Four rules of financial control

In a lecture Tuesday evening on the Southeast Missouri State University campus, financial author and television commentator Jean Chatzky offered four rules for keeping control over personal finances:1. Make a decent living. When negotiating the pay for any job, research what that position is worth in the market and seek the highest possible salary. If in the first negotiation, the company offers 5 percent more than what others receive, over time the gap will widen and "you will have $300,000 more in your bank account when you retire," she said.

2. Spend less than you make. "How do you spend less than you make? You do it by tracking where your money is going. ... The fact that your money is gone is the symptom, not the problem," Chatzky said. After understanding where money is going, Chatzky said it is important to reduce spending on items that are desires rather than essentials.

3. Invest what you don't spend. First, Chatzky said, create a money-market account that holds enough money to sustain your essential needs for three to six months. Also, she said, take advantage of employer-sponsored retirement plans, putting aside at least as much as is needed to obtain the full match offered by the employer.

4. Protect what you have built. Even at a young age, purchasing renter's insurance and enrolling in a health-care plan will preserve assets. In that way, Chatzky said, "no disaster can come along and take it all away from you."

-- Rudi Keller