For those of us in the financial world, Black Friday has a strong negative connotation, referring to a stock market catastrophe.

You can judge a man by the books in his library.

One suggestion my wife and I have used in our personal finance courses we teach at college is simply writing down all expenditures and seeing where the money goes. That alone will cause heads of households to think twice about x, y or z expenditure, and to consider carefully whether they really need something or not.

Balance in life is the key, as Aristotle taught us. Nobody likes a naive Pollyanna, but neither do we like to be around people who are constantly complaining and finding fault.

Contrary to what President Obama said in his inaugural address, going on Medicare and food stamps does not strengthen us. Just ask people who are fourth-generation welfare recipients.

The triumph of persuasion over force is the sign of a civilized society.

In a free society, individuals have the right to do right or wrong, as long as they don't threaten or infringe upon the rights or property of others.