The number one myth about money regards the nature of money itself. A commonly held belief is that money is basically the same in this day and age as it was say, 50 years ago and that the same financial practices of earning, spending, saving and investing, can produce the same results today. Reality, however, tells us something different.

When the economic landscapes of these two time periods of the 1950's and the first decade of the 2000's are compared, the differences are extreme. For example, it becomes more the exception than the rule with each passing day for a family to have only one breadwinner, a home-based parent, one car, savings, company health insurance, company pensions, no debt besides a mortgage, time to relax, regular vacations and lower stress levels. Yet this was true for millions of families in the 1950's. Needless to say, the baseline for the average individual and family has changed radically in only half a century.

There's a saying that goes, "You can't get there from here.” If it were only common inflation affecting these radical lifestyle differences then wouldn't it make sense that exponentially increased incomes of this century could provide a similar quality of life? One would think so. According to The Wall Street Journal, Americans spent 39 billion dollars more than they earned in 2005. That fact alone speaks volumes about the unique character of the times we live in.

As a result, unlike for previous generations, it now takes something more for the average person to achieve financial security. Individuals and families cannot expect that by duplicating conventional wisdom's tried and true personal finance strategies, they will also be able to duplicate the promised results. Why? The rules of the (money) game have changed.

The new rules of the (money) game tackle the number one myth of money's immutable sameness and lay the foundation for what it takes today to create a similar quality of life as previous times.

They are:

1. Redefine wealth to its full definition. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, personal and spiritual well-being come before material

2. Increase your education about how money works to identify the risk factors and personal implications built into the global monetary system itself.

3. Recognize that conventional financial wisdom about how to spend, earn, save and invest overlooks such risks and implications.

4. Change the way you think about money due to the fact that all money in the world is loaned into existence with interest due, making it a time-sensitive, not static commodity.

5. Update your personal finance strategies to reflect money's time sensitivity (depreciation) and to advance the prospect of establishing genuine financial security. Updated strategies work to optimize wealth building while reducing risk factors (including those that are systemic).

6. Gain insight into the fact that without strategy innovations, the need for the average person and family to access credit will grow and become essential just to make ends meet. The trend is for the cost of living to continue to exceed income. No one (except those in the top 25% income bracket) is immune: We are all in the same boat.

7. Reject habits of accumulation in favor of learning how to live within your means without adding more debt.

8. Release isolation. Though you may feel alone, most people are going through similar but different financial challenges, also. Grassroots exchange and support can provide a driving force for creative, non-debt producing, wealth-building solutions.