Learning about money doesn’t have to feel like homework
As a CPA and personal financial expert for over 25 years, I often read documents that my friends and family find somewhat dry, complicated and distressing.
One example of this is a recent report from the Investment Innovation and the Global Future of Retirement conference. Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education was a speaker and he told a room full of financial experts that he needed their help to spread financial literacy to all Americans.
“The lack of preparation for retirement, the lack of savings, particularly among the black and Latino populations, is devastating,” Duncan said. He added that the United States has a “long, long way to go” to catch up to the financial education that is being taught to people of high-school age in other countries.
Speaking on behalf of his own federal agency, Duncan concluded, “We can’t do this alone.” I agree, and in my own way, I’m trying to help. That’s why this website you’re reading now exists.
What Debt.com can teach you
I’ve spent my career counseling thousands of people about their finances. I’ve launched and operated a half-dozen companies that have counseled hundreds of thousands more.
What I’ve learned along the way are lessons that are both depressing and encouraging. The lack of financial education for students, which Duncan spoke so eloquently about last week, means we have generations of otherwise intelligent adults who can master their jobs, but cannot marshal their money. They don’t grasp the basics of APR or how to calculate their debt-to-income ratio.
The good news, however, is that many Americans I talk to want to learn. The question is: Where can they go?
While the Internet is full of helpful information, it’s seldom all in one place. You also can’t be sure the information is accurate and up to date. Even worse, websites that offer lessons rarely offer solutions. Meanwhile, websites that advertise a single business don’t, by definition, present you with all your options.
Debt.com will.
We’re offering not only the most in-depth answers to all your financial questions, we’ll partner you with the best companies in the business who can help you consolidate your credit card debt and student loans, resolve your tax issues with the IRS, and even navigate bankruptcy.
We’re still new, so we’re not yet offering all the exciting educational tools but that’s right around the corner. I hope you’ll stick around and watch us grow – and grow with us.
Howard Dvorkin, CPA is the Chairman of Debt.com and the author of two personal finance books, Credit Hell: How to Dig Yourself Out of Debt and Power Up: Taking Charge of Your Financial Destiny.