The 5 Must-Follow Principles for Personal Finance

I still remember when my grandmother sat me down, when I was just out of college, and she explained the exact principles of personal finance to me (you'll see them in the TED video).

And I remember my father telling me around the same time... to never, ever carry credit card debt. "Pay it off every single time," he said, "and if you aren't going to be able to pay it off, don't buy."

Wow.

Who knew how important those two conversations would become? And who knew that about 61% of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, because they never get this education, not from their families, not from school?

Alexa von Tobel is hoping that the principles of personal finance will go viral. That's definitely an idea worth spreading.