We are closing in on the end of 2008, and though there is still time for us to gather our thoughts and set up our personal goals for the coming new year, it would serve us well to remember some of the promises we, as a global civilization, have made in the past -- specifically the promise to end poverty. As women, it is particularly important for us to be aware of the fact that women comprise nearly 70% of the world's 1.3 billion poor people. We must address this tragic inequity, because as we've repeatedly learned, a woman's economic security and independence is the best way to ensure the health and welfare of her children, as well as the family and community within which she lives.

The Millennium Promise is one that benefits us all, no matter our current personal circumstances, because it helps equalize the playing field. The Millennium Promise aims to achieve the following eight globally endorsed objectives that address the many aspects of poverty:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

2. Achieve universal primary education.

3. Promote gender equality and empower women.

4. Reduce child mortality.

5. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability.

8. Develop a global partnership for development.

Many notable individuals have used their fame and influence to raise public awareness of the extent of global poverty, including singer John Legend. Organizations such as Unicef, and Women Without Borders are making important strides in this area. But all of us can make this issue a priority, and make a personal determination to be part of the solution. With very simple interventions, we can wipe out global poverty in 20 years.  Make The Millennium Promise a done deal. 

I know this is an emotionally charged subject, but nevertheless, a discussion about your personal finances it is a vitally important one to have. Are you financially independent? I know - I can hear you laughing. But this is serious -- can you pay your bills this month? Have you set up your retirement plan?

Some women think that someone else in their lives will take care of their financial needs as they age, but clearly, that's not always the case. Women need to be personally responsible in the creation of their financial arrangements. If you don't have a retirement plan in place, there is no time like the present to get one started. Remember..as wonderful as they can be, a man is not a plan! Whether you're married or single, whether you're a stay-at-home mom, or if you work multiple jobs, planning for a comfortable retirement is a vital activity that begs your attention.

Don't know what to do? Here are some pointers to get you started.

1. Start a savings account, and save as much per month as you can.

2. Open an IRA or 401(k). If your employer doesn't have a 401 (k) program, lobby them to change their policies.

3. Seek the advice of a financial advisor.

4. Create an investment strategy that works for you. One example, is Freed Funds - a fund that can simplify your retirements investments.

Check out Women's Finance for more suggestions, and get started on your retirement plan now.

My 82-year-old mom just went through one of the most difficult experiences of her life; surgery for lung cancer. I will say at the outset that she is amazingly resilient for all her apparent frailties, and has bounced back. In just a little over two weeks, she is chipper, happy, pain and cancer free, and has regained her twinkling smile.

While I noted that this was a most difficult experience for my mom -- she stated earth-moving, mind-altering experience for me. I over and over again that "I didn't think I was going to make it," it was also an had to see my mother in great pain. I had to watch her cry, and see her put through really tough treatments. I felt helpless, horrified, and angry at the unfairness of it all. Why the pain? Why did she need to suffer so much of it?

Obviously, fairness has nothing to do with cancer. Sobering statistics suggest that one in three of us will be affected by cancer at some point in our lives. My mom got lung cancer -- ironically she has never touched a cigarette in her life. She doesn't drink alcohol or coffee either. Go figure.

Though the first few days were admittedly torturous for her, she is one of the lucky ones. The surgery was successful. This time, cancer didn't win. But like most of you, I have family members and dear friends who fought the battle of cancer, and lost. It's not a disease we can take lightly. Finding a cure is something we should all be very committed to - and I will do my part.

But today, I am counting my blessings, living in this moment, and enjoying my mom's smile.

Discovering how to express yourself can have be a life-long learning curve. How are you doing so far? How are you expressing your self-worth? Are you going after your goals? How would you make your life better? Do you go along with everyone else's plans, or can you muster up the gumption to chart your own course? 

Use the following guide as an exercise to help you frame your goals, and start expressing your self today. Make a commitment to yourself.

Each day I will:

• Be grateful for what I have, and show kindness to others.
• Do something that makes me feel good.
• Express myself, and share what I know.

Every week I will:

• Take myself on a special outing.
• Get sufficient exercise, indoors and out.
• Do something fun with my husband/partner, and my children.

Every month I will:

• Go over my finances, and set priorities.
• Give of my time, talent or treasure to a charitable organization.
• Stretch my mind by learning something new.

Every year I will:

• Be proud of the person I am.
• Save money in a retirement fund.
• Evaluate my vocation choice and set goals for the future.

Every minute I will appreciate myself for who I am. 

Are your children learning life skills at school? If not, time to wise up and integrate those lessons into your home life, because many kids are graduating from high school without a clue about how to function out there in the real world. And without going way out on a political limb, life skills include recognizing our sexuality. Our kids need to understand the consequences of engaging in unprotected sex, and have a sense of the responsibilities that come with an unwanted, unanticipated, and untimely pregnancy. Is abstinence a life skill? if it is, it isn't being taught very well, or perhaps not learned very well, or perhaps simply not a universally viable option. 

