdom if you just look and listen. We can read books and we can follow the lead of those who have gone before us and succeeded in the world of money. There is such a thing as a ‘millionaire mind’. Rich people think differently. They have a different attitude towards money. We can all learn from the things that the wealthy say about money. Here are some financial literacy quotes to get you thinking.

Let’s look at my current ‘Top 10’ financial literacy quotes. Read the quote carefully and see if you agree with my accompanying comments.

Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn, was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. He has written numerous books, like “How to obtain wealth and happiness”.

“A formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” ― Jim Rohn.

As he says in his quote, Jim Rohn focused most of his career on providing education and inspiration to others. His lessons came from personal experience and the lessons that he learnt himself through decades of life as an entrepreneur.

We have so many opportunities to decide for ourselves what it is that we really want to learn. The education system still seems much more aligned with teaching us how to be a good employee rather than a good entrepreneur or investor. 

Self-education should focus on the skills that will take us beyond being satisfied with just working a 9 to 5 job. If we are resourceful and motivated, there is no limit to what we can achieve as long as we continue to learn.

Jim Kwik

Jim Kwik is an American brain coach, podcaster, writer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Kwik Learning, an online learning platform; the host of the Kwik Brain podcast; and the author of Limitless, published by Hay House in 2020.

 “Knowledge is power: you hear it all the time but knowledge is not power. It’s only potential power. It only becomes power when we apply it and use it. Somebody who reads a book and doesn’t apply it, they’re at no advantage over someone who’s illiterate.” ― Jim Kwik

I included this quote as it connects well with the first quote. Though not specifically about financial literacy it has a great point. We can read a lot of books, but applying knowledge is the most important thing. We need to learn, apply, make mistakes and apply again.

Warren Buffett

American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his immense investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world.

This article could be all Buffett quotes. He has so many gems that I just had to include a few. 

This first one is simple but one of his best.

 “Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.” ― Warren Buffett.

We mostly spend first and save what is left. But instead, we should ‘pay ourselves first’. The first payment from our salary should be to ourselves by investing straight from our salary before tax. This could for example be through a 401K if you are in the US. But most countries have a similar option. 

Whatever the method, we need to set aside money that will grow and never be spent. If we spend first we may never end up investing anything at all. Pay yourself first, make it automatic and then forget about it. Enjoy spending all of the rest and don’t worry about a budget.

If you aren’t willing to own stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes. Warren Buffett

This quote speaks to the idea that we should invest and hold. The important thing is not ‘timing the market’ but rather ‘time in the market’. His next quote explains this further and with a touch of Buffet wit.

“Successful investing takes time, discipline and patience. No matter how great the talent or efforts are, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.” Warren Buffett

And two more from Buffet that don’t really need much explanation

If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” Warren Buffett

Finding ways to make our money work for us rather than working for money is the key. This is what’s called ‘passive income’. We can strive to achieve this early in life so that at some point we can retire with the knowledge that we will continue to earn ‘while we sleep’. 

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” Warren Buffett

This one continues the long-term investing theme. If we start our investing journey early, eventually we will reap the harvest.

Jack Bogle

Jack” Bogle was an American investor, business magnate, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive of The Vanguard Group and is credited with popularizing the index fund. 

“Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack.” — Jack Bogle

We may think that we can pick the right stocks to invest in. However, even professional investors generally fail to match the average of the entire stock market. Picking stocks is extremely risky. But the US stock market has averaged around 9-10% growth for a hundred years.

Investing in an index fund is exactly what Bogle’s quote is referring to. An index fund is a collection of a large number of the top stocks in the market. Some may rise while others may fall. But if you buy the ‘haystack’ then your return is that average 9-10% which is pretty great.

Suze Orman

Suze” Orman is an American financial advisor, author, and podcast host. In 1987, she founded the Suze Orman Financial Group. Her work as a financial advisor gained notability with The Suze Orman Show, which ran on CNBC from 2002 to 2015

“People first, then money, then things”

I quite like this one. Priorities are important. In our pursuit of financial success, we need to place people first. Most of our motivation for improving our finances is to look after family – now and in the future. Our actions should always be directed at looking after people first.

Our second priority can then be using money for growth purposes by investing. Only after looking after people and then investing should we worry about buying things or ‘stuff’. 

And while thinking of investing, take note of another Suze Orman quote.

“The key to making money is to stay invested.” Suze Orman

Perhaps this refers to staying in the market for the long term to let our investments grow. But staying ‘invested’ could also mean staying involved and continuing to work and learn in order to achieve our goals. 

In Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these little snippets of wisdom from some of the most successful people in the finance world.  We can certainly learn from quotes from these and other successful people. This applies to all aspects of our lives. I can even recall impactful things that my grandmother told me. Some of these pearls of wisdom just stick.

If you have some to add, please add to the comment section below. And please subscribe for more financial wisdom delivered to your inbox each week.