‘A Latte Spurned Is a Fortune Earned’
By Karen Newell Young
David Bach offers a wealth of advice on helping other people get rich.
What began as small classes teaching women how to manage money has evolved into FinishRich Inc.—a financial advice enterprise of videos, seminars, talk shows, newsletters, books and a Web site.
A 1990 USC College graduate, with a B.A. in social sciences and communications, Bach was holding financial seminars for women as a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley when he realized that he could reach more aspiring millionaires by writing rather than speaking. “My workshops kept getting bigger and bigger,” he says. “It was standing room only, and everyone crowded around wanting a book. But I didn’t have a book.”
Bach nosed around and learned that there were few resources available for women seeking investment advice. “In the early 1990s there were no books, no seminars, nothing,” he says. “I thought I should take what I know and put it in a book, but the idea was met with a lot of skepticism. Still, I knew there was a need.”
Then he wrote “Smart Women Finish Rich” and the floodgates opened. Within months, the book landed on best-seller lists. He followed with “Smart Couples Finish Rich,” leading to a book and seminar program of what he describes as easy-to-use financial strategies toward building wealth.
One of Bach’s most familiar tips is to find your “latte factor.” He says that by skipping a latte a day (or your own equivalent) you can plunk the money into savings and start building wealth. “Believe it or not, you do have $10 a day to invest in your future,” he says. “A latte spurned is a fortune earned.”
Other strategies include staying out of debt, developing a solid financial plan and always “paying yourself first” by directing a portion of your income into a retirement account, no matter how old you are.
Bach’s latest book, which became a national best seller the first day of its release in January, is titled “The Finish Rich Workbook: Creating a Personalized Plan for a Richer Future.” It attempts to demystify the financial-planning process by leading readers through simple steps toward money management. Presented in a personal journal format, the book offers ideas from his earlier books as well as new short cuts to building wealth.
The author says that his Web site (www.finishrich.com) attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each month. In addition, his books are now available in seven languages and in more than 20 countries. He is working on a program for college students that will be published next year titled “Start Young, Finish Rich.”
Bach declares that his time at USC served him well in the field of finance. “I had an incredible experience at USC,” he says. “A lot of my core values were developed there, and I learned to work really hard. You don’t realize how valuable all these lessons are until you are out of school.”
According to Bach, the breadth of opportunity at USC and its location in vibrant Los Angeles were almost as important as the classes and lectures. “It is a school for dreamers,” he says. “There is this feeling that anything is possible. At USC I learned that everything is possible.”
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