Neil Cavuto

Neil Cavuto was named anchor and managing editor of business news for the FOX News Channel (FNC) in July 1996. He is now the Senior Vice President of Business News, while continuing to serve as anchor and managing editor. Additionally, he directs content and business news coverage for the FOX Business Network, where he hosts Cavuto at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Responsible for anchoring the daily, one-hour daytime financial program, Your World With Neil Cavuto, (4-5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday) and a wrap-up program highlighting the week's business news, "Cavuto On Business" (10:30-11 a.m. ET on Saturdays), Cavuto oversees all business coverage for FNC and serves on the network's executive committee. Your World is currently the No. 1 rated cable news program in its 4 p.m. timeslot and covers the business world from all angles. In addition to his television duties, Cavuto began anchoring a financial newscast, The Cavuto Money Report, for FOX News Radio in January 2007.

Prior to joining FNC, Cavuto anchored and hosted more than three hours of live programming daily for CNBC, including the network's highest rated program, Market Wrap, as well as Power Lunch and Business Insiders. While at CNBC, he also served as a contributor to NBC's Today Show as well as NBC News at Sunrise. His 20-plus years of financial reporting include a stint at PBS' Nightly Business Report, where he was the New York bureau chief, as well as a stint at Investment Age Magazine.

Cavuto has covered some of the most important business stories of the last two decades including the 1987 stock market crash, Microsoft's antitrust lawsuit, and the financial scandals involving Enron, Tyco and Martha Stewart. In addition, Cavuto is the author of two New York Times' bestsellers, "More Than Money: True Stories of People Who Learned Life's Ultimate Lesson" (ReganBooks 2004) and "Your Money or Your Life" (ReganBooks 2006).

Named "the best interviewer in broadcast business news" by The Journalist and Financial Reporter, Cavuto has been nominated for five CableACE awards and has interviewed all Fortune 500 CEOs.

He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and served as a White House intern during the Carter administration. The recipient of a master's degree from American University, Cavuto is also the father of three children--Tara, Bradley and Jeremy.

What was your first job?
If you're asking me about my first job, period, appropriately enough it was in fast food. I worked at an Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips, initially mopping floors and stacking product, then becoming cook, and ultimately manager, by age 17! (Apparently, loving and sampling the food had something to do with it!) But in all seriousness, I got the job, and worked a lot of hours on that job because I needed the money for college. It taught me how to juggle things in high school, and in managing, it taught me how to account for things -- money in, money out. The fact I got the food for free was an enticing benefit, and for Arthur Treacher's, an enormous ancillary loss!!

Are you a spender or a saver?
I actually think I'm both -- maybe because, growing up, my mom was the spender and my Dad was the saver. But even allowing for my spending tendencies, my dad always would say, "save something," but save it consistently. The one benefit of that strategy is it more than compensates for failed investment strategies or hot stocks that suddenly turn cold. Nothing beats the benefit of simple compounding, no matter how tiny those savings (especially in my early years). That's why I like to remind people that it's not either/or, it can be both. It's simplistic to talk about the benefits of dollar-cost averaging, of course, but it's simplistic to ignore those benefits as well.

What was the one thing you regret buying?
A Toyota Tercel "loaded" back in 1982. It was my first car -- my first big purchase, period -- and I needlessly stretched my limited budget. As inexpensive as the car was, for my meager earnings, it was still over my head. Fortunately, it didn't require much maintenance, but those monthly payments hurt. My dad had suggested a used car at the time. I didn't listen. I should have. Rule to self: If you can't handle the monthly nut, then you're a nut for trying to handle it in the first place.

What was your biggest money indulgence?
I know this sounds silly, and in retrospect it was, but for my daughter's third birthday I bought her a very expensive dress at Lord & Taylor. The thing had to be hundreds of dollars, and, trust me, I didn't have that kind of dough lying around. I just saw it and thought it would be a special gift for her from me. My wife thought I was crazy and after looking at the price tag, thought I was "really" crazy. But you know something? For the few times she wore it before growing out of it, she was a princess. No regrets. No regrets at all.

What was the best money advice you received?
Don't live in the moment. It passes. And the money spent on it passes, too (that dress for my daughter thing not withstanding!). It took me a lot of years to appreciate the simple wisdom of that advice, but it extends to almost anything -- from life and its challenges to the markets and their zigs and zags. I like to think the power of compounding applies to not only the money we invest, but the experiences we share. My mom used to say that life was like a sweeping landscape, the details of which are colored in over time. Money matters are much the same. Bull and bear markets are just mere punctuations in time. Ride them out, because they all work out