Janne O'Donnell, tax refund check in hand, rushed up to her son's room hoping to put a smile on his face. Sean Moyer, who had earned a full academic scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas, was in a rut after moving back into his family's home in Norman.

A few years after graduating from high school, Moyer was $13,000 in debt with 12 credit cards. Now, Moyer was realizing even the nearby University of Oklahoma Law School was out of his reach.

"He said, 'Mom, I feel like a failure.' I'll never forget that," O'Donnell said. "At 22, he was calling himself a failure over his debt. He just didn't know how this happened so quick. And he was really smart about other stuff. But when it came to finances, he didn't know."

Moyer started working at the age of 16, and was taught by his parents the importance of saving.