as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
basic finance: what should everyone know?
user
the statement "finance is something all adults need to deal with but almost nobody learns in school." hurts me. however i have to disagree, as a finance student, i feel like everyone around me is sound in finance and competition in the finance market is so stiff that i have a hard time even finding a paid internship right now. i think its all about perspective from your circumstances, but back to the question. personally, i feel that there is no one-size-fits-all financial planning rules. it is very subjective and is absolutely up to an individual regarding his financial goals.  the number 1 rule i have of my own is - do not ever spend what i do not have. your reflected point is "always pay off your credit card at the end of each month.", to which i ask, why not spend out of your savings? plan your grocery monies, necessary monthly expenditures, before spending on your "wants" should you have any leftovers. that way, you would not even have to pay credit every month because you don't owe any. secondly, when you can get the above in check, then you start thinking about saving for the rainy days (i.e. emergency fund). this is absolutely according to each individual's circumstance and could be regarded as say - 6 months * monthly income. start saving a portion of your monthly income until you have set up a strong emergency fund you think you will require. after you have done than, and only after, should you start thinking about investments. personally, health > wealth any time you ask. i always advise my friends/family to secure a minimum health insurance before venturing into investments for returns. you can choose not to and start investing straight away, but should any adverse health conditions hit you, all your returns would be wiped out into paying for treatments unless you are earning disgusting amounts in investment returns. this risk increases when you are handling the bills of your family. when you stick your money into an index etf, the most powerful tool as a retail investor would be dollar-cost-averaging and i strongly recommend you read up on it. also, because i am not from the western part of the world, i do not have the cultural mindset that i have to move out and get into a world of debt to live on my own when i reached 18. i have to say i could not be more glad that the culture does not exist in asian countries. i find that there is absolutely nothing wrong with living with your parents and i still am at age 24. the pressure that culture puts on teenagers is uncalled for and there are no obvious benefits to it, only unmanageable mortgage/rent payments arise from it with the entry level pay that a normal 18 year old could get.
assistant