One of the nation’s most influential people in financial planning was on hand Wednesday morning in San Juan Bautista to answer questions about something on everyone’s mind – money.
Sheryl Garrett, who was named one of the 25 most influential people in financial planning by Investment Advisor Magazine for the past two years, spoke to a dozen people about her recently published book “Just Give Me the Answers.”
The book gives 134 tips on the most commonly asked questions concerning personal finance as answered by 75 members of the Garrett Planning Network, Inc. – a group that Garrett founded several years ago that includes expert financial planners from around the country.
One of those members was San Juan Bautista financial planner Mary Gibson, who invited the author to speak at the Native Daughter’s of the Golden West Adobe as part of Garrett’s six-month, nation-wide book tour.
“Everybody has questions about their money at some time or another – this is designed to be a reference guide,” Garrett said. “It’s in a question and answer format so people can go to the index, get the answer to their question and move on. I don’t think most people want to read a whole book on personal finance.”
The book includes articles on topics from managing debt, what to do with your money during a divorce, common mistakes in utilizing tax deductions and more.
Gibson wrote three articles published in the book; whether someone should buy or lease a car, how to choose a place to live during retirement and how to properly save money.
“It is so cool to open up a book and see your name in it,” Gibson said. “I am really proud to be able to contribute.”
A list of article topics was compiled for members to choose from, and although many of the topics Gibson would have preferred to address were already taken, her topics were important nonetheless, she said.
“Saving is one thing I feel very strongly about – it’s so important for people to save their money,” Gibson said. “The notion of saving really isn’t prioritized in our country as much as it is in other cultures.”
The non-threatening notion of the book drew Santa Cruz resident and financial planner Jule Rawles to listen to Garrett talk.
“The format of the book sounded so straight-forward,” she said. “It finds out what people want to know and it answers their questions – what an original thought.”
“Just Give Me the Answers” is available at book stores for $18.95 or for $13.27 at Amazon.com.
Erin Musgrave can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 336 or at
em*******@fr***********.com.
