Tobel - Financially fearless: the learnvest program for taking control of your money

ALEXA VON TOBEL, CFP

Copyright 2013 by Alexa von Tobel

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Business, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-385-34762-4
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-385-34761-7

Book design by Kristina Pyton
Illustrations on pages by Gavin Potenza
Chart illustrations by Fred Haynes

v3.1

To my mom and dad
for allowing me to believe in
my wildest dreams,
and not for a moment
letting on that they were wild.

Financial planning shouldnt be a luxury.

Everything I do in life is a group effort, so there are many people to whom I am deeply grateful.

To my husband: Thank you for breathing belief in me as I started LearnVest four years ago. For holding my hand as I got the company off the ground and keeping me positive on my bad days. I look up to you and cannot imagine a day without you believing in me.

To my brothers: Thank you for teaching me to be tough and thus resilient enough to start LearnVest so millions of people across the country can have better lives. We were raised with a deep-seated desire to help others, and I am inspired by your putting that into practice as doctors. This is where my desire to help others comes from and I am so grateful to you both daily.

To John: Ill never forget the call that helped me take the leap out of business school. Thank you for believing in me enough to join me in this venture. I have had the most fun imaginable with you these last four years and cannot wait for the next many.

To my broader family, especially Tim and the Ryans: Thank you for everything. For reading everything published by and about LearnVest, for countless introductions, for the meals youve fed me to keep me going, and for letting me take naps or work on many occasions when I should have been elsewhere.

To my best friends: You all know who you are! Thank you for the daily laughs and for supporting me on this adventure. I honestly feel blessed to have some of the most talented and savvy people around meas my support and inspiration. I cannot imagine this journey without you all in my life.

To those who invested in LearnVest early: Thank you, John, Tom, Janet, Ben, Jeff, Jacki, Ann, Peter, Maria, Caryn, Craig, Ronald, David, Paul, Vinay, and Accel Partners, for seeing the problem and believing in our solution. And to our boardAnn, Theresia, and Leefor your endless wisdom. By looking at LearnVest not only as an investment but also as a passion, youve helped lead our great movement.

To the tremendously talented LearnVest team: Thank you to everyone who touched and collaborated on this book. We are not just a company but a collection of passionate people. Criticism is better than compliments, and I appreciated all of yours. Special shout-outs to Ainslie, Kristina, Stephany, Ellen, Dimple, our entire edit team, our team of committed planners, and all of my early readers. Ada, thank you for translating my big ideas into words, and thank you for your research. And to Annie, who poured as much of her time and energy into this book as I did. My life would not run properly without you!

To our team at William Morris Endeavor: Thank you for supporting the LearnVest mission and seeing all the places we can go. Andy, Suzanne, Bethany, and Jasonyoure the best. To our family at Sunshine SachsDani, Jess, and Shawn. Youve believed in our mission since day one and I truly have enjoyed every single day working with the three of you. At this point, youre family, and, Dani, you are a bright star!

And last but certainly not least, to the Crown team at Random House: Thank you for seeing that this is not just a book, but a needed movement. A movement that will empower Americans to live richer lives. Talia (my fearless editor!), Tara, Ayelet, Kimberly, Megan, Wade, Songhee, Chris, Phil, and Tina, thank you for seeing the future and believing in it with me.

Before we dive in, lets cross our t s and dot our i s.

We believe accurate, plain-English financial information should help you solve many of your own money problems. This book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. But this text is not a substitute for personalized advice from a financial expert familiar with your specific financial circumstances. The advice contained herein may not be suitable for your particular situation, so you should consult with a professional where appropriate.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate Internet addresses at the time of publication, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. The author and the publisher specifically disclaim any liability that a reader incurs from the use or application of the contents of this book. All Fearless Tips provided throughout this book are recommendations of the author or LearnVest.

LearnVest Program (LearnVest Program or Advisor) is a registered investment advisor and subsidiary of LearnVest Inc. (LearnVest Inc. or Parent). Many of the tools and resources mentioned throughout the book are offered through the Parent company free to LearnVest Inc. users who provide a log-on account through www.learnvest.com. LearnVest Program offers paid financial planning services through Certified Financial Planners to LearnVest Program clients that are accessed through a section of our website only available to these clients. LearnVest Program is not a licensed insurance provider, and its Certified Financial Planners are not licensed insurance agents. LearnVest Program cannot guarantee that you will be eligible for a particular product or premium. Actual premiums and coverage will be based on a number of factors, including age, gender, medical history, and lifestyle. Not all policies or companies are available in all states.

The statements related to the future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving LearnVest Program may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as expects, looks forward to, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates, will, project, or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of LearnVest Program management (including those of Alexa von Tobel) and are, therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond LearnVest Programs control, affect LearnVest Programs operations, performance, business strategy, and results and could cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of LearnVest Program to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or anticipated on the basis of historical trends.