Rid yourself of the old myth, if it has been plaguing you, that money is not important. It is important - vitally important! It is just as important as the food it buys, the shelter it provides, the doctor bills it pays, and the education it helps to procure.

The ability to make a decision is another characteristic of a winner in money matters. I have found over and over again that those who succeed in making large sums of money reach decisions very promptly and change them, if at all, very slowly. I have also found that people who fail to make money reach decisions very slowly, if at all, and change them frequently and quickly.

The person who takes no chances generally must take whatever is left over after others have finished choosing. Overcaution is as bad, if not worse, than lack of caution. Both should be avoided. Life will always contain an element of chance. Not to win is not a sin. But not to try is a tragedy.

Yesterday is past. Tomorrow is only a promise. Only today is legal tender.

Financial planning is like navigation. If you know where you are and where you want to go, navigation isn't such a great problem. It's when you don't know the two points that it's difficult.

There are only three things you can do with a dollar: spend, loan, or own.

A mutual fund can do for you what you would do for yourself if you had sufficient time, training, and money to diversify, plus the temperament to stand back from your money and make rational decisions.