The Class: The Financial Course You Wish You Had In School

By Michael Reisel

Whether you're a recent graduate, or left school decades ago, you likely missed an important component of education — practical, hands-on guidance on managing your day-to-day and long-term financial future. Time to fill that gap.

As a former middle school teacher and current financial advisor, Michael Reisel offers financial clarity on topics ranging from debt to credit scores to retirement. Through accessible analogies and examples, Michael creates an experience that allows you to apply what you learn in The Class to your daily financial challenges.

Michael compares financial problems and solutions to situations you're already familiar with to create a puzzle-piece type memory that you can easily remember and use to benefit your family today and tomorrow. Don't let yourself be intimidated by finances and investments any longer! Start "The Class" today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098314361

Book preview

©2020 All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN: 978-1-09831-435-4

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09831-436-1

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: Debt 4

Chapter 2: Budgeting 14

Chapter 3: Credit 29

Chapter 4: Protection 42

Chapter 5: Saving 71

Chapter 6: Investing 83

Chapter 7: Retirement 98

Chapter 8: Selecting a Financial Advisor 114

Chapter 9: Piecing it Together 121

Conclusion: Graduation 129

About the Author 137

Disclosure

The contents of this book, including any examples, do not in any way constitute an investment recommendation. As such, this book does not contain all the necessary information that a prospective investor may need or want when it comes to evaluating investment strategies or specific individual investments.

The information presented in this book is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as an investment recommendation or solicitation. Also, the information in this book should not be regarded as specific, individualized or personalized investment, tax or legal advice. Individual circumstances and facts. The author makes no guarantees, warranties or undertakings to advise readers regarding investment, legal or tax strategies.

Every individual investor must rely on their own analysis and examination of individual investments or specific investment strategies, including the advantages and disadvantages involved in making an investment decision. Before making an investment decision, prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors and investment advisors to determine the merits of an investment strategy or an individual investment. Any discussion of past performance of an individual investment or investment strategy cannot be relied on as any guarantee of future performance, and no warranty of future performance is implied or intended. Any forward-looking statements are based on the author’s opinion. The author is in no way obligated to update such statements.

Acknowledgements

Writing The Class has been a personal goal of mine for many years. I’m extremely excited and proud to have this goal officially accomplished! This, however, could’ve never become reality without so many others. In life we have two families, the one that we are born into — family by blood — and the one that we create around us — friends that we consider family. I’ve been very fortunate to have so much support from both of my families, so here’s to YOU…MY FAMILY!

I must start by thanking my amazing wife, Mindy. From reading and critiquing early drafts to giving me advice on the cover, including finding my wonderful cover designer, Fabio! You are always there for support, but willing to challenge me when I need to be challenged. This book would’ve never made it out of my brain without your encouragement and confidence in me. Thank you, Mindy, you are the better part of me.

To my children, Hayden & Cole. You know dad is a dreamer, and because of you both, I’ve been able to achieve many of these dreams. You two drive me to continuously strive to be a better person. Your laughter, love and optimism towards life is contagious. Never stop being YOU and never stop DREAMING, that is what makes life magical.

To my parents, bonus parents (in-laws) and siblings. I’ve heard others say, there are very few people in life you can really count on. I have a whole family that I can count on. Now don’t get me wrong, we have our Griswold family moments, but that is what makes us stick together. Whether it’s celebrating together or those few, but very meaningful times, when a hug or beer is needed, you are all there. Thank you, Ken, Dorothy, Roy, Sue, Sharon, Mike, Randy & Loni for being supportive of my dreams.

Joking aside, I am truly blessed with my friends’ families. In order to name everyone, I would have to write a separate book, but know this acknowledgement encompasses all of you. To the select few that did go out of their way to help contribute with the writing of this book, you get your name written in this book! Thank you – Todd Blazei, Chris Dahlke, Julie Groves, Joe Hren, Jim Lindenberg, Fred McGaver, Denise Scherrer and Jim Scherrer. You are all significant in who I am today…thank you.

