Financial Crossroads

Young people must navigate a financial world filled with manipulative traps.  How we help them become smart consumers?   Media and financial literacy become critical skills.  Jim Wasserman and Jiab Wasserman address this educational challenge in two exciting new books "The Social Media Diet "and "Behavioral Economics."   Both bring a wealth of knowledge to this endeavor. Jim Wasserman is a former business litigation attorney who for the past two decades has been a media literacy, economics and humanities teacher.  Jiab Wasserman is a former industrial engineer and Vice President at Bank of America.  I am thrilled to have a chance to talk to them about how teachers and parents can provide needed guidance as students face their own financial crossroads.

Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog https://humbledollar.com/, to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the fifth episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Anika Hedstrom is a certified financial planner who co-founded the advisory firm Uplevel Wealth. Her previous work experience included international and domestic investment trading.  In her essay "Margin for Error" written for the book My Money Journey, Anika shares how she faced unexpected medical and financial challenges with her young family.  This profound experience helped shape her business vision, while she grew her advisory practice.

Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog https://humbledollar.com/, to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors.   This is the fourth episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Jiab Wasserman, grew up in Thailand, and received an engineering degree at a top university in her native country. Two years later, she moved to the United States to pursue her MBA degree.   Overcoming challenges as a frugal, single Mom who worked in a traditional male field,  Jiab became a successful financial services executive.  At the peak of her career, she retired at the relatively early age of 53, to travel and live overseas with her husband.   

Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the third episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Dr. John Lim is a practicing radiologist and financial educator, who is fascinated with behavioral finance. In his essay "A Costly Education", John tells stories about his own mistakes as an overconfident investor, and the lessons he learned. John's passion for spreading financial literacy can be seen through his offering classes at the hospital where he works, and at a local university. He is a regular contributor to HumbleDollar, and John has published a book, How to Raise Your Child's Financial IQ: The Most Important Things.

Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog https://humbledollar.com/, to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the second episode of a series of talks with these writers.  My guest Don Southward transitioned from the corporate finance and sales world to become a Unitarian minister.  From his early life with gambling addiction, he learned how to heal himself and help others. He was able to integrate his values of charitable giving and effective money management.  In his essay "A Rocky Road" Don shares how he had "enough" far earlier than he ever expected.   

Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog https://humbledollar.com/, to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with some other contributors. This is the first episode of a series of talks with these writers. My first guest Dick Quinn rose from a modest background to become a successful compensation and benefits executive. Reading his essay Driven to Succeed, he exudes a determination to be financially independent while having a positive sense of family and self. Retired since 2010, Dick and his wife have visited 44 countries.  He frequently writes for HumbleDollar and has his own blog https://quinnscommentary.net/. 

My guest Thomas Stumpf is a musical marvel. He is on the faculty of Tufts University and has previously held academic positions at Boston University and the New England Conservatory. Thomas has composed and recorded a wide range of classical pieces, both as a solo performer and as a frequent collaborator with musicians around the world. But in his forties, Thomas reached a personal crossroad when he decided to move away from an ivory tower college position to engage as a full-time music director for a church with an extraordinary musical tradition. After two decades of engaging that community with inspiring musical leadership, Thomas again faced a crossroad by moving beyond his comfort level to expand his musical reach.

These days we are hearing a lot about disgruntled people as they reach retirement age. But what about those who find a new calling?  These people continue to work past their retirement to follow their own curiosity and interest.  Phyllis Paster had a successful health care management career in the Boston area for over 25 years before she felt burned out and took an early retirement.  But soon she got reenergized and developed satisfying encore careers.  Phyllis started her own business "It's about Time" which provides professional organizing services primarily to seniors.  She loves bringing order to her clients' lives. Phyllis also offers a genealogy service where she helps her clients explore their family roots and stories. Unlike the recent "resignation generation", she has no plans to stop working. 

Dr. Luis De Leon teaches evolutionary biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is married with young twin girls. His own personal growth involves an inspiring story. Born in rural Panama without running water in his house, he followed his passion for science to become the first in his family to attend college at the University of Panama. Then he ventured far from home to earn a doctorate in evolutionary biology from McGill University in Montreal. Overcoming the numerous cultural, linguistic, and economic barriers in a foreign city proved challenging. Today Professor De Leon instructs and mentors diverse students in an urban environment, and provides fortunate young scholars with a  "life changing" experience doing field work in Panama and the Galapagos Islands. Serving as a role model for American and Latin American students, he offers an important and necessary dimension in contemporary education.

Losing a high-level software development job during the 2009 recession can be devastating. Having the courage to explore your hobbies can lead to new opportunities. Following his love of grilling and food, Ivan works as a "food rescuer" as the Chief Procurement Officer for Lex Eat Together and is a Board member of the non-for-profit Food Link which rescues surplus fresh food and delivers it to community organizations. Ivan is also a life-time Boston Red Sox fan, and a year round tour guide for Fenway Park in Boston. Prior to following these passions, Ivan worked as the Director of Program Management for the software firm Mathworks where he was responsible for software development and project management.