If an elephant is out of control, what does it do? It charges. If you and your spouse's spending habits are also out of control what do you do? Charge...on your credit card.

See the similarity?

It's human nature to charge like an elephant. Shopping feels good. We like wonderful food that someone else prepared. We want to have a good time at that once-in-a-lifetime concert or vacation. Why worry about the cost? As long as we can make the minimum charge card payments, we don't even have to have money in the bank to enjoy all these things.

But unlike elephants, humans need to be spend less than they make, set aside part of it for retirement and other savings needs. Ever know an elephant with a 401(k) or an emergency fund? If they did it would only be worth peanuts.

This elephant comparison is explained in more detail in the book Switch, How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The book discusses how our brains know to be financially responsible, but we regularly do the opposite. It's like a rider on a six-ton elephant. The rider may know where he or she wants to go, but unless the rider knows how to lead the elephant, the elephant will end up going where it wants and the rider is helpless to stop it.

But don't despair: there is a way to manage and control that emotional elephant. It doesn't involve logic or rational thinking because that doesn't work with elephants. Use these money tricks to help get your elephant to work with you, and not against you:

Use direct deposit for your paycheck

Get your employer to set up your paycheck to automatically deposit into your bank account. A fist full of cash is hard to resist, but if the money is already in your bank, you and your elephant aren't as tempted to spend it.

Use autopay to pay bills and grow savings

Set up bills to be paid automatically via online bill pay. You can make arrangements with your employer to withhold funds from your regular pay and have it go directly to your 401(k) retirement savings. You can also instruct your bank to do auto-transfers to an IRA or separate savings account to save for emergencies, Christmas and future large purchases.

Use envelopes

An old-fashioned trick to control spending is using a cash envelope system for impulse purchase categories such as food, clothing, entertainment and mad money. On payday, bring home enough cash in these categories to last until the next payday. Your elephant impulses can now spend it however it wishes, but when the envelopes are empty, the spending is done.

This works a lot better than using a credit card. Credit cards work fine as long as you pay them off each month. However, the average household that doesn't pay off their credit cards each month have a $15,000 balance. That could mean paying up to $3,000 a year just in interest payments. Wouldn't you rather spend $3,000 on something else?

Pay off smallest debts first

It makes the most sense to start with repaying the debt with the highest interest rate, right? But paying off debt is not fun, so make it easy to see success sooner, not later. Citing financial expert Dave Ramsey, Switch says the best way to do this is to start paying off debts from smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on the bigger debts and toss any extra money at the smallest debt. Before you know it, this smallest debt will be gone.

Focus on one financial goal at a time

What do you think would happen if you said to your elephant, 'Okay, this month we are going to save up an emergency fund, make extra payments on the mortgage, save for Dumbo's college, pay off the credit card and save for retirement?' Your elephant would be confused! Better to focus on only one of these at a time, then move on when you've reached your goal.

The main takeaway from Switch is to direct the rider, motivate the elephant and shape your spending. When a couple is doing this together, they can't help but switch bad habits for good ones.

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How do you determine the secret to money mastery? If you are the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with an annual budget of more than $600 million a year, you do the research and release a 65 page report with the name Building blocks to help youth achieve financial capability. Based on this report, with the right help, your kids could become masters of the money universe.

The four-year-old who can't keep his nose clean? They could one day clean up in the stock market.

The eight-year-old who can't multiply? One day they could be a multi-millionaire.

The fourteen-year-old who can't save enough cash to buy a cat? They could one day save enough cash to buy a car.

What the heck, you say? No, what the HESK.

Here is what research shows are the building blocks of financial capability. Think H-E-S-K to remember what these building blocks include:

1. Habits

Good money habits will result in beneficial results like savings. Bad money habits can lead from one financial disaster to another.

2. Executive function

This is a fancy way to categorize self-control, working memory and problem solving. You need this to focus beyond the present. You need this to persevere and react flexibly when encountering road blocks. And you need this to recognize the importance of planning and goal setting.

3. Skills

Basic financial skills, like how to budget or comparison shop, are critical to making wise financial decisions

4. Knowledge

Knowing how interest works, what investments are, why insurance is important and other financial topics help people avoid costly financial mistakes.

