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.

Abundance is about being rich, with or without money.

One has to ask what is the goal of life? What is the goal of life? My interpretation of it for myself, a very wise teacher once taught me this, is to meet the needs of the people, places and the times around you and offering those services to God.

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.

If there is anyone dependent on your income - parents, children, relatives - 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.

Choosing wealth as a goal requires facing everything about your money bravely, honestly, with courage -- which is a very, very hard thing for most of us to do.