Joshua Holmberg (MBA ’98) is doing his part to help tomorrow’s generation avoid the financial problems plaguing today’s adults.
How?
He wrote The Teen’s Guide to Personal Finance: Basic concepts in personal finance every teen should know (iUniverse, 2008). Within the first three months of its release, it became a bestseller in its category on Amazon.com.
“The ultimate goal is to help the next generation of Americans avoid the financial hardships that many others faced by learning the hard way,” says Holmberg, whose day job is serving as a regional vice president of sales for a software company. “The book is an effort to help young people take advantage of the most important financial tool available to them — time.”
Holmberg says the time value of money is one of the most important aspects of personal finance, “And young people are best equipped to take advantage of it.”
The book grew from personal experience. Holmberg explains that he and his co-author, David Bruzzese, grew up together and held various after-school and summer jobs since they were 14 years old.
“Like most teens, we spent our money on socializing with friends and buying things,” Holmberg says. “But at college, we realized we weren’t prepared for the financial realities of young adults. Without basic knowledge of personal finance, we quickly found ourselves in financial trouble.”
In fact, Holmberg admits he had to finance “a large portion” of his undergraduate tuition and expenses on a credit card.
And after college, he says, it became clear that teenagers needed more lessons on the topic. “This is a societal problem that needs to be addressed. We’re doing our part to help.”
So, another book? Holmberg says “probably.”
“We’ve already been asked to write similar books for parents, educators and retirees, but right now we’re continuing on our campaign to educate as many teens as possible,” he says.