Bit by bit there have been different financial lessons from books we've read that really stuck with us. Something that made us go back to the drawing board and revamp our finances.

We typically don't reach for a finance book but sometimes we get one as a gift or read experts online. Even though we didn't seek out the information, it always seems like one of those "ugh if only we knew it sooner" situations.

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We knew the basics of making a budget, emergency funds, getting out of debt, blah blah blah but we still didn't have the whole picture. We didn't make any horrible mistakes that set us back or anything but the information would have been very helpful early on.

Of course, it's almost impossible to know all there is to know when it comes to finances. But any additional information is always appreciated, at least that's how we feel.

So here's a round-up of the most important lessons on money we learned from books. Even some of the more simple concepts made a big impact on our finances.

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Pay Off Debt

We knew the general idea of paying off debt and always felt this was a big part of a successful financial plan. That's why we aggressively paid off our student loans in four years.

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What we didn't know is what others consider debt and what needs and does not need to be paid off. The answer is semi-controversial but we're on the side of all debt is debt and there is no "good debt".

Like many others we considered a mortgage to be more or less good debt. We hate loans so our goal when we bought property was to opt for paying it off in 10 years.

After reading more on the subject we decided, for us, that's just not good enough. When we buy our own place we want to go back to our young Phil and Kelsey days where we doubled loan payments.

We're starting to think mortgages are kind of shady and want as little to do with them as possible. We kept reading these stories about homeowners making all these payments and finding out most of it was going towards interest, not the loan itself.

That is not how we want to do things. Our goal is to get out of any loan as soon as possible so we can be debt-free.

We always lived by the "no debt" life but when it came to a home we were going a bit soft. So we guess this idea wasn't new to us but was reaffirmed and solidified.

Know What Insurance to Have

Not all insurance is good insurance. We don't know if we'd go as far as to say some are a waste of money but it not might be the best use of your money.

We are big believers in the staples:

• Health Insurance
• Car Insurance
• Renters Insurance (required by most apartments)
• Term Life Insurance

Another one we have but know it might not be for everyone is long-term disability insurance. But there was one more we had and oh boy do we regret it.

We fell for the whole life insurance plan and are still over here shaking our heads. We know some people love their whole life insurance plan but for us, it made absolutely zero sense.

Here's what we fell for...it's guaranteed money. And this is true but here's the thing, there are better avenues with bigger returns that are more or less also "guaranteed".

Not to brag too much but we're pretty good at investing and in a smart way. Kelsey's not a big gambler so with our financial planner we come up with an option that is almost as safe as can be.

So over the years if we take the money going towards the whole life insurance plan and put it in a better investment we come out way ahead. We get that for others, this isn't the best but for us, it's a no-brainer.

If you find yourself in a whole life insurance plan and you want to get out you can either take the hit on money lost or try to plan it out where you cancel at a time where you come out even. Just remember, that break-even point might not come for years so if it's not working for you, get out while you can.

Involve the Entire Household

Our family is a small one of two adults and two cats. We obviously spare the cats from household financial discussions but the two adults need to be involved.

Phil is better at finances and it stresses Kelsey out so we went with the plan of assigning it as a task. This way isn't horrible but it's just not the best route.

Even though Kelsey hates finances, her complete lack of understanding wasn't a great idea. It's also dangerous.

What if for whatever reason Phil can't make a decision and Kelsey is standing there clueless? So we came up with a better plan.

Phil takes the lead with finances but Kelsey is also active in the process. We discuss everything, even if it's just Phil giving a run down and Kelsey nodding in approval.

Since this change, budgeting seems less stressful and we feel like we have a better grasp on everything. Plus it's nice we can actually have adult conversations about investing opportunities.

Have a Legacy Folder

This one comes from the more famous finance writer Dave Ramsey. Now for us, some of Dave Ramsey's views don't meet eye to eye but we do enjoy hearing some of his concepts and the reasoning behind them.

Some of his ideas can be a bit...too far in one direction but one idea we love is the idea to have a legacy folder. The concept is to have a "folder" with everything someone might need if a person passes away.

This can be the more obvious items like a will but also include smaller things like a list of accounts. We already had most of this in our fireproof lockbox but the idea to put it all together in one place with more random items is brilliant.

The nice part is you can decide together what needs to be in it. Even something as simple as a list of all your insurance agents or a nice letter saying "hey I love you".

Stick to the Budget

We've had a budget since day one and for the most part, we would stick to it. Again though...for the most part.

When it comes to a budget, that's not okay. The problem for instance with our restaurant budget was that we were setting it more as our goal, not at what we could afford. Since we had the money to eat out more often we would always go over this number and think no big deal.

And it might not have been a huge deal but it's not how things are supposed to be done. A budget shouldn't be a goal or just a way to save money.

You have a budget so you know exactly where your money is going. If we have the finances available then increase the restaurant budget and then stick to that new number.

Lessons on Money

One final word of advice...this post as with all lessons on money is meant to give you ideas. It's okay if you read through some of this and think, "eh that doesn't pertain to me".

For us, these simple lessons learned from books made a big difference. We swear by this advice because it works for us but feel free to make it your own.

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