Last, but not least, are Fabio Bonacquisto and Amy Buttell. Fabio, your ability to take my Pre-Kindergarten cut and paste picture and turn it into the cover design was amazing! I am very fortunate Mindy knew you and was able to make the introduction as now besides the perfect book cover, I’ve been blessed with a new friend. Thank you, Fabio. Amy, as the editor of The Class, you and I know the gauntlet you had to go through to make this book what it is today. Words can’t express my gratitude for what you’ve done to draft, redraft and redraft and redraft and redraft all the changes necessary to make sure this book can have the impact that it is intended to have on the fortunate readers. Thank you, Amy Buttell, as your company, Lake Effect Creative, has gone above and beyond my expectations. I just hope you’re still willing to help with the next book!

Introduction

I wish they would’ve taught us this in school. Guessing you’ve heard that statement or likely even said it a time or two yourself. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to hear anyone say, We had a great class in school that taught us all this financial stuff! I wish I did hear that, but the reality is that course has not been offered as required curriculum…yet. After hearing that statement countless times, I decided it was time to combine my teaching experience with the financial knowledge I’ve built as a financial advisor and finally piece it all together in this book, The Class.

Americans suffer from major gaps in their financial knowledge. Instead of clearing up their confusion, relationships with financial advisors seem to deepen their confusion. This lack of clarity creates discomfort and misunderstandings. In this situation, you may find yourself disagreeing with decisions your advisor makes. After years of confusion and misunderstanding, you may become completely turned off by your advisor and the entire financial advisory industry. That can translate to making financial mistakes. Unfortunately, some financial mistakes are difficult or impossible to recover from, which is why you get 142 million results when you google the terms bankruptcy attorney.

As a teacher, I learned that analogies play a powerful role in memory. In order to recall information when it’s needed, you need to be able to compare it to something you already understand. This creates a puzzle piece type memory that is easily recalled when needed.

The Class is intended to educate you on many financial topics, so to piece it all together, I utilize the analogy of building a financial home. My goal is to ensure that you can visualize your own financial home in your mind, thus gaining the ability to build or construct your own financial plan. Even after reading this book, I recommend consulting with a professional financial advisor to ensure that you fully implement the processes suggested in this book.

You’ll also find as you read this book, there are areas you likely already have knowledge about and areas you don’t. A key aspect is knowing how to combine what you know with the new knowledge to help you have financial clarity with the financial decisions you face now and will confront in the future. You’ll likely relate to some of the common challenges and mistakes that you’ll read about here.

Try not to get upset or frustrated about financial mistakes you’ve made in the past. I’ve acquired much of my knowledge by working through my own mistakes and by helping others fix their financial problems. Keep reminding yourself that the past is the past and that you only can change your current and future financial decisions.

Final item before we begin The Class — understand that while this book will cover many items in detail, there is always more to learn. No area in your finances is separate from another — everything is related. As I discuss later in the book, you can’t separate your debt from your income or your investments from your retirement.

When it comes to your financial affairs, you must continually educate yourself or work with a financial advisor who continuously stays educated on these items to make sure they all flow together for your financial plan. Change is a constant not only with your individual finances, but also when it comes to bigger picture matters that affect you, such as the economy, interest rates and so forth. Just like a liquid can combine well with some liquids, they can also repel each other. Utilize this book as a financial playbook that consistently needs to be updated to improve your financial situation. If you want to get additional support to get started, stay updated on changes or to learn about financial items not covered in this book, please go to www.redwoodfinancialstrategies.com and connect with me there. Now, take a seat on a plane, a beach chair, or in your comfortable space and let The Class begin!

Chapter 1: Debt

When you’ve got debt, talking about it is about as much fun as digging a hole in the ground. However, digging a hole in the ground isn’t always a bad thing. Think of building your dream home. It all begins with a hole being dug into the ground that your amazing home will be built upon! This is a major reason why I use the analogy that your debts are a hole in the ground when constructing your financial house. Debt, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. Just about everyone borrows money at some point to move forward financially.

There is a common saying, You only live once, but the reality is you live every day – You only DIE once! The challenge you must take on is being in CONTROL of your debts and understanding which ones can hurt vs. help your overall financial plan. In this chapter, we will dive into an example of