In the church of finance, personal responsibility is the high priest. It’s true that outside forces will affect your situation to a point, but only you can dictate how your financial life will proceed. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five “debtly sins” that can misdirect your financial well-being.

If you got engaged on Valentine’s Day, congratulations! Even if you got engage in recent months and are in the process of deciding all the details of your wedding, from flowers to keepsakes and everything in between, make sure you remember to cover one of the most important things before the Big Day––your and your intended’s money compatibility.

Of course, a successful marriage is one that allows enough room to accommodate each other’s individual opinions, tastes and style. Just because you like to blast Pink in the car while your fiancé prefers to relax to Michael Bublé doesn't mean your marriage will be headed for trouble. However, when it comes to how you handle money––both individually and as a couple––compatibility is critical if your marriage is to thrive.

Can you hear it? It’s the steady footsteps of retirement, and it’s gaining ground on you. It could be quite a few paces behind, or it could be looking right over your shoulder. Either way, it’s going to catch up with you sooner or later. Are you ready?

The average American spends 18 years in retirement. That’s quite a few years and can take quite a financial nest egg to subsidize. If you don’t have retirement questions, you should. Questions like:

      How much do I need to save to retire comfortably?
      What are my best options?
      Who can help me?

Have you ever wondered why you use money in a particular way? For example, maybe you’re the type of person who overanalyzes every purchase even though you have plenty in savings. Or maybe you can’t seem to say no to your teenager’s request for a new computer when you’re losing sleep over the amount of your credit card debt. Many people find themselves stuck in an illogical pattern with money, but why?

It’s what’s known as your money personality, or a powerful set of ideas formed early in a person’s life that govern spending, giving and investment decisions.

The oldest Baby Boomer on record, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, turned 62 at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2008, and promptly applied for Social Security. Nearly 80 million people will follow her lead over the next 20 years. But while you can file for Social Security at age 62, does that mean you should?

The timetable for receiving full Social Security benefits has changed to accommodate changing times and funding. When you were born dictates when you’re able to receive full benefits.

Ahhhhh. Every once in a while you catch yourself drifting off into thoughts of retirement. No alarm clocks, a secluded beach and nothing but time. Then your phone rings and it’s back to work. Not that you don’t enjoy your career; it’s helping you save for the day on that secluded beach. And your retirement saving is going pretty well. So is your career. You just accepted a position at a new company that’s a good step up the corporate ladder. Now, after participating in your old employer’s retirement savings plan for a number of years, you have to make a decision regarding what happens to your retirement savings as you move on to a new job. You have several options: