We never had it as rough as the kids have it today. Look at the price of a gallon of gas or a piece of real estate or a college education.

If the relationship between you and your money is harmonious, regardless of how much you have, your financial transactions will be harmonious as well.

When you start really respecting yourself, those you love, and your money, the result is that you start having control over your money. What follows from that is control over your life.

It's easy to underestimate the real cost of home ownership.

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.

After you marry, every asset either of you acquires is jointly held. That's why you both need to be in sync on your long-term financial goals, from paying off the mortgage to putting away for retirement. Ideally, you should talk about all this before you wed. If you don't, you can end up deeply frustrated and financially spent.

For all your long-term investments, such as retirement accounts that you won't touch for at least ten years, you need a mix of stocks and bonds. Stocks offer the best shot at inflation-beating gains. But stocks don't always go up. That's where bonds come into play: They have less upside potential, but they also do not pack the same risk.