The thing I have discovered about working with personal finance is that the good news is that it is not rocket science. Personal finance is about 80 percent behavior. It is only about 20 percent head knowledge.

The paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice.

Debt is dumb. Cash is king.

Pray like it all depends on God, but work like it all depends on you.

We are all in the business of sales. Teachers sell students on learning, parents sell their children on making good grades and behaving, and traditional salesmen sell their products.

My children were taught at an early age how money works and that it comes from hard work. They've been on a commission - not an allowance - since they were little. They learned that if they worked around the house, they got paid. If they didn't work, they didn't get paid.

There's a great place to go when you're broke--to work!