My best friend and his two younger brothers grew up in a single-parent household in West Central Indiana. Their mom worked tirelessly to ensure they had the necessities—food, clothing, a roof over their heads—and even took the occasional vacation. They had no financial support from their dad. Despite their similar upbringing, the three of them have different ideas of success when it comes to personal finance.
As soon as the oldest was able to work, he started working. Right after high school, he took a job at a local factory. He knew sitting in a classroom for the next four years, or even two years, was not for him. He had the mindset that since you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, you should enjoy the finer things in life. He bought designer clothes and drove new vehicles. But after a few years, he wasn’t satisfied and joined the Army National Guard. Through the National Guard, he got to see a different part of the world, defend his country, and make lifelong friends. He has a family, a beautiful home, and a successful business, but he sometimes still spends money instead of saving it. He has a mortgage, a car payment, and some credit card debt.
The middle brother also worked a factory job right after high school and joined the Army National Guard. He too spent money on nicer things, but his mindset was to balance his spending and saving so he could get to retirement sooner. He was content with his job for almost ten years before he focused on increasing his income potential. He found a new job with great bonuses, benefits, and a schedule that works for him and gets him closer to his goal. He has a mortgage, a car payment, but he also has a little extra money to have fun with different types of investments.
The youngest brother graduated from high school and went to a two-year trade school to be a specialized mechanic. He immediately landed a job in his field after school. He wanted to do something he loved and he wanted to get paid for it. However, he soon found out there wasn’t much potential for more income in his career. He married his high school sweetheart and started to grow his family. His mindset shifted to wanting to provide for his family and give his daughter the chance to have more opportunities than he did. He now works a job with a good wage and great benefits. His wife works at a local bank and they are building their financial future together.
While personal finance was modeled the same for all three of them, each brother decided on his own what was important to him. They also didn’t have access to a class or a curriculum that explained the importance of having a personal financial plan. I know that all three of them have made financial mistakes they wish they could take back—mistakes that caused debt, mental and emotional stress, and hardship. All three of them have said, “I wish I would have known…” at one time or another. Every single person will have at least one regret when it comes to managing finances. That simply cannot be avoided. However, with the right information and application of that information, the number of financial regrets can be minimized.
The truth is that there is a lack of financial literacy in young adults coming out of high school and college. According to a study done in April of 2022 by Greenlight Financial Technology, teens score an average of 64% on the National Financial Literacy Test—a passing grade is 70%. (Business Wire, 2022).
To remedy this, there have been attempts to provide personal finance resources for high school teachers. Most of the information comes in an à-la-carte fashion. Educators must go to multiple resources to gather information, organize it themselves, and find activities that support their objectives. There are very few financial literacy programs intentionally designed to be taught in the classroom, meeting state and federal financial literacy standards. That is, if a school district purposely teaches financial literacy at all. What’s great is that thanks to the popularity of short, topical videos on various social media platforms, conversations with their parents, and their observations of the world around them, students today know there is a need for financial literacy, and they want the information.
Well-Built Finances aims to teach high school students why personal finance is important, how the world around them affects their money and helps students begin to “speak” the language of money. This book follows the idea of building personal finances from the ground up starting with financial goals and how we can think about money in general. These goals cannot be achieved without outfitting students with knowledge and asking them to apply that knowledge. Each unit adds a necessary building block to construct a complete and comprehensive perspective on personal finance. What this book does not do is focus on a particular money management method or gimmick—rather, it is rooted in the importance of planning, patience, and perseverance if students want the prize of a secure financial future.
The supplemental workbook contains a variety of activities that reinforce the subject material and allow for discussion and practice of personal finance skills. When used together, the book, workbook, videos, and assessments meet the National Standards for Personal Financial Education curricular requirements. The workbook can be adjusted to meet individual state standards. This symbol in the book <insert 00-WB-Icon(inline)>indicates a workbook activity that corresponds to the content. The workbook and other supporting resources can be found by visiting wellbuiltfinances.com.
The Well-Built Finances curriculum is a catalyst for Dr. Langevin’s program, Optimize4Wealth, in which he focuses on how to create generational wealth. Many of the teachings in this book serve as the foundation for Level 1 of the Optimize4Wealth framework. Optimize4Wealth the guidebook will be released 2024 with the intent to help people who are ready to grow their wealth. An overview of that framework can be found at the end of this book.