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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The FOX21 News Money Coach Bill Stanley picks up good financial advice from the most unusual places. 

"Recently I was sitting in a dental chair getting my teeth cleaned -- not my favorite place," he said. 

That's when his hygienist started talking about someone she'd heard of who had gone through a bankruptcy years before, but was still overspending. This was surprising to her.

"Most people should have asked themselves,'What should I learn from this after the first bankruptcy?' [or] 'What should I learn from this?'" she said.

"That's precisely good advice for everybody," Stanley said. "When you make a wrong financial move, step back and reflect why it happened and what you should do so that it doesn't happen again. Learn from your mistakes; try never to make the same mistake twice. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Once his teeth were clean, Stanley then went to address a group of sixth graders at Russell Middle School as part his volunteer work with Junior Achievement. At the end of the talk, he asked the kids to give some advice for his TV audience.

Here's what they came up with:

       *  Never spend more than you have.

       *  When you go shopping, don't spend more than you have in your pocket.

       *  Don't spend as much as you have - save some.

       -* Set money aside for emergencies.

"If sixth graders can understand about money, why don't adults?" Stanley said. "Hats off to my sixth graders."

But perhaps some of the advice that's stuck the most came from Stanley's mother:

       *  Save for a rainy day. This translates to having an emergency fund to pay for unexpected things that happen. An emergency fund is absolutely necessary for financial success.

       *  Don't put all your eggs in one basket. This means diversify your investments. Don't hold too much of any one thing.

Today, Stanley is always looking for nuggets of information that will make the financial road a little smoother -- even finding inspiration at a railroad crossing sign.

"Stop, Look, and Listen: This means don't rush into financial things and make sure you take the time to think things through," he said. "Always keep your eyes and ears open for good financial advice - - it's everywhere."

Bill Stanley and Money Matters airs every Tuesday on FOX21 Morning News.

If you have a question for Bill, contact him directly:  moneycoachbill@aol.com