This caught my attention --

Teens lack money smarts, which talks about how US teens lack financial literacy.

They apparently have a 30-question test to see how "money savvy" you are and students can only answer an average of 52.4% of the questions correctly. This number has been on the decline since 1997.

Then I followed the other links from the site and it led me to this:
10 Financial Tips for Young People

I'm about to be a mom and I want my son to have a secure and stable future. Johann and I started taking steps towards this right after marriage by placing our money in efficient interest-earning savings funds.

As much as I'd like to say that I am very good with handling money, I sometimes fall victim to splurges and "crazy" spending -- my one luho is shopping and I indulge in this once in a while. These days since I can't shop for myself, I buy stuff for my son -- thank goodness onesies and mittens and booties are cheap!

Our other luho is books -- and it is dangerous for me and Johann to be in a bookstore with a credit card. We try to get a book or two a month, but sometimes, we go over the limit.

* * *

Kiseki wo shinjite --

I don't remember when it was that my sister and I sat down to watch a feature on The Prince of Egypt. I don't even remember if we saw that feature on television or on one of our DVDs.

What I do remember is hearing a snippet of the Japanese dub for Prince of Egypt and the song "When you believe" --

It was an amazing and memorable moment and one that sparked an obsession that was only recently satisfied.

For her birthday, my sister got herself the Special Limited Japanese Edition of Prince of Egypt -- this edition was offered once before many years ago and it sold out before we could get it.

We listened to that section a few days ago and, while we were watching it, I was thinking about how certain things are so universal that, in any language, you will understand it. (Rent in Japanese is another example. ^_^)