Launching Financial Grownups. Bobbi Rebell

Foreword

      I will never forget my first television interview with the incredible Bobbi Rebell at Reuters in 2016. We were new friends, having met a few weeks earlier when she moderated a panel I was on at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. We chatted afterwards, and I remember meeting her husband, Neil, who had come to the event to support her. We all bonded over our mutual interest in making money less intimidating.

      Bobbi, who was a global business news anchor at Thomson Reuters at the time, asked if I would do an interview with her about my latest project. After 15 years, I had updated my #1 New York Times bestselling book The Automatic Millionaire, and Bobbi wanted to amplify the critical messages this little book has taught millions. Over our talk together I highlighted the simple, yet life-changing power of paying yourself first, saving money automatically, and the importance of buying a home. Once again, we found ourselves very much in agreement as I explained my belief that there are really two primary escalators to building wealth in America – investing in stocks and in real estate – and the sooner you start investing, the easier everything in life is. Bobbi had bought her first home at age 23 and had been investing since she was a teen. But her dad worked on Wall Street, and she had a very proactive grandfather who pushed her to learn about investing at a young age. She knew she was more the exception than the rule. She also realized she had learned about investing from family, not from school.

And so Bobbi asked me, “why don't they teach this stuff in school?” I told her that was a great question. The Automatic Millionaire has sold over 1.5 million copies and truth be told, it shouldn't have been needed. Everything that I share in this book should have been taught in school before we reached tenth grade. The interview inevitably turned to a problem that Bobbi and I are both concerned about: The single biggest mistake we as adults make is that we don't teach our kids specific, adult, everyday and long-term money skills. Our kids become grownups and often make financial mistakes right out of the gate that can set them back for decades, often for life. Life would be easier for everyone, I said, if our schools had a mandatory financial education class that you had to pass to graduate.

      After the interview, Bobbi asked me to do another interview for her syndicated personal finance column and we continued this conversation. “David,” she said, “your next book should be a book about kids and money. You should write a book parents can use to teach their almost-adult children real-world money life skills because the schools aren't getting it done.” I laughed, having just updated three books in a year. I was also working on finishing my thirteenth book, The Latte Factor.

      I said, “I'm never going to write another financial book. You, my friend, should write this book!”

      “Maybe I will,” she said.

      And then, fortunately for us all, Bobbi did.

      The book you now hold in your hands, Launching Financial Grownups, is truly sensational and critically important if you are a parent or grandparent, or you simply have a young person in your life you care deeply about and want to help be smarter with their money. I am very grateful Bobbi wrote this book because my family is going to use it!

      What I love about this book is that Launching Financial Grownups is not only about generational wealth education, but also about relationships and communication. There are fantastic books out there focused on teaching little kids basic money skills. But Bobbi is speaking to parents, grandparents, and others in older generations about young adults, ages 16 to 26. Those years are critical. We may always see our children as our precious babies, but the truth is we need to learn how to let them be their own financial grownups when they are ready. And it is our job to get them ready.

The book presents a curriculum tied to adulting milestones for which all of us need to be prepared. We owe it to our kids to get them ready for both the opportunities and the challenges that will come their way. Candidly, this book was a wake-up call for me and my family. I have two boys, ages 18 and 12. My oldest will head to college soon, and reading this book is a reminder that I have much work to do to really prepare him for the financial journey he's about to encounter, both in college and out in the “real world.” I am grateful for the roadmap in this wonderfully written book. The stories and interviews Bobbi did with leading parenting and money experts, as well as psychologists and therapists, make this enjoyable, relatable, and actionable. I know it can help you educate and protect your family and give you the skills to empower the next generation.

      Let's be honest. It's not easy to launch a financial grownup, and yet the benefits will be well worth the effort. This book will show you and your kids and loved ones the way. I believe if we provided our children with mandatory financial education in school, much of the financial struggles we see could be fixed. I also have come to accept that in our lifetime, financial education in school will not happen on a national level that is test-based and a part of the core curriculum.

      That's where this book comes in. We are the ultimate stakeholders in our young adults' financial success. And no one is exempt. Even the kids of wealthy parents can burn through an inheritance pretty fast without the right education and guardrails. Many of us have nurtured our kids through childhood, praising every accomplishment and trying to make their lives easier because we love them more than anything. But we often don't stop and purposefully think about the life skills they will need to launch as their own independent financial grownups. Letting go is hard. But that's part of the deal when you become a parent. Don't worry – it's not too late! But the time is now.

      Bobbi has provided us all with a fabulous guide to Launching Financial Grownups. I welcome you to this journey and I salute your efforts. You are about to do important work.

      To your richest life.

      David Bach

      10-time New York Times bestselling author, including The Automatic Millionaire®; Smart Women Finish Rich®; Start Late, Finish Rich®; and The Latte Factor®