You're never too young to start! "Barbara's grandaughter, Kaya, showing you can learn by osmosis!"

I'd love to introduce you to my family.

I'm extremely proud of my three daughters—all Californians. My oldest, Melissa, is a freelance writer and teaches college. She lives in northern California with her wonderful husband, Siig, and my precious grandson, Kaiden. Is he cute or what? I can't get enough of him!

My middle daughter, Julie, the darling blonde, teaches pre-school. She's absolutely passionate about working with young kids, and it shows. They adore her.

My youngest, Anna, is in college. Last I heard she was majoring in Spanish, and possibly sociology. She already speaks fluent Spanish, having lived and traveled extensively in South America.



The two boys you see with me on the left are Trent and Reed, my wonderful grandsons from a former marriage. I love them dearly and don't get to see them as often as I'd like, since they live on the other side of the country.

I'm often asked if my children are good with money, and I have to say—with great pride—yes, they are. Maybe because they saw the consequences of my financial ignorance—I never hid my financial trials from my kids. Or maybe because I nagged them a lot. I constantly railed against the evils of credit card debt and extolled the virtue of regular savings . "If you can't afford it, do NOT buy it," I insisted. Along with: "Make savings a habit." When my two older daughters graduated from college and started supporting themselves, I had them automatically transfer $10 monthly from their checking accounts to their savings. They were amazed how quickly that small amount added up. My youngest is a born saver!

My father, Richard, died in 2004, a sad loss. I miss him terribly. He was one of the most influential people in my life, and I have tremendous respect for all that he accomplished--both in the business world and in his philanthropic work with cancer survivors.

My mother, Annette, (upper left) is doing remarkably well. She's a fabulous woman, youthful, energetic and upbeat. What an inspiring example of a woman who finally took charge later in life. With a little prodding from me these last few years, she forced herself to understand my father's financial situation. She even took an active part in the estate planning before he died, despite her reluctance and fear. Thankfully, everything was so well taken care of, and she had her own set of financial advisors in place, so that when my father died, the transition was seamless.