Cash - in savings accounts, short-term CDs or money market deposits - is great for an emergency fund. But to fulfill a long-term investment goal like funding your retirement, consider buying stocks. The more distant your financial target, the longer inflation will gnaw at the purchasing power of your money.

I have never been a fan of bond funds. Unlike a direct investment in an individual bond that you can hold to maturity and be assured you will get your principal back (assuming no default), a fund has no finite maturity date and most funds are actively traded.

Absolutely pay off your credit card debt, because a child can always get a loan to go to school, possibly a scholarship, a grant.

I look around and there are needs that people have. Places have needs. These times have needs, and I have the education and the ability to communicate with it and help to solve those needs.

I love the Roth IRA. Tax-free income in retirement is a truly great deal.

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

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.