However, don't expect your preschooler to become a mini Elon Musk. It takes time to develop money mastery. The CFPB report divides the path to financial capability into three age ranges: early childhood (ages 3-5), middle childhood (ages 6-12), and adolescence and young adulthood (ages 13-21).

The youngest age group is a good time to focus on the E in HESK - executive function. One of the best ways to do this is to read books that model the results we want to see. There are a number of fairy tale stories that teach problem solving that can be related to money, such as The Ant in the Grasshopper and The Little Red Hen. You're supposed to be reading to your kids anyway, so why not read books that will develop executive function?

The middle childhood age is a good time to focus on the H in HESK - habits. At this age children can be encouraged to become frugal, rather than spendthrift. They can start saving money for the future and recognize that delayed gratification allows us to buy things later that we can't buy now if we always spend money as soon as we get it.

The last pieces of the recipe for success, that are ideal subjects for adolescence and young adulthood, are the S and K in HESK - skills and knowledge. You only have to read everyday stories about how many people are deep in credit card debt or have inadequate retirement savings to recognize that too many adults fail to acquire the skills and knowledge that would help them make better choices sooner. Big surprise: new adults make dumb money mistakes. Fortunately, some states have required a financial literacy course that must be completed to graduate from high school. That's a great help (assuming students pay attention!).

You don't have to just leave it up to the schools. The popular online learning website Khan Academy created the Better Money Habits website with the great kind of self-learning lessons Khan Academy is known for. The highly influential nonprofit Commonwealth (previously known as D2D Fund) knows that many young people love playing video games so they created award winning online games that focus on financial skills and knowledge.

Being a parent is a challenge and it's no wonder we often feel like we don't know what the heck we are doing. Hopefully, recognizing how Habits, Executive Function, Skills and Knowledge apply to learning about money can help you at least feel better prepared in the area of pointing your children on the path to money mastery.

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When we stereotype rich people, we don't picture them slaving in the kitchen to feed their family, rather we see them enjoying fine food in fine restaurants. The top quintile U.S. household mean income is nearly $200,000 a year, so they can afford eating out more than most people.

However, the group that spends the next most on restaurants, as a percentage of total spending, is the bottom quintile U.S. households who have a mean income of $12,000 per year. According to J.P. Morgan, the rich spend 17.8 percent of income on restaurants and the poor spend 16.6 percent on restaurants. People who earn in-between these groups spend a smaller percentage on restaurants.

So why do people of limited means spend money eating out at a rate nearly as high as the most wealthy? They are obviously not visiting the same eating establishments. However, many fast food places have dollar menus that are deceptively affordable. You may be able to feed a family of four for $10-$20. If you do that twice a week, for both lunch and dinner, that's $1,000-$2,000 per year, hardly affordable if you only make $12,000 a year.

Not only is it not affordable, there is increasing concern that the nutritional value of fast food is suspect. The secret to fast food success is flavor. The industry has spent millions developing the kinds of food we love and crave. Award-winning writer Mark Schatzker reported this phenomenon in his 2015 book, "The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth about Food and Flavor." He discovered that in nature, flavor is a signal to humans that a food is desirable and nutritious. However, modern chemists have been able to reassign these flavors to manmade foods. You don't need to eat a strawberry to get strawberry flavor, you can get it from candy, ice cream or a soft drink. Strawberries are packed with vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, doctor-recommended omega-3 fatty acids and more. Candy, not so much.

The naturalist John H. Tobe said, "Any food that requires enhancing by the use of chemical substances should in no way be considered a food." These cheap food substitutes are making frequent consumers of such meal choices both sicker and poorer.

A high proportion of low-income households are young, and many of them have children. It's to be expected that someone just starting out in adulthood is going to make less than someone with an established career over decades. With a smaller income, it is all the more important to make the best choices of how to spend limited funds. If this describes you, you just don't have enough money to spend on all the things you need.

Here are some suggestions for a healthier wallet and body:

• Make that trip through the fast-food drive-through a special occasion and not a weekly or-gasp-daily trip. Going cold-turkey off fast foods might not be realistic, so create a special fast-food fund in your budget each pay period. By planning for this in advance, you can pick a dollar amount that won't bust your budget for other things that are more important.

