I have never been a fan of bond funds. Unlike a direct investment in an individual bond that you can hold to maturity and be assured you will get your principal back (assuming no default), a fund has no finite maturity date and most funds are actively traded.

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

People first, then money, then things.

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

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.

I'd rather make 50 percent of something than 100 percent of nothing.

Messages about money are passed down from generation to generation, worn and chipped like the family dishes.