A woman came up to author Deborah Pegues at a conference where she was speaking and said, “I lost my home after my husband died because I didn’t realize what a balloon payment was. When it came due, I didn’t have the money.”

Deborah has heard similar stories from more women than she can count. She’s a certified public account with an MBA in business finance and has written more than 20 books. She says the issue isn’t one of gender. It’s a matter of financial and spiritual wisdom.

I had a conversation with her about why money is often a source of confusion, even despair, for so many.

Your Kids’ Best Version

We had just moved. Our 9- and 11-year-old sons, Jon and Tim, were starting over at an already insecure, uncertain age.

No one wants to stand out as the new kid, so we took stock of everything, from clothing styles to school programs. Our uprooted kids had to find new footholds in an altered terrain. To thrive and not just survive, they needed to explore and confidently live out their unique stories.

This is every kid’s challenge, even those who don’t relocate. It’s also every parent’s challenge: How can we guide our children toward the best version of themselves?

Just Mercy (PG-13)

Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law School graduate who defends wrongly accused convicts, looks into the case of a black man on death row who’s convicted of killing a white woman. Yet the case has so many inconsistencies that Bryan wonders whether anyone read the evidence at all.