Would you like to have coffee with me?

One of my favorite compliments that I received from those who have already read my new book “FQ: The nth Intelligence” is this, “I love your book. I felt like I was just chatting with you in a coffee shop!”

It’s because this was really my intention. I want my readers to feel comfortable, light and open to discussing the topic of money.

Unfortunately, the typical FinanceSpeak is usually boring and intimidating. 

Boring. Several years after I left the finance industry to become a full-time homemaker, I started attending investment forums again. Guess what? I was surprised to be bored by most of the presentations. (Oopps… sorry!) I would ask myself, “Was this how boring my presentations were?” You know this common habit among presenters of dumping dozens of bullet points on a single slide? Then they use the slide as their guide to say practically the same things. Duh! Is this a read-out-loud exercise? Then they follow it up with loads of numbers, tiny numbers. What were they thinking? Do they expect the audience to read and understand those tiny numerals?

Intimidating. The typical finance presentation also makes use of some highfalutin finance jargon. The harder it is to understand, the more knowledgeable the presenter would appear? But not for me. Not even for the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett, who refuses to use finance gobbledygook and adheres to the use of simple sentences, usually in the active voice. My FQ Book gives an example of how a typical prospectus would state investment strategy on fixed income instruments versus the way Warren Buffett would express it.

Boring and intimidating: a dangerous combination. Do you remember what happened during the 2007 to 2008 financial crisis? Did you hear about those CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations), Synthetic CDOs, Credit Default Swaps, Sub-Prime Mortgages given triple-A ratings, Options ARM (Options Adjustable Rate Mortgage), Mortgage Resets, Good Faith Estimates, Negative Amortization, Teaser Rates and many more? Nobody dared to ask, “What the hell are these instruments? How can these be triple-A rated?” the way the boy in the Hans Christian Andersen classic “The Emperor’s New Clothes” exclaimed, “The emperor is not wearing anything!”

Why? In the Andersen story, the weavers made everyone believe that the emperor’s clothes are invisible to those who are unfit of their positions, stupid and incompetent. Maybe in the same way, we are made to believe that if you can’t understand all these finance gobbledygook, you are unfit of your position, you’re stupid and incompetent. And this, my dear reader, together with other human weaknesses, helps make scams proliferate year in year out, generation after generation.

This deadly combination is also the reason why very few people are interested in finance. Do you notice how kids, including the fresh graduates, are more attracted to jobs in the fields of marketing, advertising, social media, etc.? Oftentimes, only the nerds and geeks opt to enter the finance industry. And this is also a major reason why a lot of people don’t mind their FQ, “Ay, ayoko ‘yan, nosebleed!”

I revolt this manner of using boring and intimidating language when talking about finance. The reality is FQ is about human behavior and money, subjects that are very interesting when presented the right way.

And that is why I wrote the FQ book in easy to understand, fun and storytelling manner, the same language we would use when we’re just having coffee with our friends.

So do you want to have coffee with me? Grab a copy of “FQ: The nth Intelligence” and allow me to tell you about FQ the way I would if we were just chatting in our favorite coffee shop.  Join us on Thursday, July 19, 2018 at 4 p.m. on FQ Live! via FQ Mom FB page when we launch the FQ Book. Cheers to high FQ! 

We will give away free Beam and Go coupons to those who will share their comments and the link during the live coverage.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. I wish to thank everyone who purchased my latest book “FQ: The nth Intelligence.” Signing over a thousand copies prior to its launch next week is a thrill. My heart is filled with gratitude, excitement and hope that my books will help each reader improve his/her relationship with money.

2. The FQ Book Launch will be tomorrow, July 19, 2018 at 4 p.m. Watch the live coverage via FQ Live! on FQ Mom FB page.

3. Catch me today, Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at 3 p.m. on DXMM Teleradyo with Ariel Ureta and Winnie Cordero’s show Todo-Todo Walang Preno.

4. I’ll also appear as guest on ANC Early Edition on July 20, 2018, Friday at 6 a.m. 

5. If you’re interested to see what’s inside the book watch this FQ Book Preview.

You may now purchase the book in major bookstores or if you want autographed copies, please go to FQ Mom FB page (click SHOP), or FQMom.com (click BOOKS), or email us at FQMomm@gmail.com

6. Want to know your FQ score? Take the FQ test challenge now! Click link: http://rebrand.ly/FQTest.

Rose Fres Fausto is a speaker and author of bestselling books “Raising Pinoy Boys” and “The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon” (English and Filipino versions). Click this link to read samples – Books of FQ Mom. She is a behavioral economist, a certified Gallup strengths coach and the grand prize winner of the first Sinag Financial Literacy Digital Journalism Awards. Follow her on Facebook & YouTube as FQ Mom, and Twitter & Instagram as theFQMom. Her latest book is “FQ: The nth Intelligence.”

ATTRIBUTION: Image from schabelcolutions.com modified and used to help deliver the message of the article.