• Amassing a fortune takes time, but that $300 a month you keep socking away will add up to something significant if you'll give it time.

5. Avoid trying to time the market. Timing the market is an exercise in futility. Smarter people have used super computers and failed miserably. The best time to invest is now. Good investments may be harder to find than at other times, but now is always the best time.

6. Be cheap. When you're buying managed investments like mutual funds, take a look at the management fee. Are you really getting your money's worth? Be sure the management team is worth the extra money.

7. Buy low. While it can be lucrative to pay what something is worth and have the value grow in time, it's even more lucrative to pay much less than something is worth. Search for investments that you can get at a bargain price. It assumes that everything else is in order as well. A bad company is a bad investment at any cost.

8. Do something. Wishing and thinking require as much energy as making and executing a plan. Instead of daydreaming all the time, do something. Even a little financial planning and some minimal but consistent action make a big difference over time.

9. Debt is usually a bad thing. No one ever wishes for more debt, and while the debt required to buy a house is acceptable, examine any other debt closely.

10. Do everything (legal) you can to avoid taxes. Minimizing your taxes is work that's well worth the effort. Everyone should pay as little in taxes as possible. Don't just give away your money unless it's charitable, and the IRS doesn't count as a charity.

Conclusion:

Every game has rules; money is no different. Which rules have you been following? Which have you been violating? Follow these ten rules, and you'll be well on mastering money.