I use a "Debt Dash" approach to paying off debt. I recommend people focus on paying off the debt with the lowest balance first. So if the primary has less debt you would focus on that.

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

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.

You need to know everything. You both need to be comfortable with sharing everything. If you can't you are NOT ready to get married.

You don't need to waste money on a fancy program or app to do a basic budget. I've been using a simple Excel spreadsheet since 2005 to track my monthly budget.

There are other ways to motivate students than requiring them to take on debt or work long hours taking away from their studies. For example, we don't allow our kids to work during the school hours their freshman year. After that, they can work a little but not so much that it hurts their education.

The schools can't cover all the values that go along with how you handle your money. For example, a financial literacy class might not teach me to hate debt the way my grandmother, Big Mama did.