• Consider joining a food co-op like Bountiful Baskets for a weekly supply of in-season fruits and vegetables. You will probably get a chance to eat foods you are not familiar with-consider it an eating adventure!

• Time poverty is a big reason many people take the easy way out with fast food. You can avoid this by making a friend of your freezer. Here are some great freezer meal tips. Not only will these meals be more nutritious, you always get more value for your food dollars when you prepare the food yourself.

• If you use SNAP benefits to help pay for food, see if your local community has a program like Double Up Food Bucks. This program gives you dollar-for-dollar matches to spend SNAP funds at local farmers markets.

Summer is the perfect time to switch from fast-food to fresh food. Follow this advice and you may be using the drive-through at the bank more than the fast-food drive-through as you add money to savings, instead of eating it up.

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When you look at your paycheck, do you sometimes say this?

"I am not making enough. If I made more money, I would be happier."

Did you ever say that in the past when you made less than you make now? You probably did. So, if you are making more money now, why are you still saying this? Could it be that, when we make more money, it just results in an increased number of things we want to buy?

Ben Franklin understood this more than 250 years ago when he said, "Money has never made man happy, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has, the more one wants."

When it comes to happiness, what you earn isn't king; cash is - specifically, cash in the bank.

University of California, Riverside doctoral candidate Peter Ruberton researched nearly 600 bank customers. He found, "No matter how much the customers had or earned, no matter how much debt they had, having a buffer of easily accessible cash was associated with greater happiness."

But isn't this just a side effect of being well-off since rich people are more likely to have money in the bank?

Actually, no.

Ruberton's study reported that regardless of demographics, their results "suggest that having readily accessible sources of cash is of unique importance to life satisfaction, above and beyond raw earnings, investments, or indebtedness."

This is consistent with earlier research by 2014 Nobel Prize winner and economist Angus Deaton. Deaton found that people making more than $75,000 per year are not significantly happier. In other words, once you get past the point of covering necessities, money really can't buy happiness.

So, if money in the bank equals happiness and you don't have that, here are five tips to increased savings and happiness.

1. Have a savings account

Believe it or not, 21 percent of American adults don't even have a savings account, according to a GOBankingRates survey of 5,000 people.

However, money in the bank, in a savings account, is safer and less likely to be spent on impulse purchases.

2. Make savings a priority

The same survey reported that 28 percent had savings accounts with $0 in them and another 13 percent had less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. That means a combined 62 percent have no more than $1,000 in savings.

Clearly, saving money is not very important to most people. But not saving is making them unhappy.

Savings won't grow on their own. But, with effort, anyone can grow their savings.

3. Make savings automatic

Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account for each day you get paid. (And while you are at it, join the 21st century and have your pay direct-deposited. Paper paychecks are so 1950s.) Decide if you'll transfer $25, $50, $100 or more. Choose an amount that feels like a bit of a stretch so your savings grow faster.

As a side benefit, moving money to your savings will force you to be more careful in how you spend the rest of your money.

4. Use cash to build cash

Behaviorally, modern humans are conditioned to spend money, even when they don't have it.

An extremely effective way to cut back on spending is to only use physical cash on impulse purchases like food, entertainment and clothing. Label envelopes with these categories and fill them up with your spending money on payday. When the money gets spent and the envelopes are empty, you have to wait until next payday to refill your envelopes.

It's impossible to overspend or overdraft an empty envelope. This is one area where going back to the 1950s is a smart move.

5. Do a budget together each month

Money is the number one thing couples fight about. Financial issues contribute to divorce in a big way. Learn to communicate effectively about money. Together, do a budget each month and review it even more often. Let this area of your marriage be about agreement and not conflict. Read "10 great steps to talk about money without fighting."

With these tips in action, don't be surprised to find you have more than $1,000 in your savings account within a few months (perhaps, weeks). As a goal, try to build your savings up to three to six months of expenses. Then, when emergencies happen, you can deal with them from savings and not deal with the stress of added debt.

Remember, research shows you can't buy happiness with money, but you can find happiness by having more savings.

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Spring brings more than just better weather for most people. According to the IRS, spring also brings an average of $2,800 to nearly eight in ten tax filers. That's a lot of money, and for some people it could be double that amount or more.

What is the best way to use such a windfall and what choices should be avoided?

