So one way to be smarter about money is read more.
It doesn’t have to cost a lot either. Go and linger at your local library and you find a lot of material to look over. Go to the Periodical section and you can find a lot of great magazines that have short but informative articles for you to read up on finances.
Of course there is also the Internet. The other most valuable thing to do would be to seek out a rich friend or relative and ask for their advice.
People are usually flattered when you ask them for advice.
They then have to live up to your expectation that they are an expert and they will give you free advice.
