Many people mistakenly assume the credit card company or bank wants them to make their payments on time.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  In this video a former credit card company employee explains what it means to be a "Deadbeat Customer."
 
I'm sure you know a few people who have threatened to move "off the grid" when their power bills get too high.  You probably even thought it once or twice yourself, too.  Well, here's a resourceful chap who actually did just that.  Enjoy this inspiring video.
 
I think many of us feel that if we could just make it big or get a lucky break we would be able to solve all of our problems.  That's not always true though.  We've all read about or heard about the family that won the lottery and then went bankrupt a few years later.  The above video usually brings about a "holier than thou" response from viewers who think they would be much smarter than these "dumb athletes" but how sure are you about that?  Can you honestly say you've never made a purchasing decision because of how you thought someone else might think of you?  I know I can't.  As Dave Ramsey would say, winning the money game is "more behavioural than mathematical."
 
The more I listen to Dave Ramsey the more I like his common sense, behaviour modification approach to winning at the money game.  In the following video we see Dave's 7 Step approach to becoming debt free and financially independent - two things that are essential to Finding North in your finances.
 
I really like Gail Vaz-Oxlade.  Her "Money Jars" from Til Debt Do Us Part is very clever.  Here she discusses some more common-sense financial tips.  Her point about starting the habit of saving is a great idea.  I started putting all of the loose change from small purchases in a piggy bank and within about four months had over $16 saved up.  That doesn't make me rich of course, but it did create a habit of saving that got me to start looking for other ways to save money as well.  It led me to set up an automatic transfer of about $12 a week from my chequing account into a savings account, which I barely noticed but added up very quickly.
 
I remember in College when an instructor taught us the "actual cost of education," factoring in lost earning potential, etc.  He never included the interest on that student loan.  In the eye-opening post by Bridget at Money After Graduation, that I linked below, we see just how much a $25,000 student loan really costs.

http://www.moneyaftergraduation.com/2013/01/16/paying-down-debt-is-hard-even-when-youre-doing-it-right/