It pays to be a fee fiend.

Money is the currency of life because it is the external measurement system that all of us have as to how we judge where we are in our own lives.

If a child, a spouse, a life partner, or a parent depends on you and your income, you need life insurance.

If you do not have at least an eight-month emergency fund, and you think there's a probability you could loose your job - and it's not just losing your job; you could be in a car accident, get sick - continue to pay the minimum on your credit card every month. Everything beyond that needs to go to establish an emergency fund. And if you have an emergency fund saved, then fund your retirement account before paying down credit card debt.

I think they've been baby bummers.

Messages about money are passed down from generation to generation, worn and chipped like the family dishes.

Absolutely invest in retirement. You can always get a loan to get kids through school. I do not know of any loans to get you through retirement. The markets are seriously low from where they were (even though they've gone up 30 percent recently). Now is the time to be dollar cost averaging; the more money you put in, the more shares you buy. Save for your retirement, people.