Name: Ric Edelman

Bio: Author of "The Truth About Money," host of the PBS program of the same name, and chairman and CEO of Edelman Financial Services LLC.

Advice: For a credit card, it would be pay off the balance in full every month.

The interest rate that credit cards charge is very high -- higher than you'd reasonably be expected to earn in an investment. And it can very quickly become a downward spiral as not only the money you don't pay off is charged interest, but interest is charged interest. Many of the people in severe credit card debt find that their balances are due to the interest charges rather than the actual cost of purchases.

Who offered this advice: My parents. I never was taught anything about money in school. Going to college and coming out of college, the only financial information I received was from my Mom and Dad. It was excellent information that has been of great value to me over the years.