Always keep an eye out for other opportunities.

Once you finish paying for college you could reduce your life insurance.

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

Having a separate fund for the things in life that happen, helps keep the emergency fund in tact in case you lose your job or income.

Money may not be able to buy you love, but conflicts about it can certainly bankrupt your relationship.

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.

My first piece of career advice is find your gifting. Find the thing that you are skilled at and figure out if you can make a living doing it.