Foreword

Ever since I became an options trader back in 1992, I have seen the financial markets rise and fall dramatically, and with those movements the livelihoods and savings of people who knew some of the basics but none of the nuances and details of how markets work. However, I also noticed that a large segment of the population that had the most potential for profits and financial stability were also those who seemed least involved in investing: the younger generation.

There’s perhaps good reason for this: The majority of the books and programming you see in the marketplace are geared toward older people with some assets and knowledge of the marketplace. It’s easy to see why younger people would conclude that financial planning is just not for them. To someone just getting started in managing their own money, seeing someone talk about dividends, stocks, options, and other such items is overwhelming, and probably makes them feel like they are not in the right income bracket for such an education.

That’s why this book is important—very important.

The fact is that all of us, no matter what our income and bank balance, need money management skills and knowledge, and younger people need it more than anyone else. While the financial literacy and education provided to young people remains virtually nonexistent, the mistakes they make that result in debt, poor credit, etc., will impact them adversely for the rest of their lives. Conversely, as Dasarte shows in this book, a good financial mindset early on will have a positive impact for the rest of their lives. The better the start a person has, the more time he or she has to slowly build real wealth.

“Real wealth” is an important thing to define. Real wealth is for the long term and is what provides that which is most important: stability and security. Unfortunately, the current popular mindset focuses on short-term gains and mistakes having a hefty checking account balance for security. As opportunities and markets become more limited and competition more aggressive, it gets easier to mistake momentary security for long-term stability.

The point this book makes better than most is that time is the greatest asset of all for building wealth. With time, you can experiment, explore various options, learn from mistakes, bounce back from setbacks, steadily and consistently build up wealth at a sustainable pace, and accumulate more assets and hence achieve greater security. And time is the one thing that the younger generations have that no one else outside that group has nor can buy at any price. It is, quite frankly, the best tool there is when it comes to building financial security.

You always hear that common lament of “If I knew then what I know now.…” Well, now, with this book, there are no excuses. You will now know everything and have enough time to use it. Get to it!

— Pete Najarian