Money is almost always an issue for the average American family. They either don’t make enough, spend or borrow too much, and make emotional decisions that most of the time don’t turn out too well for them. No wonder, American Psychological Association says that about 72% of Americans report feeling stressed about money, making it the #1 stressor. In addition, 63% of peoplesaid they couldn’t handle minor financial emergencies (such as a $500 bill), and what’s even worse is Americans’ preparedness for their future. About half of Americans haven’t even started saving for retirement. Money and its dis-education have become a major issue in our country, and its tentacles spread far deeper than money alone, into health, relationships, work & career issues, and more.
Young people are not left out of this either. Many of them are coming out of schools facing a harsh reality that hasn’t been taught in schools. They face the truth that life from now on won’t be as easy as it has been and the fun of school is now turned upside down in a failed reality, one they cannot understand. Their student loans weigh heavily on them while jobs to pay back those loans either don’t pay enough or are jobs that don’t really require the qualifications they have. Total student debt has quickly crossed $1.3 Trillion, and on average the student loan per borrowing student is over $30K, with the class of 2016’s average above $37K. Coming out of school with such heavy debt load has made many to postpone ‘life’. They’re still staying (or coming back) home with their parents, postponing buying a home or even getting married.
Education about money continues to lag. Only 5 statesrequire high school students to take a course on personal finance. Those same states that require a personal finance course (Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and Utah) also scored highest on a financial literacy test in 2015. But about a quarter of states got an F, including California, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts which have no requirement for personal finance studying in high school. In addition, US ranks 14thin global Financial Literacy rankings, after many European countries, Canada, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic. The richest country in the world, with the most sophisticated finance system, but its citizens are far behind in knowledge and financial literacy.
Lastly, in the list of culprits, is the financial industry itself. Most of its products are highly complex, especially in the face of the financial education level we mentioned above. In addition, reasonable regulation and consumer protection are pushed back hard, under the pretense of allowing ‘consumer choices’. But a consumer that is misinformed or doesn’t have the right knowledge cannot choose between very complex choices. Making it even worse, many so known ‘financial advisors’ don’t even have to put client’s interests first, so they push/sell financial products that are in their firm’s interests, usually at a high cost to the unsuspecting consumer. And, it’s all legal.
So, what’s one to do faced with so many impossibilities and unknowns in the ‘money world’? Many just wing it, basing decisions about money from people they know or trust (but these people may not know themselves). Many fall prey of bad choices and financial products pushed at the benefit of the selling firms. Many young people that I’ve talked to, they just freeze and don’t do anything at all.
And that is where I wanted to come in and hopefully, as small as it may be, try to make a difference. StandUP Advisors was created to StandUP and help the little guy, the forgotten person that is struggling to figure it out. We want to push with education first, seminars where we can spread as much knowledge and truth on many aspects of finance, money and investing. My wife and I are traveling around the US in our RV, trying to meet with as many people as possible, visiting colleges, businesses, churches, professional associations, and many more places spreading financial literacy. I’ve been involved in this field in many different positions and angles, getting my MBA in Finance, becoming CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) member and also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) while providing financial advice and planning to many individuals and families for the last 15 years.
Can it be done? Well, we’re not sure and of course, it’s a much bigger fight than just us, but we took a chance. I decided it was worth it to quit my job and do the right thing, travel, meet as many people as possible and spread our accumulated knowledge. We decided to StandUP for the little guy and that is the best decision we’ve ever taken (even though we’re just in our first week of at least a year long trip around the US).
StandUP with us and invite us for an educational seminar to your work, school, church or organization. We believe that doing what’s right and following your heart can be both morally right as well as the path to success and happiness. Hope to see or hear from you soon.