Money is such an amazing teacher: What you choose to do with your money shows whether you are truly powerful or powerless.

If you have debt I'm willing to bet that general clutter is a problem for you too.

If you make time each month to give your money some attention, you'll start the next year in fabulous financial shape.

I get more emails and calls when it comes to money than probably any other single person on television when it comes to money.

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.

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.

But credit card debt is unsecured debt, which means if you get in trouble and cannot pay off your credit card, you can discharge it in bankruptcy. What are they going do to you? If you're in a financial position to just methodically pay off both credit card and student loans, pay them all.