First, the choices that will hurt:

Refund anticipation loan

The first decision you need to make after finding out you will get a refund is whether you take the money now or wait until the IRS sends it to you. There are many businesses that are willing to advance you the funds from your tax refund right away and then keep your refund. This service is not free. It could easily cost you up to $100 or more. Let's say you pay $100 on a $2,000 refund and the money comes 20 days later. The lender just made close to a hundred percent interest! That's a great profit for the business, but it is a great loss for you.

Get a refund check in the mail

If you request that your tax refund come as a check, you will have to wait longer and you may be tempted to spend it when you cash it. There is also a chance it could get lost or stolen. It is always safer and faster to have the IRS make a direct deposit of your refund to your checking or savings account.

The refund fight

Assuming you are able to pay your monthly bills from your monthly income, a big refund check is like free money. You and your spouse may have different priorities on how to spend the money. Hopefully, the spouse who earned the most money does not claim that he/she gets to decide how it is spent. Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, as the saying goes, but marriage is a partnership where you need to make important decisions together. Have an adult discussion that identifies the most important family needs. Leave the personal wants behind.

Spending spree

Be careful with the "You worked hard, you deserved it" mentality. A tax refund may be enough to buy the latest tablet or leather couch or vacation, but does that put wants before needs?

Now, the choices that will help:

Emergency savings

While some emergencies could cost thousands of dollars, many can be handled for $1,000 or less. Unfortunately, most Americans don't even have this much. Using a tax refund to set up an emergency savings fund of at least $1,000 will save you from future surprises that would otherwise cause you to get into debt.

Debt elimination

Having debt can be expensive. For those who carry a monthly balance, the amount you pay in annual interest may be more than the amount you get back as a tax refund! However, if you work on eliminating debt, the interest you pay will go down and you will be able to keep more of your money.

Retirement investment

Sadly, most Americans are not saving anywhere nearly enough for retirement. If you have an adequate emergency fund and are on track to pay off debts, why not add some money to your retirement savings? Often this can create additional tax breaks for you. The sooner you start saving for retirement, the more you will have when you retire.

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Guys, did you spend at least $190 on Valentine's Day last year? Ladies, did you spend at least $96? If not, you are below-average Valentine's Day spenders. At least that is what the National Retail Federation reported.

At close to $300 it's a good thing Valentine's Day comes only once a year; if a couple spent that much every day, it would add up to more than $100,000 a year. A part of you may say your spouse is worth it. But splurging on your spouse is only a good thing if you don't end up "broke ever after."

Does spending big money on your Valentine send the message he or she is important, or does it send the message you are shortsighted?

If you're insecure enough in your relationship to think only a big purchase can communicate your love, then you are missing out on a richer relationship where a couple shares a love money can't buy. Of course, you may want to spend a lot of money because that's what everyone else does. That's the message you'll get from the Valentine's Day ads you see, but following the crowd isn't a good idea if it leads to the poor house.

Consider these suggestions to warm up to your Valentine without burning a hole in your wallet.

1. Study money together

It doesn't sound romantic, but reading a book on managing money as a couple or taking a class on the subject can get you to work together. Wouldn't it be great if you agreed on financial goals? That's a recipe for a closer relationship. Without these skills, it is too easy to get into money arguments that, unfortunately, are often a root cause of marriage breakups. Dave Ramsey's books and classes are probably the most well-known, but if he is not your style, you can find other experts with common-sense advice on managing money as a couple.

2. Do a monthly budget together

Every month, figure out how much money you will bring in, and distribute each dollar to all of your planned monthly expenses until you get to zero. For most people this won't be hard. There is always more we could spend money on than money we have available. Planning together upfront, helps you be united on your spending plans and not spend more than you make. While you are at it, make sure you budget some money for Valentine's Day. It may not be $300, but if you set aside something that will not put you in the hole by end of the month, then, by all means, Happy Valentine's Day!

3. Give each other cash envelopes

One reason many households overspend each month is that when you spend using plastic, it is just too easy to dip into savings or add debt to a credit card balance. For categories such as food, entertainment and clothing, switch to using a cash envelope system each payday. People find it harder to spend cash and find it impossible to overspend an empty envelope. While you're at it, give each other a mad-money envelope that can be spent on anything your spouse wants. How much mad-money you use depends on what you figured out when doing your monthly budget.

