I think that one of the biggest mistakes people make is reading a book and/or watching a specific television show and hearing advice on how you should run your finances and taking it is the perfect example they should follow in their own situation. It is extremely important that you account for your own situation and your needs and goals when mapping out your personal finances.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching a personal finance expert on television, in fact it can be quite helpful. The caveat is, you must understand that they do not know your individual situation so they aren’t typically speaking directly to you, but rather to the masses.

The better way to look at it is to educate yourself as much as is humanly possible through personal finance experts, but realize that you will have to fine tune your individual plan based on what is going on in your own life. If you need a personal financial planner to help you with your goals, then you should get one, but you should never just directly take the advice of someone who doesn’t know your situation thoroughly.

The current state of our economy is very dreary at best. Americans are in worse and worse shape financially by the day, and many are having to take drastic measures to make ends meet. Your own personal finance situation is not something that you should take lightly at any time, but in the current economy it is especially harmful to take it lightly. Educate yourself and become a well informed individual, but remember at the end of the day you need to be in the driver’s seat and make the final decisions for your own personal finances.