This scout’s motto works just as well for learning, earning, saving, investing, and retiring. Do your homework and get things ready before you need them.

Retrenched employees who survive the best are those who monitor whether their employers would need them in the next few months, and who constantly check the market for new opportunities.

Shoppers who get the best deals know what they need to buy in the near future. When they see an opportunity to buy value, they can snap it up.

Investors get the best commission rates by checking out potential brokers, and open their account long before they need it. There is usually no account keeping fees. Once I opened a futures account but did not use it for several years because the right opportunity did not arise.

Investors who avoid bad returns from mutual funds are those who research the fund managers. Those who get good returns from stocks are often the ones who research the industry and the companies before they wade in.

Property investors who get the best returns are those who do their research, are always checking the market, and are ready to snap up good deals when they appear.

Retirees who get the most from the post-career period are those who planned, those who understood what their life meant beyond work.