It’s a lesson that we all can learn – or at least get a refresher course on. Because saving and paying yourself first may be the most important aspects of smart investing. But even more imperative than that is to have the right roadmap to get you to where you need to be.

The tax rebate of 2008, which is scheduled to begin this week when the first checks go into the mail, is the latest example of American mercantilism in action.