"I get so frustrated when people tell me it's unrealistic to create an eight-month emergency savings fund, or have money saved for a home down payment, or pay off their $5,000 credit card balance."

"The foundation of a financial fresh start actually has nothing to do with money or specific financial dos and don'ts."

"A wise woman recognizes when her life is out of balance and summons the courage to act to correct it, she knows the meaning of true generosity, happiness is the reward for a life lived in harmony, with a courage and grace."

"Here's my gift-giving rule: Respect your current financial situation."

"Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not."

"There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands."

"John Currin's exaggerated realism and his twisted women kept me off balance, never knowing if they were sincere or ironic or some new emotion."

"I have fun being sexy and tough at the same time."