Remember that in most cases, student loan debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. So you continue to pay it off anyway. Those who have very low interest rates (2-2.5 percent) on student loans and know everything is secure, great.

When it comes to tackling your financial goals, whatever they might be, there's no time like the present.

Make it a priority to have at least eight months of living costs set aside in a federally insured bank or credit union account.

Money is the only thing you can use even if you don't have any. ... There's always a credit card.

If you wait until your children are high school seniors to spring it on them that there's not a whole lot of money for school, they won't have too many options.

I have come to think that money is very much like a person, and it will respond when you treat it as you would a cherished friend - never fearing it, pushing it away, pretending it doesn't exist, or turning away from its needs, never clutching it so hard that it hurts. ... if you tend it like the living entity it is, then it will flourish, grow, take care of you for as long as you need it.

Those carrying a credit card balance should scale back to making the minimum payment each month so they have more money to put into savings.