This one is about the good, the bad, and the beautiful, baby. Some joe in Britain has a heart defect that gives him 10-to-1 odds of living. That's the bad. He just finished cashing a $38 million check from winning the UK lottery. That's the good.

So what's the beautiful, you're asking? He said he'd give it all back in a second if he could have more time with his wife. He had one of the best one-liners I've ever heard when the newsboys asked him about the money. "I would give all that back if I am allowed to still be with her because there are no shops in the cemetery, are there?"

Ladies and germs; there's a man with his priorities in line. He's got the dough and he's got the dame, and he'd gladly trade the first for the second. In the meantime, he's smart enough to know that you can't take it with you.

Follow suit.

Going to break into a taboo subject here, jack ... so you might wanna take the kids out of the room. The newest word from the lab boys says that when it comes to cancer, 1 marijuana joint is equal to 20 cigarettes.

That's right, bub ... now, it's no secret that taking a visit from your college buddy Mary Jane is strong enough for a man, but made for a moron. All the more reason to just say no, if you ask me.

Bigger risk than you thought ... sort of like debt. Sure, you think a little here and a little there is no big deal. But before you know it, you'll have taken out so many loans and be so weighed down by your bills that you'll just want to sit in front of the TV eating tacos, see?

Here's the point; don't let yourself be lulled to sleep by the little stuff that costs you dough. Make a budget and you'll see how the small stuff adds up. It'll give you a shock. Think I'm kidding? Try it; one time won't hurt you.

Well, ladies and germs ... we're at the most wonderful week of the year. Wait, check that. The week before Christmas takes the top spot. It's the SECOND best week ... hang on, forgot about Easter. I'd say the third week, but my birthday's gotta fit in there somewhere.

Anyway, you get the point ... it's the week before the Super Bowl game. Between the Patriots gunning for 19-0 and the NY Giants surprising everyone by getting here, you've got more storylines than a corny soap opera.

Here's something else that'll grab your attention; the numbers say that some joes and jills are willing to plunk down almost 20 grand for tickets. Factor in hotel costs, food and nightlife, and this week is starting to look like a Cadillac.

You only got business spending that kind of dough if you can do it in cold, hard cash. It may not even be a trip to the big bowl. You may get some stupid car loan. You put an entire vacation on credit cards and end up paying for it until the next vacation. Save for it, pay for it, have fun with it.

IT'S ALL COMIN' DOWN!!!! THIS IS IT; THE BIG CHECK-OUT! NO!!!!!!!

There ... now that it's out of my system, how did you like my Chicken Little impression, bub? It gets under my skin when I read the newsboys' stories about how the market is going ape, and how we're all going down.

Let me clue everybody in. My man Dave Ramsey was on Larry King Live a few nights ago and spelled out what a recession is. So just in case any nose-in-the-air yahoos don't get it, I'll spell it out. A recession is 2 straight quarters of a declining economy. That's 6 months of down time ... and we ain't even had 1 yet.

In fact, I'll do you one better, baby. The market jumped 300 points yesterday, and it's headed even higher as we speak. Still think the economy is taking the plunge? Didn't think so. Now if you don't mind, I'll get back to getting the debt free living word out. Til next time ...

Death ... nature's way of telling you to take it easy. Life ... what you should make the most of before nature tells you to take it easy. In between ... what some 81-year-old bub in Chile got a taste of when he fell asleep. The family thought he had checked out, so they skipped the doc and went straight to the funeral service.

A few hours later, when he was in his coffin, dressed to the nine and laid out like Foreman after a meet with Ali, this guy sat up and stunned the crowd. He was still alive ... and according to the newsboys, only wanted a glass of water before going about his merry way.

Here's a screwy thought, jack. What if he woke up, but pretended to be dead so he could hear what everyone was saying about him? What would it be like to find out the kind of impact you had on the friends and fam?

I'll tell you this, baby ... before I go and expire like month-old milk in the summer, I'm gonna do some things that will get some motors running and people talking. Inspire some joes and jills to not settle for "just getting by", see? Why sell yourself short when you can hit the long ball? Don't.

It's campy, but it works for me. That's my comment on the Razzie Awards ... the awards show that showcases the worst that Hollywood has to offer. I'm a sucker for the Casablancas and Godfathers of the world, but every now and then I like to see what's at the bottom of the Tinseltown barrel. Call it the anti-Oscars.

Here's the funny thing about the Razzies. It may celebrate the worst of the worst, but the list of people who have won or been nominated is almost a Who's Who of Hollywood. Brando, Travolta, J Lo, Cruise, Nicholson ... it's ridiculous, baby.

Your money situation may look like a Razzie Award party waiting to happen. I know ... I've seen worse spots than that, and I've been in them. Here's the funny thing ... at one time or another, everyone's been there. Don't think you're a loser, and don't think you're as hopeless. Start from where you are, and show your dough who's boss. You can do it, so get it done.

Most joes and jills who read this blog have a good head on their shoulders. But I know there are quite a few others who are breaking out the party hats because they think a big tax cut is coming their way from the stiffsuits in DC, see?

According to the newsboys, Bush is breaking out a package to get the economy rolling again. That means a few might get some cash. What I'm worried about is something else ... some people out there think that Washington is gonna solve their problems.

Let me clue you in, baby. If you've got too much debt and you ain't doing anything to fix it, then getting a few hundred bucks from a tax cut won't do jack to help you get out of debt. If you don't change the bad habits that got you into the hole in the first place, you'll be no better off in a few weeks than you are right now.

