The sad thing is many people learn how to manage money after they've made a lot of financial mistakes, some that take decades to fix.

I will just say, no matter where you buy the car, do your homework. When I purchase a car I come in with a folder an inch thick. In fact, one time the auto sales person asked if he could copy my research!

My experience may be different than theirs, readers can identify with trying to save for retirement or their own kid's college fund. In truth, the name of the column, "The Color of Money," has less to do with my race than the fact that the color of money is green and it's green we all need to live a good life.

If we aren't careful, our children will come down with 'affluenza,' a disease that causes them to confuse wants and needs. We need to teach our children what my grandmother taught me: Think twice about spending money you don't have on things you don't need to impress people you don't like anyway.

I knew I had found my life's passion after writing my first column for The Washington Post. The response was like nothing we had seen in the business section. Everyday people were writing that finally someone was speaking to them in a way that was understandable. I think we were all shocked at how many readers wrote in to say that they too had a Big Mama who taught them about money.

My first piece of career advice is find your gifting. Find the thing that you are skilled at and figure out if you can make a living doing it.

We all only have a certain amount of money and that means yes, we have to make choices and sometimes those choices mean we don't get what we want.