Remember to remember your power - everything you've learned with these steps to financial freedom - and put it all into practice everyday, because in the grand scheme of life, you'll never really know how things are meant to turn out until they turn out.

I get so frustrated when people tell me it's unrealistic to create an eight-month emergency savings fund, or have money saved for a home down payment, or pay off their $5,000 credit card balance.

If you're saving for the long run, it's actually a good thing when the market is down because the more shares you have, the more you can potentially make when markets rise. And over time - decades, not months - the markets rise more than they fall.

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

To make the most of your money, I recommend sticking with mutual funds that don't charge a commission when you buy or sell.

When you've been battered down and battered down and battered down, your spirit gets broken.

Here's my gift-giving rule: Respect your current financial situation.