An Author Wednesday Interview with Tony Filippone, author of “Financial Planning For The Not Yet Wealthy”

Are you ready to be out of debt and to save money? “Financial Planning For The Not Yet Wealthy” acts as a guide to financially stabilize your current situation and to get you out of any slumps. It discusses building an easy plan that will help you build wealth without any major lifestyle changes. By dodging simple money traps and taking too many risks, your current finances will escalate. Besides simple saving, the book directs you to plan for the future with also keeping the people in your family financially secure by staying out of debt and accruing wealth for the years ahead.

Read more for the rest of this great author interview and to learn how you can grab a free copy of Tony’s book!

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?

A. Thanks for your interest. I have been in the financial services industry for 18 years and have been a Registered Financial Consultant for the last 7 years. I really enjoy working with the Middle American families I consult with. I have also enjoyed writing articles about finance, and teaching about retirement planning for the Rock Valley College community education department.

Q. What’s your new book about? Why did you write it? What main message will readers take away from it?

A. The book is about the things the average guy needs to know about money but no one is telling him. I wrote the book because over the last 18 years I have read countless books on money and I felt like there was something missing. Most of the books I have read shared some great ideas and strategies but they all seemed to cater to the wealthy and assume that the reader already had a fair amount of wealth. I thought to myself what about the average guy who may not have hardly any wealth but could possibly benefit from some of these same strategies in order to grow his wealth. The main message I wanted middle American families to take away from this book is that more and more responsability has been placed on us to fund our own future and what worked for our parents won’t work for us because the game has changed. I really hope that this book proves to be a wake up call for Middle America to take that responsability and do some simple but much needed planning.  

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

A. I wanted to share what I have learned with others and there are only so many people I can reach locally with my speaking events at the local Library and Community College so I thought why not write a book so I can share what I have learned with a multitude.

Q. What were some of the greatest discoveries, lessons, or findings you came across while doing research and writing this book?

A. That there are core principals in life that if followed can lead you down a path of success. Also those core principals don’t change with the changing ecconomy they are farily constant. In fact many of the principals I wrote about that help you manage your money are the same pricipals that if followed help you manage your weight. I have learned sinse that these problems are even more closely related than my initial research showed.

Q. What do you feel sets your book apart from others in the same genre?

A. It is not writen with Jargon it is writen in plain enlish and is easy to understand. You will not feel like you are reading a financial book but rather you should feel like you are in a room talking with a friend who knows and thing or two about money and wants to share what he has learned with you. Your friend will not be talking down to you as he has made many of the same mistakes you have made but he has learned from them and wants to protect you from making the same mistakes.

Q. What are 5 things everyone should know in your area of expertise?

A.

1. You can get out of debt alot faster and easier than you think if you simply formulate a plan and start living on a cash only basis.

2. Conventional Wisdom is not always right and can often get you into trouble. Just because everyone is doing it does not make it the wise course of action.

3. The stock market is not always the best long term place to put your money and smart alternatives do exist.

4. Deferring taxes only to have to pay them latter (when the governemtn is likely to raise tax rates to pay off the growing deficit) is not always a good idea.

5. Not all financial advisors are created equal and if you have not found someone who you feel great about then you need to keep looking until you do.

Q. What does your typical day look like?

A. Every day is a little different for me. Some days I get up and go for a run down by the river before I head to my main office to meet with Three or Four families to consult with them about their situation. Other days I spend the entire day in my home office doing research on how I can help those families better their future. And then there are days where I spend most of the day preparing for a class I will teach or a radio or TV interview that I will have latter that day. I do most of my writing on the weekends or in the evening when I have finished up my other work. The great part about my work is that much of it can be done from my home office in my basement so I get to have most of my meals with my family and my two little ones are home schooled so I get to see them all the time and to me that is priceless.  

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!)

A. They could come down to one of my workshops at the Library or take one of my money classes at Rock Valley College. But if they are not in the Rockford area where I live than they may want to check out my website at www.rockfordretirement.com as I post many videos and articles on topics that are designed to help educate middle America on how to drop debt, stop losing money, pay less tax and reach their money goals. 

Q. If you could write 1 Golden Rule to take away from your book, what would it be and why?

A. “If common knowlege were so wonderful we would all be rich and happy” or in other words, be careful who you listen too. There are so many rules of thumb about money that are compleatly off base for the middle American family and much of the so called advice pushes people in the opposite direction than where they need to go to be financially secure. I think this is true because most of the people giving the advice have hidden agendas; even the people that claim to be objective are not objective at all. So be careful and make sure you are making your own decisions based on fact not hearsay and in the end you do what feels right to you.  

Q. What other resources in addition to your book would you recommend to people to learn more about this area?

A. Actually I have a recomended reading list that I post on my website with several books that I highly recomend. Two of the greatest books on finance that have changed my life and the way that I advise my clients are, “Missed Fortune 101” by Doug Andrews and “Last Chance Retirement” by Brett Anderson.

Q. What are some of your current projects you’ve been working on in this field?

A. In addition to teaching, speaking and consulting I recently took additional training to become a Real Life Management Coach and I am developing a class on how food, money and relationships are all interelated. The course will help students uncover their core attitudes and discover why they make the life choices they make and how they can alter those choices for the better if the choose.

Q. Thank you for the interview Tony. Would you like to share where we can find you on the web and how we can buy your book?

A. Sure, my website is www.RockfordRetirement.com and you can buy the book right there. In fact if you like you can even read the first two chapters free as I have posted them on the site. By the way if you do visit the website be sure and take the free 3 Minute Attitude Survey and find out your core attitude. You will get a Free summary report all about you and why you make the life decisions that you make. It will blow your mind how accuarte and helpful it is.

—

About the Author: Antonio Filipone, RFC is an Instructor for Rock Valley College Community Education Department as well as a Consultant and Author. Mr. Filippone has appeared on WIFR 23 TV NEWS as well as on the Radio on Live At Five with Dean Ervin and Mortgage Talk on WROK News Talk Radio 1440AM. He has also made the cover of The Register (an international publication for financial professionals), and has been invited to speak for local corporations and the County of Winnebago while participating in Money Smart Week, a program sponsored by The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. You may contact Tony for more information at (815) 633-9595.

For more information about the author: www.RockfordRetirement.com

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 an 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 us know about you and your book, and we will 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 early.