That is the saving grace of humor if you fail no one is laughing at you.

I could not tread these perilous paths in safety if I did not keep a saving sense of humor.

The more I live the more I think that humor is the saving sense.

I am not suggesting that all those missionary organizations working in Haiti should pack up and go home but I am urging them to understand that Haiti does not need clever Americans with newly contrived schemes for saving their country.

I get so frustrated when people tell me it's unrealistic to create an eight-month emergency savings fund or have money saved for a home down payment or pay off their $5 000 credit card balance.

Every day families in the United States face the stark choice between a roof over their heads and food on the table. Buying health insurance owning a home and saving up for college are just too far out of their reach.

We can all agree that no American should lose their life savings or their home because of illness or injury and that the rising cost of health care severely burdens individuals families and businesses.

I remember the first pangs of stress arriving at the end of school. Once I graduated I had to get a full-time job worry about health insurance saving money paying rent - things I'd never thought about before.

We designed both our state employee health plans and the one we created for low-income Hoosiers as Health Savings Accounts and now in the tens of thousands these citizens are proving that they are fully capable of making smart consumerist choices about their own health care.

Good health is not something we can buy. However it can be an extremely valuable savings account.