The foundation of a financial fresh start actually has nothing to do with money or specific financial dos and don'ts.

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.

Liking who you are and liking what you do can make you an incredibly successful person.

Once you stop looking for a job, you are no longer considered part of the unemployment number.

Every financial worry you want to banish and financial dream you want to achieve comes from taking tiny steps today that put you on a path toward your goals.

Never cosign a loan. Once you have cosigned, you cannot get out of it - even on your deathbed.

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.