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“Mr. Beaver, I am terrified that our four grandsons, all in their late teens and early 20s, are so out of touch with economic reality that the time bomb of financial irresponsibility they’ve built will explode when they go out on their own and wind up flat broke.
“I am 80 and remember like it was yesterday that in high school, we all took a class called On Your Own that taught financial and independent-living skills. This included lessons about budgeting, renting an apartment, co-signing and getting loans, banking, using credit cards, food preparation and so much more. It was part of the Home Economics Department. But schools have dropped all those valuable, real-world tools.
“As our grandkids are clueless about so much that people of my generation learned in high school, the past couple of years, we have given them some of the more popular books on money management, but they tell us, ‘These make us feel talked down to,’ so they never finish reading a single one.
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“Do you know of something out there on personal finance that is practical, doesn’t talk at or down, but to readers and isn’t boring? Thanks, ‘Barbara.'”
An antidote to a monumental educational failure
Barbara is right. Those classes vanished in the 1970s and ’80s when “everyone should go to college” became the flawed mantra. Educators failed to visualize the consequences of losing these practical classes, but fortunately, many states today are bringing those very subjects back to high school.
Remember the “new math” disaster that no one could understand? (I’ll stop before I make myself angrier.)
Yes, indeed, there is a new — and great — read, filled with real-life examples that are so accessible and relevant, regardless of your age and especially for teenagers, young adults and their parents.
That book is Wealth Your Way: A Simple Path to Financial Freedom by Cosmo DeStefano, a financial strategist and retired CPA and also a fellow contributor to Kiplinger.com’s Adviser Intel.
Wealth Your Way is a pure joy to read. The author makes it seem as if the reader is sitting across the table from him for a chat over a cup of coffee. That’s how I felt during our interview, even though it was on the phone.
The central idea of DeStefano’s book is that financial freedom is achievable through simple, consistent habits — not high income alone. Building wealth and staying out of financial trouble result when we maintain these habits — these behaviors — instead of chasing after get-rich schemes.
Financial freedom — a vastly improved quality of life at home — comes from discipline and long-term thinking.
Encourages conversation, not conflict
A real challenge that many parents and spouses often face is how to start a conversation about money. “Financial discussions are often seen as criticism, even when no one has done anything wrong — it is such a sensitive area,” DeStefano said during our interview.
To get the ball rolling, Wealth Your Way contributes a helpful voice that explains how to build a foundation of sound financial behavior.
For this column that I have written for many years, I’ve read more personal financial advice books than you can imagine that bark orders and make readers feel like they’ve missed the boat.
Instead, DeStefano understands these fears and doesn’t go there. He respects our intelligence while gently challenging common assumptions, such as “I’ll start investing once things settle down here politically.”
“The reality,” he noted, “is that things never settle down, and waiting for certainty is often the most expensive decision of all, as delaying action shrinks the impact of compounding.”
This is a valid, commonsense answer to a strongly held belief that gives readers something solid to consider, matching his emphasis on practicality and long-term thinking rather than one-size-fits-all rules that don’t actually fit all.
Written for everyone and timely
Wealth Your Way really is a standout book and is so accessible, in large part, because DeStefano avoids using technical financial jargon that plagues many other authors. He does not require readers to follow a rigid structure that may clash with how they live.
A great storyteller, he also illustrates how his recommendations work in the real world.
Wealth Your Way is especially timely as more and more employees who have little, if any, investment knowledge must provide for their own retirements. It is sad that nothing like it existed in 1981 when the rug was pulled out from workers who had been promised retirement pensions but then were forced to transition to 401(k)s.
The move hung an albatross around the necks of American workers, shifting the burden of safeguarding their retirement to their shoulders while employers saved big money by no longer having to fund pensions.
Traditional pensions are proven to prevent poverty. According to a 2023 UC Berkeley Labor Center report, retirees with pension income are significantly more likely to live above 200% of the federal poverty level compared to those without.
Economists and sociologists agree that the decline of traditional defined-benefit pensions has greatly contributed to increased poverty as workers transition to self-managed retirement accounts. And to self-manage these accounts requires the how-to provided in Wealth Your Way.
DeStefano’s book, especially if it’s read at a fairly early age (and, of course, if his advice is followed), could have a lasting, positive impact on many lives.
Think of Wealth Your Way as a partial substitute for that On Your Own high school class you would have taken before those classes were discontinued, or consider passing it on to a family member if you suspect they lack solid financial literacy.
Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to [email protected]. And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com.