The idea of letter to 16-year-old self is thought provoking. What advice to give the younger you if you could reach across the years? For some, it could be a long imploring treatise in an attempt to sidestep embarrassments and pitfalls of a best-forgotten past. Many would embrace common themes of acceptance and courage, scattered with some well-considered words of wisdom. Wisdom most didn’t possess as a naïve adolescent. Wisdom by definition hard earned through mistakes and experiences made and had along the way.  That have fashioned us into the complex and interesting people we are today. 

Jill and I have the opportunity to talk to girls in this impressionable teenage stage, and we often wonder as we walk away whether any of them will take heed of our beseeching messages: Pay attention to your finances. Start now. Take, and keep, control.