6 Simple Strategies for Better Money Management Consider this list a mental reset button on your financial psyche.

Smart money management is about more than understanding the math. That part is simple: Spend less than you earn, and invest early and often so compounding will make you rich when you're old.

The numbers aren't difficult, but the psychological and emotional hurdles that prevent most people from achieving their financial dreams are. It doesn't have to be that way if you can stay on the right side of the mental issues surrounding your nest egg. Consider this list a mental reset button on your financial psyche.

There are no secrets. The basics of wealth building have been well-documented for centuries. Stop searching for shortcuts and secrets; focus instead on the simple things your parents and grandparents taught you, such as not to spend more money than you make. (If you need a place to start, pick up George S. Clason's The Richest Man in Babylon, first published in 1926.)