Are you, like many Americans, managing debt? What kind of debt are you managing: credit cards? Loans? For some people, the experience of managing debt may be daunting. There may be physical and psychological elements involved which may impact the debt management experience.

Personal finance, like life, is highly individualized. Since it is individualized, what works for one person may not be appropriate for another person. While this does not mean that we avoid talking about personal finance, it does mean we have an opportunity to frame the topic of personal finance in a way that invites intellectual exploration rather than immediate action.

Years ago, a financial advisor once asked me, “How was money treated when you were growing up?” The question stunned me because we’d just said hello to each other, and this question was the equivalent of someone going from shaking my hand to meeting my parents without courtship in between.