Reality and Today's Opportunity

“Today, what are the most important topics on the minds of households.”

I know you have your answer to that question.

• Health and fitness?

• Finding a better job?

• The price of eggs?

• Paying a medical bill?

Could be all of the above.

How about more generally?

I took the question to my favorite AI engine, Perplexity Pro. From tariffs to well-being, home editing to stability, here is how Perplexity “synthesized” its findings yesterday,

• Economic Pressures and Financial Relief

• Housing Market Dynamics

• Healthcare and Well-being

• Family and Child Welfare

• Home Organization and Lifestyle

• Economic and Policy Changes

Those who are in the home of their dreams with jobs they love, family is healthy with a backstop of good health insurance, and the pantry looks like the “Home Edit” crew just stopped by; most boxes are checked. So, too, are those who are looking for work, live in an unaffordable apartment, have sick children, and are riddled with anxiety. There are a vast number of households that check one box and can relate to all of them.

Consider money as a thread woven through the household sweater. It isn’t ornamental. If it unravels, you have frayed fabric, nothing but a pile of other threads headed to the trash can.

Societal tendencies aside, the economics of finance are deeply personal.

Let’s Go to the Chalkboard

The economics around personal finance is measurable in both money and happiness scales,

Living standard = food + shelter + clothing + lifestyle

Primal, really, plus a tad more.

And, yes, you can improve your living standard.

The message about making good financial choices lives in a noisy environment, particularly on social platforms, where there is a dearth of substantive, easy-to-access personal finance advice. The public agrees.

For a few years, Schwab has conducted its “Modern Wealth Survey,” a study of 1,000 respondents that it offers as a nationally representative sample. Schwab asked: “How would you grade each of the following sources of financial information or advice?”

Reddit, TikTok, and X: 80% or more with a grade of C or below.

The obvious: the study’s author is an investment company that sells advisory services. Still, the hiring process is rigorous, and passing investment advisory licensing exams is not a walk in the park. An individual who has passed the Series 7 exam should have more financial street cred than Rambo in Reno, who delivers content on Instagram.

This survey result hits the “less than wealthy” the hardest because financial advisors who want to develop new businesses always target the wealthy. It is a big pond, and big fish are easier to spot and provide better eating.

At a time when we never been more connected, this leaves most households with the impossible task to identify quality amongst quantity within social outlets.

Where does Substack fit? Good personal finance content has a chance, especially within these pages, but readers who consume their information through any social media platform have an uphill climb because separating the credible from the incredible is costly. While I offer readers my education, training, and experience, not all do. The most profitable segment of newsletter writers espouses investment tips for substantial subscription fees. It is virtually impossible to learn about the writer’s credentials, back-test their recommendations to actual performance, and even know their names. But we are innately greedy. My suggestion is to check under the hood before paying for a lemon.

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Do You Need a Financial Plan?

Many financial writers and educators believe a financial plan is the holy grail of money management guidance. There is a standard bearer for a great financial plan, but it is hard to find when all we read and hear is reconstituted financial nonsense with little context to who we are: “Budget.” “Invest in bitcoin.” “Pay down debt, now.” “Pay yourself, first.”

More noise adds to the reluctance to engage in a financial planning process.

In the same Schwab survey, 43% of respondents don’t feel they have enough money to need a financial plan, and 25% feel it is too complicated to create one. Another 21% think it would be too expensive. For all the discussion about financial literacy education, why bother if you don’t have much money, money topics are complicated, and it probably costs too much?

Fact: you have a financial path, you may just not know the numbers

Your numbers are primarily linked to your income and future income prospects, any employer and government benefits, financial assets and debts, and longevity. Rich or poor, high-income or middle-income, everybody has an economics-based financial plan. It is the standard bearer.

There are financial planners who provide economics-based financial plans. I teach it and the process is explained in my book with Aaron Stevens.

The Opportunity: I will put a class up on Teach:able for a very reasonable price if there is demand. Plus, paid subscribers receive an additional discount. You will know how to build and interpret your economics-based financial plan.

Good idea? Interesting?

Please comment.