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10 Personal Finance Myths You're Better Off Ignoring

By Elizabeth Aldrich March 06, 2020 Bankrate

You want to improve your finances, but you just don’t know where to start.

This sentiment is common, and part of the confusion likely comes from the fact that a lot of personal finance advice people receive in their everyday lives is flawed — or downright false.

As you continue your journey to financial well-being, here are 10 personal finance myths you should ignore.

1. You can’t save money and pay off debt at the same time.
It’s not uncommon for personal finance gurus to recommend putting all of your disposable income toward paying off your debt. While doubling down on debt, especially if it’s attached to a high interest rate credit card, is smart, you shouldn’t necessarily neglect saving entirely. Consider how you would pay for an emergency without any money in your savings--you might be tempted to pull out your credit cards and end up with even more debt.

One reason not to use all your free cash to pay down debt, explains Elizabeth Westendorf, financial planner at Atwood Financial Planning, is that building up a small emergency fund of three to six months’ living expenses gives you a financial cushion to fall back on when unexpected expenses come up. “That security,” she argues, “is worth far more than whatever you’d save by paying down debt a little faster.”