Top 5 Questions about the book

1. What was the inspiration for the book?

   I have read many books about saving and investing. One of them was The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and WIlliam D. Danko. The book provided great insights on how the really wealthy spend, maintain and increase their wealth. I realized after the initial chapters that I was not the intended audience for the book. There were many underlining assumptions and opportunities that were non-applicable for me. The book assumed married with 2.5 kids, steady income with raises and promotions leading to executive level opportunities. As much as I was striving for these life goals my reality included singlehood, many lateral moves and at least one promotion with no pay increase.

   One of the most valuable artifacts in the book was a savings target based on salary and number of years worked. I first laughed at the target and then I decided to achieve it. The UnUnited $tate of America - Creating Equality at the Financial Wealth Table, is my journey and the lessons I learned along the way.

2. How is this book different from other books about saving and investing?

   This book is different from other books about saving and investing because it factors in the impact of inequalities of pay and career opportunities. It includes the changes required at the individual level and aligns it with what needs to change at the national level to make the saving and investing targets more realistic for all, specifically minorities and women. This book provides guidelines on how minorities and women must make their dollars work twice as hard to create sustainable wealth. It provides a path and examples that minorities and women will be able to leverage to create their own seat at the financial wealth table.

3. How do you define success for the book?

   I will deem this book successful if corporations and the investment community start to acknowledge the power of minorities and women consumer spending and start to align their hiring and pay practices to support this group. Minorities start to factor in what companies including small businesses are investing in diverse communities, when considering what and when to buy. My hope is the book will drive minorities and women to invest, so when the next crisis comes along, and it will, more minorities are prepared and they’re talking about how they will weather the storm because their investments will help bridge money gaps.

4. What do you hope the reader will do after reading the book?

   I hope the reader will start to save or increase their saving and investing after reading the book. The first tactical step I hope they will make is to start investing in their company’s retirement savings plan. It can be $20.00 a month - the goal is to get in the HABIT of putting something away for longer term saving. If they don’t have access to a retirement saving’s plan, I hope they will sign-up for a micro-investing plan, for example Acorn (please Google Acorn plus competitors for a list of options), which I discuss in the book. It’s also important that minorities start to create generational wealth. With that in mind, I would ask that they have their high-schoolers and college aged children read the book.

5. What do you hope the reader will say about the book?

   I hope readers will say this book was a game changer and that it helped them start down a more secure financial path.