The first thing that most joes and jills think of when they think of tons of dough is ... tons of stuff. Mercedes-Benz? Go for it. A 90-foot yacht? You betcha. But one guy in Canada says the first thing he wants after winning 35 million bucks in the lottery is ... a chess board. And I say, more power to him. At least he's not going cash crazy and letting the money ruin his life. He's keeping it small and humble. Good attitude to have.

Here's the bottom line, jack. Odds are you won't win the lottery ... in fact, you shouldn't even play it; it's a sucker's game, see? But when you take the time to make a budget, pay off debt and save money, you'll end up with a pretty penny in your pocket. And as long as you keep a good attitude about it, this crazy world is almost your oyster. But you can't do that as long as Sallie Mae or MasterCard is your roommate? So kick 'em out.