Your goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward your emergency savings.

I have come to think that money is very much like a person, and it will respond when you treat it as you would a cherished friend - never fearing it, pushing it away, pretending it doesn't exist, or turning away from its needs, never clutching it so hard that it hurts. ... if you tend it like the living entity it is, then it will flourish, grow, take care of you for as long as you need it.

You are to set your own value, communicate that value to the world, and then not settle for less. Sound daunting? That's just because it takes you out of your comfort zone. You have got to stop being an obstacle on your own path to wealth and security and happiness. You must understand that valuing yourself is well within your control.

If you wait until your children are high school seniors to spring it on them that there's not a whole lot of money for school, they won't have too many options.

If you pay off your mortgage before retirement, you take a huge financial load off your shoulders. You also become eligible to take out a reverse mortgage once you turn 62.

When you start really respecting yourself, those you love, and your money, the result is that you start having control over your money. What follows from that is control over your life.

In all realms of life it takes courage to stretch your limits, express your power, and fulfill your potential... it's no different in the financial realm.