I've always been amazed that basic money-handling skills are not the top of the curriculum starting in elementary schools. Everybody should know how to manage money, yet only a few people do-- and they are self-educated!

There will always be a tiny percentage of people who are in financial trouble because they had some catastrophic illness, or they got fired repeatedly through picking bad employers, or something else. But the vast majority of people could learn to spend less than they make and invest for the future. It's completely simple.

But it also requires discipline. I think therein lies the rub.