Americans owe more than $1 trillion in student debt, and without the proper financial knowledge this debt will only increase over time. In order to find a solution to this problem, we must start at the source: high school students.

Generations of parents have taught their kids these golden rules: Wear a seatbelt, don’t smoke, eat your vegetables. But we often forget vital financial lessons: Save money, avoid credit card debt, invest for the future. With high schoolers scoring an average of 69 percent (D+) on the Treasury Department’s 2012 National Financial Capability Challenge survey, it’s clear that families need help starting these critical conversations.

The 2008 financial crisis and the great recession exposed Americans' flawed understanding of personal finance. Now the Obama Administration is making a push for financial literacy, starting with children as young as three years old.

The new debt ceiling compromise comes with $2.1 trillion in cuts over the next decade. With the flailing economy and anemic job market, how will these cuts affect unemployment? When it comes to jobs, are there any sure-fire professions or regions of the country left? Beth Kobliner talks about what segments of the economy we can expect to expand in the new climate and what will suffer. In addition to being the author of "Get a Financial Life," Kobliner is also an appointee to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.  

Last month, New York State passed the Marriage Equality Act and became the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage. And starting this Sunday, July 24, gay partners can marry, with an estimated 66,524 couples expected to wed in New York over the next three years. This historic event will have impact beyond the issue of civil rights: Gay couples will see a variety of financial changes, too. If trickle-down economics is about the impact of economic policy on the individual, then this is the trickle-up economics of gay marriage–how a decision two people make willchange insurance, taxes, businesses, state revenues, and economic policy.

Beginning on July 24, New York will be the sixth and largest state in which same-sex couples can marry. This historic event will have impacts beyond the issue of civil rights — gay couples will see changes in benefits, insurance coverage, and taxes. If trickle-down economics is about the impact of economic policy on the individual, then this segment is about the trickle-up economics of gay marriage — how the decisions that people make, couple by couple, will affect insurance, taxes, businesses, state revenues, and economic policy.

It’s report card season around America, the time of year when thousands of students and parents wait on pins and needles for what they hope will be good grades. But this year, some, if not many parents, may find themselves disappointed. And here’s why: student test scores tend to drop along with a community’s economy – regardless of whether their own parents have lost their jobs.

School's almost out for the summer, which means it's report card time. But, parents, if your kids' grades are lower than usual, don't freak out and don't be disappointed—it could be a side effect of unemployment, even if you have a job.

Surprisingly, a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that in each state, when job loss goes up, test scores go down — for all students, not just for kids whose parents are unemployed.

So, parents, whether you’re employed or unemployed, facing money problems small or big, here’s my advice: Have the money talk with your kids.

Takeaway contributor, Beth Kobliner is concerned about subprime car loans. The loans allow buyers with low credit scores to find a way to pay for their cars, even if this means that they are taking on loans with high interest rates. As a car buyer, says Beth Kobliner, pay attention to your credit score; if you have good credit, be sure to find a loan that is right for you.

The age-old, personal finance rule-of-thumb is that every American household should have about three months salary tucked away in savings in the case of a really rainy day. In the the best of times, Americans are pretty poor savers; so, how feasible is a three-month financial cushion in these troubled economic times? A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research decided to find out. Researchers asked Americans whether or not they would be able to raise $2,000 in cash within thirty days. The results of the poll may surprise you.

Unfortunately, Americans have always been terrible at saving: There have been lots of surveys and statistics that have proven this through the years. But a new survey provides shocking evidence that not only do many people not have any emergency savings on hand, they don’t even have a Plan B – no credit, no family to rely on, no belongings to pawn. They are the “financially fragile.”

The job market has been tough for college grads in the past few years. As we near yet another cycle of transitions, we’re taking a look at the current state of the job market, and checking in with recent graduates about what they’ve been facing. Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner is here. Author of "Get a Financial Life,” she is also an appointee to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.

Unemployment is still at 9 percent, and the papers are filled with stories about out-of-work young people. What’s a brand-new college graduate to make of all this? Luckily, 2011 grads shouldn’t be too discouraged — there’s some good news these days, too.

A lot of parents grapple with how to talk to their kids about a certain sensitive topic. They want to know: Are the kids old enough to understand? Am I too late? And will I explain things right? We refer, of course, to money. Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner has been working with the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability on this very topic. She joins us from Washington DC, where she’s been on duty. Chuck Kalish is also here. A professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he researches and develops financial literacy curriculum for preschoolers.

Many parents grapple with how to talk to their kids about a certain sensitive topic. They want to know: Are the kids old enough to understand? Am I talking about this too late, or too early? Will I explain things clearly, or just confuse them? I'm referring, of course, to the money talk. And I'm a firm believer in the idea that no kid is too young to get it.

It’s the season of college acceptance and rejection letters, and all this week, we’ve been talking about college-related topics.

Today, we’re talking again with Beth Kobliner, Takeaway contributor and appointee to the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. Beth was here on Tuesday to walk us through the ABCs of college loans, financial aid, and debt.

Beth is back today to answer all the listener questions that have come in since her appearance on Tuesday.

High school seniors are glued to their mailboxes this week as they await college acceptance letters. However, after they get in, the question of how to pay for college looms. Personal finance expert and Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner has some advice on how to get the right financial aid and to tell us about some affordable options for a college education.

High school seniors across the country begin to receive their college acceptance letters this month, and many will be breathing a sigh of relief. Getting in is the hard part, right? But the process of paying for college is just as tough for many families – and it shouldn’t be an afterthought.

A recent report examining Federal Reserve data found that African Americans and Hispanics were able to borrow 62 percent less to buy or refinance homes in 2009 than in 2004 (pre-crash). Mortgage dollars going to white borrowers also declined, but only by 17 percent. Other research, including a powerful study of foreclosure rates and segregation by two Princeton scholars, suggests that black and Hispanic potential homeowners face discrimination and difficulty at every stage of the home-buying process. In effect, after decades of being denied loans at all and being neglected by traditional financial institutions, suddenly minorities were sold the worst loans out there. “Obviously it’s impossible to prove an individual institution is prejudiced, but collectively they were,” said the study’s co-author Jacob Rugh. “Communities were left out to dry.”

In the 1980s and 1990s banks avoided lending in minority neighborhoods and Blacks and Latinos were denied mortgages at disproportionately higher rates than equally credit-worthy whites. Redlining and mortgage discrimination was the norm. It seemed those days came to an end in the 2000s, when mortgage lenders began lending eagerly to anyone they could, and instead of being accused of avoiding minority borrowers, faced accusations of predatory lending in minority communities. However, now the tide has turned once again.