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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.

Get your receipts lined up. Rip open the W-2s. Sharpen those pencils and make sure you have plenty of erasers. It’s tax time, the season for crunching numbers and squeezing blood from a turnip. It’s a chore not many of us relish unless we expect a big return (and if you do, for shame, you’re giving the government an interest-free loan, but more about that at another time).

It’s not that we don’t receive breaks from Uncle Sam. Last year, nearly 46 million citizens itemized their taxes via the 1040 form and claimed nearly $1 trillion in deductions. Those using standard deductions claimed half a trillion dollars. Yet when you take us as individuals, who doesn’t want to pay as few taxes as possible, whether it involves getting a bigger return or owing less?

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.

Here’s a fun idea for your Valentine’s Day, treat yourselves to a “money date”! Okay, this may not seem quite as exciting as a night on the town, but it does provide a great opportunity to step back and discuss big-picture financial issues you don’t ordinarily give much time and thought to.

Start with the fun things — what are your dreams and goals for the future? Before your date, each of you should make a list of your financial goals, and then compare them over dinner as points of discussion. This is your chance to look beyond your daily financial needs and think big. Would you like to start a business? Go back to school? Own a vacation home? Take time off to be with young children? Travel in retirement?

So you gained a few pounds over the holidays. Who didn't? Now your daily planner has a reminder to eat less so you can lose that excess weight. And if you’re like most Americans, not only did you eat too much, you spent too much as well. It’s time to trim that budget right along with that waistline.

Of course, saving is the key to a healthy budget, and to save more, you must spend less. In other words, you need to put your spending on a diet. Sure, there may be a few hunger pangs, but in the end, your finances will be much healthier.

“A penny saved is a penny earned.”
Ben Franklin

That Ben Franklin, he was as good with the financial advice as he was with all the Founding Father business. No wonder his face wound up on our $100 bill. And yes, as Ben said, every penny you save may as well be a penny earned. But you have to save it to earn it!

Yes, saving money should always be an important part of your financial life. We’ve already touched on saving in a more generic sense when we talked about choices for a healthy financial New Year. Well, let’s explore a few more specific ways to save. This time we’ll look at ways to save money on things you do or use every day. There’s nothing tricky or difficult about any of these options. The only thing you’ll need is a good dose of “stick-to-it-ness.” Let’s get started...

Ahhh, the festive free-for-all of the holiday season has come and gone. We did our best to control our intake of sugar plums (whatever the heck they are) and outtake of holiday spending, but our best efforts sometimes come up short.

Well, that’s what New Years resolutions are for, right? It’s your chance at a fresh start. So what’s it gonna be? Lose weight? Exercise more? Stop smoking? As you sit in front of a blank personal improvement list masquerading as New Years resolutions, be sure you include a line or two about improving your financial health.