You shouldn't invest the money if you are looking to use it within five years. Too much risk.

You made a decision given your life circumstances and you have to be ok with that. Regrets that can't be change is just torturing yourself.

I've found that when you can quickly knock out debt you get motivated because you see progress. Then you attack the other debt so fast that even if it's at a higher interest rate, you don't end up paying much more because you've gotten rid of it.

My Big Mama is my No. 1 financial role model. Much of my advice stems from what she taught me. She never made more than $13,000 a year, yet she paid off her home before she retired. She saved money from every paycheck. She taught me to be skeptical. It makes me cry to think that I'm a nationally syndicated personal finance columnist for one of the world's best newspapers and my core advice comes from my black grandmother who was a nurse's aide with just a high school education.

You still need to save but being debt-free in retirement is and should be a goal.

Kids can and are a blessing. But plenty of people without kids live and die just as happy.

I love teaching people how to handle their money and I've built a brand on that skill.