Book Description

As a former mathematics teacher and a master's degree recipient, I have witnessed a decline in basic mathematical abilities and financial literacy over the past twenty years. It is disheartening. To witness the anxieties people struggle with in their everyday lives--especially when due to reliance on credit--prompted me to do something. I decided to write a book to break down even complex financial concepts into understandable terms. Over the years, I have talked with business owners, bank mortgage lenders, sales professionals, finance managers, and college and high school students, along with coworkers, about the many financial topics individuals encounter throughout their lives. To be honest, I was somewhat surprised by the lack of understanding around basic financial concepts like budgeting, compensation and remuneration, insurance, credit, investments, and even taxation. Education has always been an integral part of my life. I believe in the total education of the individual, not just subject-matter expertise. An education that can last throughout a lifetime is complex yet simple, timeless yet timely, and most importantly, it builds a foundation that is needed for ultimate success. This book, Real World Finance: Boost Your Financial Literacy as All Schools Have Failed to Do, builds the financial education that seems to be missing from society today. It details financial concepts necessary to guide the individual through a lifetime of experiences and endeavors. The financial topics include budgets, credit, insurance, investments, retirement, and worker compensation with fringe benefits and taxes, all tailored to an individual's personal financial life. As a former tax associate, I have assisted hundreds with their tax returns. In too many cases, individuals did not know how to fill out, complete, and/or file their required tax return. Some didn't even know what their W-2 was! I have become determined to increase their financial literacy as I did with the thousands of students I taught. Real World Finance: Boost Your Financial Literacy as All Schools Have Failed to Do explains topics using real-world examples from employee compensation and lease versus purchase to loans, insurance, retirement, and the importance of investment to taxation. Employing this method breaks down any intimidation of mathematics (encountered by many of my former students and the general population) while teaching necessary financial concepts and calculations needed for everyday living--purchasing a car, buying insurance, setting up a budget, comparing total compensation from various job opportunities, retirement and investing, filing tax returns, comparing leasing, renting versus ownership, and more. A Walmart employee I recently spoke with told me he had to learn many of these concepts for himself after suffering financial hardship. He wished he would have been introduced to these concepts in school. When I informed him I had taught many of the topics contained in Real World Finance: Boost Your Financial Literacy as All Schools Have Failed to Do to my students, he responded, "I wish I had you as a teacher." I want to help more people like the Walmart employee and others. I sincerely think they will not only benefit from the topics--they will find them interesting and the narrative informative. Thank you in advance for taking the time to look at Real World Finance: Boost Your Financial Literacy as All Schools Have Failed to Do!