With the recent financial turmoil, it is clear: Our country has a lot of credit junkies. This is not synonymous with people who may have a shopping addiction, which I’ve written about. You don’t have to crave Gucci in order to have a credit problem.

To some people, credit is a means to an end. They have a problem and they see an easy solution: credit. Others may not have a problem, but enjoy having access to extra cash (which explains why HELOC – Home Equity Line of Credit – loans became so popular).

There are different kinds of credit users. There is the person who refinances their home and uses the extra cash to pay off debt that charges a higher interest rate.

I recently wrote two articles about the top 15 college degrees by starting salary and the top 10 college degrees by demand. On the face, it seems that those two articles are reason enough to get a college degree. However, those two articles only apply to a minority of college degree holders.

If you find yourself getting a degree that is on one of those two lists, you are one step ahead of the game. But for everyone else, what are other major motivators behind getting a college education?

If you are anything like me, you wait until the last minute possible to buy your gifts. Five or ten years ago, that meant I would be at the mall with all of the other slackers on Christmas Eve. Parking was disastrous. Lines were atrocious. It was never pleasant.

But I’ve learned from those mistakes. With the advent of the internet came e-tailers. And some of them have grown to be formidable opponents to Brick & Mortar stores. My favorite is Amazon (what CAN’T you buy?!), although I also check out Newegg a lot, too.

When it comes to vehicle financing, no one wants to end up with an upside down loan, the dreaded situation where you owe more on your car loan than the vehicle is worth. Savvy consumers will do their research and look for vehicles that best retain their value.

Generally, depreciation is based on market demand for a vehicle. Ferrari, for instance, is known for carefully selecting its buyers and then producing a limited number of its models to keep demand in the marketplace high. Popular extras will often help boost a car’s resale value while positive press (such as good safety ratings) and endorsements can also have an impact.

I don’t know about you, but one of my absolute favorite activities from my childhood was playing games with my family members. I have lots of fun memories of playing everything from card games to board games, and everything in between. The number of evenings that we spent as a family, sitting together and playing one of the many games we acquired over the years, is uncountable.

Of course, as with any game, there were plenty of lessons for life that worked their way into our games. Some of the best money lessons I’ve ever gotten I actually learned as a result of playing games, particularly some of the board games I played with my sisters.