I just keep trying to impress on my kids that they want to stay away from credit cards. My oldest daughter and her husband ran up some debts when he was out of work for a while; they've now been able to work that back down and their regular payment history has allowed them to still have a good credit rating. They just bought their first house last month.

My second daughter and her husband won't even use a credit card at all.

My youngest daughter and my son both have a credit card (my account) to carry in case they get caught without cash in their pocket and need gas for their car or something, but they have to get permission to use it for anything else. (One is in college, one is in high school). Plus they have to pay me back for the gas. However, they both have student checking accounts (no service charge) and debit cards, and I worry a little about my daughter. She often spends her whole paycheck within the week after she's received it, whereas my son has built up a pretty good savings. My daughter feels that as long as she hasn't overspent, she's good, but I would really want her to develop a savings habit. So far, no beans.

As for myself, I'm VERY conservative about money. I'm far more likely to put any extra money into a 6-month CD than I am to invest it. Considering the state of the stock market lately, I think the CD's are a much better deal. You don't make much, but you can't lose it.