When you take a good, hard look at who (or what) is controlling your biggest investments, you may just find it's not you. In some cases, it may be that no one is getting the job done and, in other instances, you may find that outside forces are in control: your employer or the government. Who is contributing and managing your retirement account? Who is handling your mortgage? Veteran financial journalists Ali Velshi and Christine Romans tackle every money issue today, from homes and debt to education and employment, and along the way they place the ownership back in our own hands, empowering the reader with prescriptive, how-to information to come up on top. In the education chapter, the authors argue that the appropriate amount of student debt to amass should be equivalent to what you would earn in the first year working in your chosen field. If it's above that projected earning level, you should seriously re-consider either going to school or your selected career path. In the housing chapters, the authors make the case that now is the time to buy (and no one is telling you this!) because of record low mortgage rates and stellar home prices.