When you undervalue who you are, the world will undervalue what you do and vice versa.

Many people are dreaming. Let me rent. Let me have a job. Let me work until I'm 70. That's not what the American Dream used to be. It used to be, let me own a home. Let me retire at 59 and a half or 65 at the latest. Let me do this. And now, really, given what's happened, good luck with anything happening unless you do it yourself.

The last thing family and friends want is for you to spend money on them that you don't have or that you can't really spare.

Consider a 15- or 20-year fixed-rate mortgage instead of a 30-year, if you can afford the monthly payments - they may not be as high as you think.

No well-planned retirement should be without long term care insurance. It is the very cornerstone of retirement security.

Like your home's closets, your financial clutter needs an overhaul every now and again, and the payoff will go far beyond the psychic satisfaction of neatening up.

Stop buying things you don't need, to impress people you don't even like.