Elizabeth Cox's blog

Health education is required at my children’s schools. Personal, physical, sexual, and even environmental health is all part of the curriculum. But what about financial health? While some high schools offer elective courses in investments and banking, most do not. The assumption is that kids will learn about money along the way and that their parents will guide them.

Most couples can’t bring themselves to talk about money. People find it easier to talk about sex than about finances. Indeed the number one cause for divorce in America is money.

I'm a self-proclaimed optimist and hopeful about the "yes, we can" message emanating from Washington. But I felt as if I'd been kicked in the gut last week when I read a New York Times article by Robert Pear about price gauging in health policies for women.

A time of crisis often brings people together. This was certainly the case right after 9/11. For many of us, the current worldwide economic meltdown has caused our pocketbooks to be our personal ground zero.

More and more these days, young parents approach the responsibility of parenting as a joint venture. Often one parent will reduce her schedule to take care of the children while the other maximizes income for the economic welfare of the family.