I personally think our kids need to see the full picture - they need to be taught all the angles, every option. And then perhaps they'll grasp why personal responsibility is so important.

When you were growing up, you probably had chores to do, and perhaps this was a way to earn an allowance. My allowance was pitiful compared to what many kids today are given, including my own kids -- but the idea of an allowance is a good one, especially if it's being given as a reward for accomplished duties. 

Children need to learn about finances at an early age. We're about to hand them the biggest debt ever passed along to our future, so it's high time they were given a heads up.

Since my folks didn't have extra cash to throw around, my allowance was what I used to buy special items that didn't fall under the need-to-have category. As soon as I was old enough, I started babysitting. I couldn't wait to start my own savings and checking account. In fact, I learned how to go to the bank, to deposit cash, and to open and balance a checking account before my own mom did. Amazing.

I was of the generation that had obligatory home economics and shop classes. I took typing and shorthand classes as well. We were taught that work skills and life skills were not only important, they were crucial to our ability to "make a living." It was assumed we'd need to know how to cook for ourselves, and to sew a seam to repair a piece of clothing. Kids don't learn these skills now, unless you teach them at home. Too many kids go off to college without a clue about how to buy enough food to prepare a meal for two people.

Teach your kids these basics. As soon as they're old enough to understand, show them how to make a deposit in a savings account, and give them access to their savings account booklet so they can see how it grows. When your kids are old enough to have their first job, teach them how to open a checking account - show them how to write a check, how to keep track of their account balance. You'd be amazed how many kids leave high school without this knowledge. 

And most important - explain to them what a "credit card" is. Teach them about "debt." College-bound kids are easy prey to credit card companies. Make sure your kids understand that when they spend someone else's money, they need to pay it back - with interest. It's an important concept.

Teach your kids how to do their own laundry; how much soap to put in the washer, how to separate the colors and jeans from the whites. Teach them how to buy groceries, how to prepare a meal for one or two people, and how to preserve their left-over's. Teach them how to clean up after themselves - to have pride in their surroundings, and respect for the things they've been given. Encourage your kids to learn marketable skills. They may need to work to put themselves through college, and even if they don't need to, they should. 

They should certainly earn money for the extra things they desire. Because when they do these things for themselves, they become empowered as individuals. They earn self-respect, which is one of the most important benefits they can gain.

And finally, give your kids the benefit of your experience. Teach them the valuable life skills you worked hard to attain. As is painfully obvious from the current state of affairs, more than ever before, they'll need them.

My kids are starting to get a little nervous when we discuss politics. In fact, they prefer we don't.  It's not that they don't care - they do. Three of our four kids can vote, and the fourth knows whom she would vote for if she could. They all have opinions, and know, in general strokes, what's going on. But lately, the stress generated by political discussions, and the discomfort that is caused by watching the sarcasm and mockery delivered by aggressive news coverage of political discussions, is becoming palpable.

My husband and I used to be united in our beliefs, and pretty consistent in our approval or disapproval of candidates. Our monetary support of the political system has mostly swung to the middle - okay sometimes toward the left, and has, with a few notable exceptions, been staunchly democrat. But things have shifted. The clarity we once felt has been replaced by a confusing fog of guesswork, hope, and what if's. The dinner table can be a battlefield of overlapping and opposing beliefs. There are plenty of emotional debates that end up feeling a little too much like arguments. Thank God we love each other, and have never let these "discussions" escalate into bad feelings between us.  But still - it's strange.

And our household is not alone. I've heard of friends throwing tantrums.  Intelligent individuals, who can normally make it through a dinner party with all their manners intact, are getting into screaming matches, throwing down their napkins, and leaving the table.  Not admirable behavior obviously, but perhaps under the circumstances understandable, and maybe even inevitable. This election is important to us all; everything is at stake, and there are no perfect answers.

I am an idealist. I dream that people can all come around the campfire. And even if they can't sing Kumbaya, at least they can find a way to communicate.  But then, I woke up.  Clearly such a utopia doesn't exist. There are murderers in the world that hate us so much that they'd blow themselves up just to take some of us down with them. It's a mindset that is so incomprehensible to me that I can barely wrap my mind around it. Yet, this hatred started with a difference in opinion; a polar opposite way of thinking, and the refusal to respect or acknowledge the coexistence of a difference in beliefs.

When opinions clash, when individuals don't agree - and in fact take polar opposite stances, it's hard to find a calm, respectful, peaceful place, and it is unnerving.  I know our kids feel it - and I'm not talking about family debates. I'm talking about the bigger picture. I mean, if we can't find the middle ground and get along here in our own country, how can we expect to export our brand of government, our concept of peace - our virtuous vision to the world at large?  How can we be taken seriously out there if we're so divisive in here?

