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All assets are not equal. Some investments appreciate better on average than others.

Everyone in our risk pool will order filet mignon. First the costs will skyrocket. And then the meat will be rotten.

Sometimes we make the mistake of deliberately budgeting the impossible. If you purposefully set the required spending in one category too high, you won’t be able to trim other categories to bring your overall spending into harmony.

Many budgets are doomed to failure because of the challenge of planning for unplanned spending. Here are some of the items you either did not put in your budget or they shouldn’t be in your spending.

America is officially no longer free.

A country can’t prosper destroying perfectly good used cars.

Mortgage rates are at historical lows, so the next few years are the time to take advantage of them.

There is always a day of reckoning when people use debt to leverage their investments.

All this toil to maintain an average benefit of about $12,000 a year!

Regulation and centralized planning have caused financial instability and failing institutions. If this is the root cause, then many of the proposed solutions will only make matters worse.

The subprime mortgage meltdown has cost the world 15% of its market capitalization, about $9 trillion. The primary culprit who caused all of this financial loss, pain and suffering is not the mortgage companies.

Avoid debt and don’t burden your family with any expenses after you are gone.

If you’re like most of today’s college graduates, you may find yourself ill prepared for the real world of financial responsibility. You never saw how your parents lived when they were first married and struggling. Consequently, you may be basing your after-school expectations on an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Here is my financial advice for those of you learning to live on your own.

Just over two years ago, we warned our readers that real estate prices might be peaking and ready to correct.

Below the line deductions are uncertain. Like many items in the tax code the correct answer to “Will they reduce my taxes?” is: “It depends.”

Most people want to honor their debt. But many families have allowed their debt to spiral out of control, and they feel helpless, ashamed, and at a loss to know what to do. While bankruptcy isn’t anyone’s first choice, sometimes it is an important choice to consider.

Stress released in one area results in delayed releases in other parts of the economy.

Fewer than 20 percent of investors are financially literate.

Consider moving your official place of residence to your vacation house, live in it 760 days out of five years, and then take the exclusion.

Between 40 and 60 you should increase your net worth by half your annual take home pay every year.

Credit bureaus charge to see your credit score. Save your money.

Beware of bogus credit companies claiming to offer free credit reports in order to gather your personal information.

Don’t borrow or withdraw money from your IRA.

Education matters. He who doesn’t teach his son a trade teaches him to steal.

Many people are afraid of having their retirement progress assessed.

Keeping control of your finances means that you can have more fun with your money.

The value of any asset category does not go in one direction forever. The housing prices boom shows signs of weakness, and that they may correct or at least under perform for the next few years.

The truly rich person is anyone whose income is greater than his or her expenses and whose expenses are sufficient to their desires.

If the S&P were a financial advisor it would say, “Let’s buy mostly large cap growth stocks in the industry that did well last year with a high price per earnings ratio.”

Admit your past debt mistakes readily. Like a former alcoholic you must be constantly vigilant against slipping up again.

You bought more things than you can pay for. That is an error in judgment. Given the evil in the world, your small financial troubles aren’t that bad.

I say, “Let the rich be rich!”

Congress contributed greatly to the bubble through the distorted incentives created by the tax code.