To answer BA's question:

I don't think I ever had a "turning point."
I was always frugal and always very stingy with my money.I never had debt, but I never really had much income either.

I think I got very serious about money when I inherited a lot of it. Up to that point I had been dealing with small-ish amounts of savings. $1000-1500 in the savings account at any given time. I was trying to save money for a house down payment but was only able to contribute about $50.00 a month!

A year after I had decided to start saving money for a house- I inherited my parents money. Suddenly I was dealing with numbers I had never seen before, and the money was split into accounts like 401K's, real estate, stocks, bonds and I didn't know anything about them. I realized that if I didn't learn and learn quick- it would be gone before I ever knew what I had.

I didn't ever think I would spend it till it was gone- I was never a crazy spender. Really I was afraid of mismanaging it until it was gone. I pictured how easily money is 'lost' in losing stocks, and how it ends up in other peoples pockets when it is not managed by ethical people. In addition I was afraid of not getting the money's 'potential' out of it, and missing out on a lot as a result. I was afraid of hitting retirement age, being broke and learning from someone else that my initial amount (by then gone) had the potential to double, triple or more in the previous 30 years if only I had properly maintained the money.

Basically, this money was the legacy of my parents, and all their hard work. It was really the only "living" thing I had left of them. (I know money is not alive-but the way it grows, lasts, makes you happy, gives you security, needs monitoring- sometimes it seems like a third member of our household.)

So it was those fears that drove me to a panicked attempt to learn everything there was to know about money, and money management.

Since then, 2.5 years ago-I have learned a lot but not enough. I have slowed down and gotten almost lazy with my money education. I still have about 65% of what I inherited (the stock market and real estate crash took a big chunk), and I have reached a level of peace where I am comfortable with the financial decisions I have made, I am comfortable with where the money sits, and I am comfortable looking into the future.