4. Time and talents, not treasure

Sharing your time and your talents communicates your love much more than lightening your wallet does. Pinterest and other online sites can give you a wealth of ideas for low-cost to no-cost Valentine's gifts that can be uniquely you. Try your hand at writing some poetry. You can make an origami flower. Give your mate some service coupons for a back rub they'd like or a chore around the house they dislike. Learn a skill together that you are both interested in by watching a YouTube video. The ideas are nearly limitless since Googling "Free Valentines Ideas" will give you over 30 million results.

5. Plan for your future now

It's less popular than Valentine's Day, but another activity that a lot of people engage in during February is preparing their taxes, especially if they plan on getting a tax refund. While it can be tempting to spend your tax refund on whatever is at the top of your wish list, you need to make retirement savings a priority. The sooner you start, the more you will have waiting for you at retirement. Consider funding an IRA with part of your tax refund. That's how you pay for "happily ever after."

This Valentine's Day you really can spend less but love more.

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When it comes to Christmas gifts, many children can expect to see video games, building block systems, dolls, battery-powered remote controlled vehicles or toys of their favorite movie characters.

But rather than add to the toy box litter, why not try some other options that can help build better life skills, closer relationships and lifelong memories?

1. Mom and Dad coupons

Print a stack of coupons your child will be sure to use, such as "Daddy helps with the dishes" or "Mom helps put away toys." This is a great way to get some extra one-on-one time with a child while he or she does a chore. You can also make coupons for a one-on-one night out with the child. Every child looks forward to an evening out with Mom or Dad.

2. Sleepover with grandparents

Kids love a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa. And the grandparents will love the chance to spend time with their grandchildren. The parents get a nice break. Say it with me - best gift ever!

3. Empty envelopes

Give your child three fancy envelopes, each with one of these words on it: "Spending," "Saving," "Giving." Anytime the child earns money, divide it into the three envelopes. Popular personal finance guru Dave Ramsey recommends 40 percent for spending, 40 percent for saving and 20 percent for giving. Pick what sounds best for your family. This is a great way to teach kids about the importance of budgeting. A child needs to realize that you are better off in the long run if you tell your money what to do in advance. Some might whine about having only 40 percent of their money to spend on whatever they want. Tell your child you would love to have 40 percent, but because you have bills and other needs, you actually spend much less than this on your wants. And helping your child set up an early habit of looking for ways to give is a great lesson to start early.

4. Empty boxes

It's a common parental observation that kids under a certain age are more likely to play with the box the present came in, instead of the gift itself. How about going gung-ho and just giving a bunch of big, empty boxes that can be used to build a castle, fort, palace, pirate ship or anything your child can dream up?

5. The big trip

This is a great gift to a child approaching adolescence. Put a fancy announcement in a box proclaiming the child has received a trip with parents to an amusement park, national park or some other major destination. It could be a few hours away and involve an overnight stay. Take the time to talk to and bond with your child, and learn more about their everyday lives.

This year, give gifts that build memories.

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The holidays are a popular time to buy books for the children in your family. We all know that kids who excel in reading are better prepared for school...and adulthood. Those who handle money well also have an advantage in life. Why not get the best of both worlds by giving children books with a message about smart money management?

Here is a list of popular children books that tell a great story and teach a lesson and about handling money wisely:

Picture Books

For the pre-K crowd, _Bunny Money_ by the prolific author and illustrator Rosemary Wells has her popular rabbit characters Ruby and Max spend money for their grandmother's birthday. In addition to a fun story, children learn simple math and also learn that if you spend money on one thing, you won't be able to spend it on something else.

In _The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies_ by Stan and Jan Berenstain, children learn how to appreciate what they have and not throw tantrums when they can't buy everything they want. Now, wouldn't that be lesson you'd like your children to learn?

The Cat in Hat is back with _One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All About Money_by Bonnie Worth. Kids learn the history of money and banking with all the fun of Dr. Suess's style.

_Alexander, Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday_ by Judith Viorst features a charming character trying to grapple with how to spend the money he gets from his grandparents.

