Adjusted for inflation, somebody going to college today to a state university, is paying about 300 percent of what her mom or dad did just 30 years ago.

I don't want to overstate the gender difference. But women are more sensitized to the way that larger issues affect their pocketbooks, like pay equality or cost of living changes.

Once kids get older, the list is longer. So here goes: Stay out of debt. Sometimes debt is necessary, to buy a home or to get an education, but not to buy a sweater or to eat out.

Get your money in balance. One rule of thumb is 50/30/20. Spend about 50% of your money on must-haves - things like rent, car payments - and about 30% on wants, while 20% should go toward savings and paying down debt.

We have to rethink how to teach financial education in the 21st century.

Accountability for the largest financial institutions on Wall Street is the bedrock for a strong economy. Hard-working families and honest businesses cannot survive in a world where the rules don’t keep the marketplace honest.

I once had half a cup [of coffee], twenty years ago, and I'm still working it off.