Book Review: Future Focused Wealth by Melissa Cox

My grandfather once said to me, "Don't work for your money, let your money work for you." It became advice that has stayed with me ever since. We won't always be physically able to work, and at some point in our lives we will need to downshift physical efforts. Take it from someone who loaded trucks in the middle of the night, physical labor will catch up to you.

"Your future self is out there, waving at you frantically from 20 to 30 years down the road, hoping you don’t forget about them." - "Future Focused Wealth"

Younger people should start saving their money as soon as they can. There are plenty of options out there and the electronic advantages we have today make it easier to get started on that road. As tempting as it is to buy a nice handbag, new shoes, or upgrade your cell phone, there are more advantages to downgrading that next purchase and putting your money away for that proverbial "rainy day". Trust me, you will find a lot of people out there who wish they had started saving their money sooner.

Melissa Cox, Certified Financial Planner

With all these changes in the financial landscape, how do you navigate it successfully?

Melissa Cox, CFP®

Luckily, there is still time to get started on building that nest egg. As I mentioned before, there are plenty of options and electronic advantages to make it easier to get started. This is where Melissa Cox comes in. Melissa is a Certified Financial Planner based in Dallas, Texas. She has written "Future Focused Wealth" for adults of all ages who need help getting started on their journey to financial independence. Like all legitimate books on personal finance, Melissa doesn't promise you'll get rich quick. Instead, she offers realistic, sometimes necessarily painful advice on money management and ways to save for college, a new home, and retirement.

Parts of the book are sometimes dry and like a textbook, but the reality is that the subject of money and finance is sometimes, well, not flashy. There are a lot of terms involved with saving and investing money, and people like Melissa can help you break down and understand these terms. As she writes in "Future Focused Wealth", "If someone like me - who avoided financial responsibility in her younger years - can learn to build wealth and make smart decisions, than anyone can."

"Future Focused Wealth"

"Future Focused Wealth"

Melissa's book is broken down into 32 chapters, covering budgeting, saving up an emergency fund, and setting money aside for education, retirement, a new house, and everyday expenses. At the back of "future Focused Wealth is a glossary explaining and defining terms that everyday people don't use everyday. Wherever you are in your life journey, there is a chapter or three that will guide you towards financial literacy and help you avoid panic when you get older and realize you should have saved money in your younger years.

There is plenty of advice and reassuring passages to help anyone with their personal finances. A lot of people make impulse buys. These purchases may bring you a fleeting sense of joy, but it will not bring long-lasting comfort and happiness. Impulse buys and "Retail Therapy" can ultimately lead up to debt. Manage your debt and things will get easier over time. If you pay your bills — credit cards, car payments — you are preventing your debts from ballooning and building up your credit score. Melissa assures her readers and clients, "Don't let debt paralyze you." Like everything else, if you have a plan and don't go into a situation blind, you will be able to scale that mountain of debt, and your worries will ease.

Don’t let debt paralyze you.

I try to pay more than the minimum amount every time the bills come in. It cuts down on what I owe and frees up money in the long run, which will give me more money to "play with" in the future. Wife and I try to teach financial literacy to our children whenever we can. Lovie is working, The Oppressed is looking for jobs she can do when she's not overburdened with homework or chores. The Boy has started his own business working on bikes. As someone who likes to take his bike out from time to time, I'm glad he started his business.

Wife and I bought stock for our our children a long time ago. We got shares of stock in a financial institution for The Boy. Not much, just a handful of shares, but this didn't stop him from proudly announcing, "I own a bank!" I tried to explain he owned a very small fraction of the bank, but that didn't matter. As far as he was concerned, he owns a bank. I'm just going to patiently wait for reality to smack him across his bank-owning face. Until then, there are other ways to teach our children about money and investing.

Teaching your Children about Money

Parents try to instill some type of money sense and smarts into their children. It's easier if they grasp it early, then they can take that smarts on their own life journey. The lessons they learn will help them manage their debt, their finances. Credit scores are huge when it comes to buying a car. I've been without a car before in my life. It isn't fun. Your children may want to start a family of their own. That's tough to do if finances aren't in good shape. Here's another nugget my grandfather shared with me: "Money isn't everything, but it sure helps."

Melissa's book has a lot of great money advice wherever you are on your journey. If you need to have a conversation about money with your kids but you don't know where to start, you can read "Future Focused Wealth" for some starting points on that conversation. Money can be a difficult subject to handle. Everyone should talk to a financial planner at least once. The advice they have will make things a lot easier for you, your future, and your finances. Melissa reminds her readers multiple times it's "your race, your pace." Your kids, or maybe even you may be stuck at the starting line. If you need some help getting started, give "Future Focused Wealth a read".

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