There are a lot of numbers floating around that people tell you you have to worry about. But the truth is, if you can stay our of debt and have an emergency fund, then you'll be better off than nearly everyone. Are you a victim of unexpected expenses? Everyone is. It never fails, as soon as you think you're getting ahead with money, something comes up. Life gets in the way. It happens to all of us.
Since we're approaching Valentine's Day, it seems appropriate to talk about love and money since they seem to be inextricably tied together. Especially on Valentine's Day when people spend money on their love. 
Congress passed a cut on the Social Security tax in 2010, effective January 1st of 2011. Most people didn't even recognize the increase in their take-home pay.
College tuition is increasing at a rate double that of general inflation. In 2010 the annual tuition for a public four-year college was $16,000, which was up 6.1% from 2009. The cost of a private four-year college was up 4.3% from 2009 to 2010, coming in at a staggering $37,000.
More than 50% of the 50-somethings surveyed now say they won't be financially prepared for retirement. If you're 20-something and reading this, then let this be your wake-up call. You can never start too soon. The earlier you start, the better off you'll be, and you'll be grateful you won't have to work until about two minutes before you die.
There's going to come a time in all our lives when we can no longer work, whether that be physically or mentally, or both. That's the time when our investments should be generating enough income to live on. That's why we need to get out of debt so we can start saving for retirement.
That 2% savings is $1,000 for the year for someone with taxable wages of $50,000. When was the last time you got $1,000 for free?
The biggest mistake most people make in starting a business is that they mix personal funds with funds of the business. What a mess! So what does this have to do with personal financial planning? Everything. In a way, this rule should be applied to personal financial planning; yet most, if not all financial planners ignore it.