Read-Aloud Books

Parents and children will fall in love with the series of autobiographical books by Ralph Moody. Beginning with _Little Britches_, Moody tells the story of moving to a small farm in Colorado at age 8 back in 1906 so his father can live in a healthier climate. His family has no experience farming so they struggle to make ends meet. Their resourcefulness and hard work helps them scrape by, but barely.

Luckily, there are seven more books in the series that takes Moody into his early twenties. Early in the series, Moody's father dies and a young Ralph must become the _Man of the Family. His creative mom finds one idea after another to make money for the family and Ralph finds work as a twelve-year-old cowboy in __The Home Ranch_. In Mary Emma & Company__, Ralph is back in Boston with this mother and siblings and has to find ways to help pay the bills. In one chapter, he organizes the boys in the neighborhood to collect the wood beams that fell into a river after a bridge burned down. He sets up a work crew of young teens to turn the beams into firewood for sale. As a young teen, he next helps modernize the Maine farm of his cranky old grandfather in _The Fields of Home. The final three books __Shaking the Nickle Bush_, The Dry Divide__, and _Horse of a Different Color_, take Moody back to the West while still in his teens, where he finds work as a cowboy, stunt man, sculptor, and ranch foreman. Moody's stories tell time and time again how even someone who starts with nothing can use hard work, determination, and thinking outside the box to get ahead in life.

For Older Teens

When a Washington D.C. private high school hires a new economics teacher, he finds himself in conflict with the feisty drama teacher. As the couple debates their differences, love blossoms. It's a rare book that combines economics with romance, but Russell Robert's _The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance_ does a fine job teaching economics through a captivating love story.

A lesson on money management might not sound exciting to children, but reading these books teach that lesson in a way that's relatable and enjoyable. As Maya Angelou said, "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him." And it is even better if the book leaves the child wiser to handle money.

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Naming your child is a decision with lifetime consequences. Choose a name that will be an asset to your child, not a liability.

If you pick any of the following unbelievably bad baby names, you might as well pin a "kick me" sign on your baby's back at the same time.

1. Adolf. It should go without saying that you don't name your baby after a mass murderer, even if you meant to name your baby after the Swedish Arctic explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöl.

2. A Boy Named Sue. Johnny Cash had a big hit in the 1960's with his song about a man's quest for revenge on a father who gave him a feminine name. It's not a good idea to give a child a name that may result in teasing or people thinking he or she is the opposite sex. Some names like Kelly or Tracy are common for boys and girls, but name a boy Sue is asking for trouble.

3. Homer / Marge. Don't name a child after an annoying cartoon character. That only sets them up for guilt by association. You may not know some of the annoying cartoon character names like Dee Dee or Elmyra or Angelica or Alvin or Elmer, so do a name check first.

4. Xchyler. The first day of school each year is hard enough by itself. Why make it worse by giving your child a name that is difficult to pronounce?

5. Donthireme. Studies have shown that when it comes time to find a job, you lower your chances if you have a name that says, "Don't hire me." Sadly, strongly ethnic names get fewer callbacks than more popular common names. If you name your child LeMonjello or Orangejello, get ready for a life of challenges. If you must pass on an uncommon family name for reasons of heritage, at least make it a middle name.

6. Mahershalalhashbaz. The Bible is a popular place to find names, but you may want to keep looking after finding this one. Sometimes short and sweet is best. One study of male CEOs noticed a high percentage of them have one syllable first names. Think Bill Gates, Tim Cook, or Bob Iger.

7. Incarcerateme. Researchers have found that juveniles with unpopular first names are more likely to engage in criminal behavior. Such kids may get into trouble because a weird name makes it harder to fit in.

8. Plain Jane. Okay, admittedly not anywhere as bad as these others, but you can do better. The most popular trendy names leave people feeling less unique, and every child wants to be special. Unless you are picking a very, very popular name because of family connections, you may want to pick a name in the Goldilocks zone - not super trendy and not too unique - just right.

9. P.I.G. Sometimes it is not the name that is worst, it is the initials. A 1999 study revealed that people with negative sounding initials like P.I.G. or B.A.D. have worse health than people with positive sounding initials like W.I.N. or T.O.P. The TV character Archie Bunker was in an All In The Family episode where he wanted his soon-to-be grandson named after him - Archie Stanley Stivic. He gave up the idea when he realized what the baby's initials would be.

