Consider a 15- or 20-year fixed-rate mortgage instead of a 30-year, if you can afford the monthly payments - they may not be as high as you think.

Thoughtful financial planning can easily take a backseat to daily life.

You have to see every potential roadblock as an opportunity and a benefit.

If you're going down the street and you're going the wrong way, remember - God permits U-turns.

It's impossible to map out a route to your destination if you don't know where you're starting from.

Everybody in America started to define themselves by all these things they had around them. And all of a sudden it came tumbling down. So the old American dream has died, and that is a good thing.

What happens to your money directly affects the quality of your life -- not your stockbroker's life or your banker's life, but YOUR life.