Had an interesting experience last weekend. I was with a friend and he pulled out an old toolbox. In the toolbox was a pretty good-sized screwdriver. The shaft was badly rusted. The toolbox had probably been sitting on a boat for quite some time. My friend is a boater and loves to go out into the gulf.

I looked at the screwdriver for awhile. It was one of those sold by Sears with a clear plastic handle. I noticed that the shaft that was within the handle was also badly rusted. But the handle looked and felt just fine.

It occurred to me that people's finances are similar to that screwdriver. Some people have openly rusty finances. They're struggling and pretty much everyone knows it.

But others had a slick plastic shell. They look good. But, if you can see into their situation, you'd find a rusty shaft. There may be a new, expensive car in the driveway, but the last two payments were late.

If you had a file or a grinder, you could put a nice new head on the screwdriver. But, chances are that it'll just be thrown away and replaced. After all, screwdrivers aren't that expensive.

But it's pretty hard to throw away and replace your finances. Yes, you can go bankrupt, but that's not an easy road.

So my hope is that your finances aren't a rusty shaft. Or, if you have a bit of rust, it's just a little surface rust that can be sanded away before it does any serious damage.