I'll say it again. Debt free is up to you. Make it happen instead of waiting for it to happen. Get going, bub.

I got a buddy whose dame is about to pop out a little boy in May. Looks like these two are following suit with the rest of the nation. The federal research boys just came out with a report that says the birth rate for the US is the highest it's been in 45 years. That means a whole bunch of little tykes who are gonna get a dose of Dave Ramsey and DEBTective. But the two of us ain't gonna do it by our lonesomes, jack.

If you're a new parent, I got a cigar and a handshake with your name on it. I also have some advice ... teach your kids right from wrong. Don't have 'em turn into spoiled babies, baby. Show them that there's only so much money in this crazy world. When they earn some, make sure they handle it right. Teach your children well.

Can you imagine some jerk collector calling your kid when they are 5 or 6 years old and threatening to put them in jail if they don't pay their credit card bill? Stupider things have happened. The sooner they learn the right way to handle their lives (and their loot), the better. Live on less than you make. Be responsible. Have peace. Simple, simon?

Know something? This crazy world that we live in is an all-right place. Sure, you hear about the bad and the ugly when you watch TV, but what about the good?

That's just what this Oregon cowboy was wanting to find seven months ago, so he hopped on horseback and started a cross-country trek to find some of the stuff that makes the Red, White and Blue the best joint to set up your digs. Bet he's got some great stories to tell.

I wanna do some good while my ticker's still running. That's why I deep-sixed my consumer debt ... so I could be one of the stories that this joe is looking for. I got better things to do with my life than support Citibank or have Chase chasing me. People who are knee-deep in bills are a dime a dozen. People who pinch pennies and save dough are as good as gold.

Remember, though ... don't pay off debt just so you can sit on your keester and stink up the place. Do some good with it. It's the stuff that dreams are made of.

Driving a cheap set of wheels. I do it every day with the Debt-no-bile, baby. Sure, it may be a little dirty on the inside and banged up on the outside, but it's clean of car payments.

Speaking of which, have you seen that cheap new car from India? These boilers can be bought for a cool 2,500 smackers. How wild is that? I heard about one joe who called Dave's show and spent more dough than that on car payments in 3 months! How stupid is that?

The best part about buying a car that cheap? You pay cash for it. It gets you from A to B, and your wallet ain't smaller when you get where you're going.

When you're getting out of debt, who cares what you drive? What good is a car if it's sucking your wallet dry and dropping in value like a federal witness wearing cement shoes at the bottom of the Hudson? Don't play the car payment game, bub. It's bad for business. If your car is costing you big-time, then sell it. Take that extra 500 a month and put it on the debt snowball. You'll deep-six your debt in no time.

We all know about the things that make me sick as a dog, jack. Getting into debt, being irresponsible with the dough, the Green Bay Packers ... you know the drill. But few things steam me like a parent who's a wimp. Jane Hambleton ain't that parent.

The place? Des Moines, Iowa. The deal? She found a bottle of booze in her 19-year-old son's car, so she decided to sell the car as punishment. In the newspaper ad, she even listed herself as the meanest mom on the planet.

Even she admits it might be a little over the top, but she put the foot down. This dame doesn't care if she ain't the most popular mom in the neighborhood. She set the rules. At this rate, if she does the same thing with money, this kid will be the next Warren Buffett.

Follow suit, baby. Be firm ... be a parent. If you ain't got a backbone, you're one step up from a snake.

Tell you what, baby ... there are a lot of shaking heads today. After that 38-24 pasting of Ohio State last night in the BCS championship game by LSU, how could there not be? Just like last year, OSU got off to a fast start, then got popped right in the kisser by a team from the SEC, see? I'll tell you what again; I haven't seen a spread covered that well since I put Smuckers on my peanut butter sandwich.

Don't get me wrong. I'm an Ohio State fan, but that was more than just a loss. LSU ate their lunch, spit it out and asked for seconds.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Make a budget, pay off debt, and do smart with your dough. Til tomorrow, ladies and germs.

The number 20. It's the number of bucks in this 2-year-old kid's piggy bank. Some yahoo (who had 20 brain cells less than that) decides to break in while the little girl sleeps and steal the dough. Good thing her mom was nearby and saw the light in her room turn on. Mommy made a call, and Mr. Breaking and Entering is going upriver for 9.5 years.

This yahoo is scraping the bottom of the barrel for cash. Are you doing the same thing? When you don't have a budget in place, it's almost as pathetic as shaking down a piggy bank for some loose change

Don't get the wrong message, jack. You're doing things honest, but it may not be producing the goods. It might be time to get radical. Sell something. Quit the gym. Get down to beans and rice. Eat some peanut butter to help you out of your jam. Get control of your moolah now and blow 2008 out of the water.

New year ... new energy, baby. I'm back and ready for action. And speaking of action, a lot of joes and jills out there will be taking some ... for the next couple of weeks. They'll get fired up when the ball drops in Times Square and get started on losing that holiday weight or deep-sixing their consumer debt. Then you look up a few weeks later, and those New Year's vows are down for the count.

Too many times, I've met 300 pounders on December 31 who checked in at 310 by the end of January. All too often, I've met a bunch of someones who make that get out of debt vow, only to be deeper in the hole a few weeks later because of Christmas credit card bills.

It's the start of a new year, jack. You're at the beginning, the cusp, the 1 of 1 through 10. Take it one day at a time and make 2008 a year for the ages. It's up to you, so take it seriously. Don't be someone who wimps out when a challenge steers in your direction. Walk one day at a time, be deliberate when you make a budget or buy something, and get control of your dough. DO. IT. NOW.