An Author Wednesday Interview with Dara Duguay, author of Please Send Money!

A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own

 

Consider these facts. The average college student graduates with $20,000 of debt. Nearly 10 percent of students owe creditors more than $7,000. The average credit card debt for adults 18–24 rose 104 percent between 1992 and 2001. The financial world has become increasingly complex and dangerous over the last decade, and young adults are the most vulnerable targets. Learning to manage your money wisely is now more important than ever.

Q. Thanks for the interview. Can we begin by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been working in and writing about this topic?

I currently run a consulting practice that assists corporate and non-profit clients on financial literacy and economic empowerment initiatives. Prior to that, I was the Director of Citi’s Office of Financial Education and have been involved with the issue of financial literacy for over 20 years. I also served as the first Executive Director of the non-profit Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. Prior to my work at Jump$tart, I was the Director of Education for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Los Angeles and a professor at the University of Phoenix and California State University.

Q. What’s your new book about? Why did you write it? What main message will readers take away from it?
Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own provides students and young adults with the tools they need to navigate the tumultuous world of personal finance. This book is filled with dozens of real-life stories, chronicling eye-opening financial mistakes that are commonly made. It offers advice on how to avoid these problems, covering such topics as:

• Easy credit and the proliferation of credit cards

• How to manage car payments

• The dangers of using student loans for personal needs and wants

• Dealing with bankruptcy

• Overcoming material temptations

Please Send Money also contains various financial tools, from a psychology-of-money test to worksheets for determining budgets, net worth, cost of credit and safe debt levels.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?
After I was hired as Executive Director of the Jump$tart Coalition, an advocacy organization working to increase the teaching of personal finance in our nation’s schools K-12, I thought a book written directly for the young adults themselves would be a great complement to the work I was doing with the Coalition.

Q. What were some of the greatest discoveries, lessons, or findings you came across while doing research and writing this book?
The book is full of actual real-life stories of mistakes that young people have made. The biggest surprise was that so many young adults, after having read my book, said that they had made many of the same mistakes. They could really relate to the chapters since they mirrored their own experiences.

Q. What do you feel sets your book apart from others in the same genre?
My book is unique in that it is told through story format. Each chapter is coupled with real-life stories that have been made anonymous  and then the tips and lessons are attached after each scenario.

Q. What are 5 things everyone should know in your area of expertise?
1) Never have more than 2 major credit cards.

2) Never spend more than you make.

3) Establish an emergency fund.

4) Starting saving for your retirement early and save often.

5)  Learn from your mistakes so they are not repeated.

Q. If someone were a complete noobie when it comes to the topic of your book, what are some steps they could take to dive in and get more educated in this area. (Besides reading your book of course!)
Most people have never done a budget. They have a vague sense of how much money they spend in relation to their income but they don’t know for sure. Before filling out a budget, it will probably be necessary to track their spending for a couple of weeks or preferably a month. This way they will be able to fill in the blanks in the budget with accurate figures for expenditures such as eating out, entertainment, gas for car, etc. Once the budget is complete, if it is discovered that they are living above their means, they need to brainstorm ways to increase income and/ or reduce expenses to get their financial situation under control.

Q. If you could write 1 Golden Rule to take away from your book, what would it be and why?
Talk about money as often as you can. Resign yourself to never regard money matters as a taboo subject. This will ensure that any money difficulties you may encounter will be dealt with before they get out of control.

Q. What other resources in addition to your book would you recommend to people to learn more about this area?
Go to www.mymoney.gov to find free government educational resources in personal financial topics.

Q. What are some of your current projects you’ve been working on in this field?
I finished three projects for the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) recently. They included curriculums for countries in the Middle East (specifically Jordan and Egypt) to teach about personal finances and introduce financial instruments that have recently entered those countries, such as mortgages, credit cards and student loans.

Q. Thank you for the interview (Author’s Name). Would you like to share where we can find you on the web and how we can buy your book?

My website is www.daradollarsmart.com and my book can be ordered from Amazon.com at:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=dara+duguay

About the Author:

 

Ms. Duguay is considered a national expert on personal finance.  Her media experience includes interviews in major U.S. print publications and she regularly appears as a guest on many national television and radio networks. Ms. Duguay currently records a monthly segment called “Financial Fitness” for Clear Channel. She also is a featured columnist in a magazine distributed to the U.S. Military called Military Money.

Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Duguay has received the Medal of Merit from the U.S. Treasury’s Savings Bond Volunteer Committee, was appointed to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Economics Steering Committee, and has served in a consultant role to companies such as JP Morgan Chase, the IFC, Visa, Experian and SunTrust.

Ms. Duguay received her B.A. in Communications from the University of Michigan, participated in “Semester At Sea” a global study abroad experience and received her M.A. in International Relations from Schiller University in Paris, France. She currently resides in Washington, DC.

RULES FOR GIVEAWAY – WANT US TO SEND YOU THIS BOOK FOR FREE?

WRITE A COMMENT: Times are tough and we want to know how you are doing!  Need to be on a tighter budget? Want to learn how to live “skinny”? Know you spend too much?  We want to know how you are doing, how you are managing and what you think you can do better. In other words, why do you need this book?  The book won’t be given to the nth participant, but to the best story! Please include an email address we can contact you at if you are the chosen winner!

Want to be a featured author or expert? Send me an email at liz@dalesiegel.com and let me know about you and your book, and will I contact you with the guidelines. If you want your interview to coincide with the day your new book drops, let us know in advance. Be aware, we book months in advance, so get on the schedule.