Karen Cumming

Imagine climbing into a spaceship and leaving Earth forever. That's what Karen Cumming envisioned when she applied to become a citizen astronaut with The Mars One Mission. This Canadian broadcast journalist, writer and teacher made the cut again and again, finally becoming one of an elite group of fellow earthlings: The Mars 100.

Fast forward a few years in space and time, and Karen knows one thing for sure: This big blue marble we live on has a deep dark secret: millions of young earthlings are financially illiterate. Really.

Sadly, school systems around the world teach the middle class how to work for their money instead of how to make their money work for them. They always have and likely always will.

Karen's mission - and yes, she has accepted it - is to teach financial literacy to earthlings young and old, and to change millions of lives in the process.

Want to live long and prosper? Who doesn't?

Get ready to master your basics: The Wealthy Martian 7": Live beneath your means, Pay yourself First, Write down your goals, Build your budget, Get off the debt-go-round, Buy insurance while you're young, and Write a will. Then get ready to master your mind and master a specific investment strategy known as a DRIP or Dividend Reinvestment Plan. In no time, you'll find yourself boldly going where few middle-class humans have gone before.

It's simple. If Karen can become a Wealthy Martian, so can you.

"Houston, we're about to have lift-off." Roger that.