I'm not going to get into any more debates. The truth is, I don't have all the information I need to unequivocally make my case.  I need to hear more nitty-gritty details, straight answers, and presidential thoughtfulness. I want to know how our candidates will ensure that our unique and special nation will continue to be strong and able to defend herself and her allies.  How exactly.  Since much of our strength comes from leadership and diplomacy, I want to get a feeling in my gut that the next president is going to be capable of mending botched friendships, and forging new ones.  I want to feel confident that our president (and our congress) will be clever enough and bold enough to take an unwavering, mighty stance against braggart nations that would seek our destruction or the destruction of our allies? And then I'd like to know how that stance would manifest itself, because throwing our weight around like a top dog isn't working.

I'm worried sick that our government, as big and unwieldy as it is, has lost its way in terms of marshalling efforts for the greater good of all our citizens.  In fact, the Republican message lately has been that Washington is broken.  Perhaps it is. But the way this message is being delivered implies that the current Republican candidates have nothing to do with this. Hello, get real. Are you forgetting the last eight years? You all have a part in this.  We all have a part in this.

It's true that our government has wasted a lot of money. How many times have we read about the millions of dollars wasted by bureaucratic inefficiency?  What about the millions apparently lost in Iraq and the fact that it took so long for our soldiers to get the proper armaments and protection?

We need to take a harder look at how our national bank account is being managed.  And that management will depend on the ideology of our leaders.  Take for example, the $1.5 billion the U.S. has spent in the last ten years on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Mounting evidence has proven again and again that these programs don't work; yet the money keeps pouring into them.  Come on.

And here's another twist. Though there are certainly programs that should be scrapped, there are other costs that should be covered.  How, for example, will our next president impact the funding for crime investigations? Will cities and states charge victims for investigatory work? What about rape kits and forensic examinations for rape and assault? Should these items be billed to insurance companies? To the victims themselves? Please. This is ridiculous.

No matter who wins the prized position, I hope Governor Sarah Palin will apologize for her aggressive mockery of Senator Obama for his participation in community activism and reform, because all of us who do volunteer work, and who give back to and advocate for our communities think it is important, valid work.  The good news is that both Senator Obama and Senator McCain encourage civil service, community service and volunteerism as one of the ways to get our country back on track.

But that said, how would our next president deal with the serious issue of healthcare, and disease prevention? Individual donors and private philanthropy alone can't fix the problem.  Cancer kills 565,000 Americans a year - more than any war.  Estimates show that cancer costs the U.S. economy $200 billion a year in lost productivity. Will our new administration encourage NIH to fund more cancer research? Will we have an administration that understands the value, validity and necessity of stem-cell research, or will we be thwarted by ideological differences that hold us back, or worse, take us back?

See? I said I have a lot of questions. Now I'm waiting to hear the answers.

As they say, time flies when you're having fun.  But before you can say PB & J, it'll be time to get the kids geared up and ready for school again.  Part of that readiness should include mental and physical checkups. Oops, did I say mental? Yep, I did.

Mental Health is just as important as physical health, yet mental health disorders are often the last ones we think of addressing. Time to reorder our thinking. There was a 400 percent increase in bipolar disorder diagnoses in children in the past decade. What's up with that?

There's trouble brewing with our kids, and we need to take preventive actions -- the cost is too dear. Between lost workdays and lost taxes, Medicaid, and juvenile-court costs, psychiatric and learning disorders cost society billions of dollars a year.  It is estimated that the US loses 113 billion dollars a year because of untreated and mistreated mental illness. But trust me - mental health issues can't truly be measured in monetary terms alone.  The more significant cost is loss of happiness, joy, potential, and ultimately, human life. The suicide rate for teenaged girls increased by 76 percent in the past year alone.

We need to begin checking for mental disorders when our kids are young - not only for the obvious reason that children afflicted with mental illnesses should get help as soon as possible, but because studies show that 75 percent of all adult psychiatric disorders start during childhood and adolescence.  Based on health statistics, 20 percent of children and teens in the US have a psychiatric disorder, and 50% of kids with ADHD are never diagnosed.

Tune into your kids and take note of their mental health.  Are they anxious? Sad and lethargic? Have a hard time concentrating? Do they restrain their eating? Consider the following: anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health problem, affecting 13 percent of 9- to 17-year-olds. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects 5 to 10 percent of children. Clinical depression affects one in eight adolescents.  Approximately 20 percent of all kids have a learning disorder.  Studies show that approximately 3 percent of teenage girls have an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating.

These are sobering statistics that can have a serious impact on you, and your family. Get help if you need it. Find out what mental illnesses are. 

Check out these sites: National Institute of Mental,  

Health Mental Health, 

Mental Help

As parents, it falls to us to advocate for more mental-health programs, and make sure mental health services are available to all who need them. Especially our kids.