10. Beyoncé. When you saddle your children with a famous name, you may be hobbling them with a lifetime of comparison. Better to not see them compete with someone who has already achieved a level of success that would be hard to match.

Naming a baby is an important event and should be given the serious attention it deserves. You want the best for your child so start off with the best name possible.

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Before your children turn 18, they are considered minors by law and are limited in what they can do with money. But once they are legal adults, they can make all sorts of financial decisions that can have long-term consequences for good or ill. Without wise parental advice, more often than not, they will make plenty of money mistakes. Here's a helpful list that you should share with your young adult children.

1. Overdrafts

Getting your own checking account is a sign of being a grown up, but if you don't manage it correctly, you can have your account closed down. This can result when you write checks when there are inadequate funds in the account. Not only does this result in having to pay back money you didn't have, there are also penalty fees to pay. If you are unable to pay back the bank in a short period of time, you will lose your account and find it difficult to open another account elsewhere. To keep this from happening, you need to maintain a high enough balance so you won't go in the hole. You'll need to reconcile your check register balance to the bank balance on a frequent basis. Most young people don't do this. If you don't, set up an account that doesn't allow automatic overdrafts and does not allow check writing. This will reduce the chances of encountering an overdraft situation. You will still be able to pay bills using online bill pay and a debit card.

2. Too Much Car

You'll enjoy the independence that comes from having your own car. But all the financial costs that come with car ownership are often overlooked. Owning a car means paying for insurance, maintenance and repairs. Many people decide to take out a loan so they can own a more expensive car. A higher loan payment for a more expensive car takes away money that could be used elsewhere. Also, circumstances change, and you may need to sell the car if you lose a job or otherwise can't afford the payments. Over time, cars go down in value. Some people trying to sell a car may find they owe more than it is worth. It's known as being underwater. It's no fun to sell a car and still have to come up with extra money to pay off the car loan.

3. Budgeting

Many new adults still live at home. If that is you, you may be living rent free and having Mom and Dad buy the groceries. If you are working 40 hours a week, you could be bringing home hundreds of dollars a month that you may be frittering away on entertainment, clothing and stuff you wish your parents would buy for you. But an adult without a budget is not a grownup. Do yourself a favor and have a written plan for your money each time you get paid. Make savings a priority. Put a cap on how much you will spend on eating out, clothing, and entertainment. An easy way to do this is to use cash for these categories so when you are done spending the cash you are done spending money altogether until the pay period.

4. Memberships

Once you have your own checking account, some businesses will try to sign you up for monthly memberships. These bills are deducted from your checking account whether you use them or not. Think twice before signing up for a deluxe gym plan, online game subscription, diet meal plan, music subscription, specialty life insurance, or other monthly payments. These can add up to hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars over time.

5. ID Theft

Somebody with a spotless credit history but lacks experience in financial matters is an appealing target to identity thieves. You need to guard your personal information from clever crooks. They will make bogus phone calls or send you phony emails pretending to be your bank or creditor. Don't share personal information. Other thieves will use social media to stalk you and find out personal information they can use to assume your identity. Keep your friends as friends, but block out strangers from your social media information.

6. Student Loans

The cost of college has outpaced inflation for years, so it is not surprising that the majority of college students use student loans. These loans can be a good idea if it helps you get a better paying job with the extra income to pay back the loan. But if your chosen career does not pay very well, a big loan is going to be hard to pay back. Also, many students take out loans and fail to finish school. It's no fun paying back a student loan from a low-income job. Be very careful in deciding to borrow for college.

7. Credit Cards

Retail stores sometimes market credit cards to young adults with a limited credit history. As a young person with a steady paycheck builds credit, it becomes easier and easier to obtain more charge cards or higher credit limits. Retail stores offer tempting deals to people opening new charge accounts. However, the interest paid makes this an expensive way to pay for things. If you can't pay your charge card bill in full each month, you are better off not using it. Another problem is that if you forget to pay your bill on time, it will cause your credit score to go down. That will make it harder to get credit when you really need it for something important.

Yes, being new to handling money can feel like you are walking through a minefield, but remember, you can keep your finances safe if you avoid these potential traps. You can have fun with your money without doing things you will later regret.

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