My wife turned to me and said, “I wouldn’t know what to do if you died.” I had just gotten off the phone with my father who was simultaneously mourning the sudden loss of his brother and trying to sort out his finances. Talk about a wakeup call.

With so much recent focus on this country’s all-too-regular debt ceiling drama, I want to spend a moment to make a proclamation: debt is not a bad thing.

A football coach will meticulously prepare a game plan for their upcoming opponent to ensure that every situation is accounted for. In that same vein, your finances deserve the same attention with focus on the fundamentals.

Our desire to hold onto what is already ours will sometimes cause us to make short-term decisions with long-term money because the pain of losing money is greater than the satisfaction of making money.