Suze Orman

Cash - in savings accounts, short-term CDs or money market deposits - is great for an emergency fund. But to fulfill a long-term investment goal like funding your retirement, consider buying stocks. The more distant your financial target, the longer inflation will gnaw at the purchasing power of your money.

Learn to recognize true wealth. Money itself will not make you financially free. That comes as a result of only that powerful state of mind which tells us that we are worth far more than our money.

Owning a home is a keystone of wealth - both financial affluence and emotional security.

If you pay off your mortgage before retirement, you take a huge financial load off your shoulders. You also become eligible to take out a reverse mortgage once you turn 62.

Structured settlements are a common way for people who have been injured to receive an insurance payout. The periodic payments provide ongoing income and reduce the risk of blowing a lump sum through poor financial choices.

Like your home's closets, your financial clutter needs an overhaul every now and again, and the payoff will go far beyond the psychic satisfaction of neatening up.

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

Opposites may attract, but I wouldn't put my money on a relationship of financial opposites.

I have always advocated doing everything possible to pay off credit card balances; it's good financial management and the ticket to a strong FICO credit score.

If you're not staying on top of your money, you are putting your financial well-being at risk.

Not everything is about money.

Remember what I always say: people first, then money, then things.