Book

For awhile now, I have been preaching to family and friends about the need to educate people about money, debt, and investing. It's something I think is fundamental about our lives, yet we do not teach enough about it in schools. I think it's a core reason for why you see people go into university and come out with a barely manageable debt. I think it's a reason for why the US had a real estate crisis. There are fundamental rules and principles that people can follow that they simply know nothing about. It's time to try to educate.

At first, I thought it would be best to try to help lobby school boards to institute some sort of course in school. I think this is the best approach to teach Canadians about wealth management, but there may not be enough tools, or training available to implement this idea. Sure, there are a ton of get rich quick books, and books that promote wealth through real estate, stocks, or small business development, but a lot of these books that I have read appeal to only the entrepreneurs in the world. I'm thinking of creating a book that teaches some basic fundamentals about budgeting, taxes, investment plans, and other goals. It's a guide to not going broke for dummies.

I have never written a book, nor have I been a stellar student in English class. I have not made millions of dollars, or owned my own business. I pay for $10 haircuts. I still eat Kraft Dinner on occasion, and I just got a new job working for someone else. I am just a normal guy who paid his way through university without going into debt, owns 3 rental properties, and has dealt with hundreds of businesses because I have my Chartered Accountant's designation. I know why businesses fail and succeed. I know why people fail and succeed in their financial lives. It's not complicated, but, like how to cook, some people have never learned about it.

Hence, my decision to try to write a book. I will likely take a few years to write it, probably never get it published, but I still want to write it. It's a creative exercise that I would not have had the opportunity to do while working in a public accounting practice. I'll let people know how it goes.