This book was an unplanned work of passion. It started when I volunteered to teach personal finance at the Florida Youth Challenge Academy (FLYCA), a program for at-risk youth. I was looking for something to give the students that they could take with them and reference after graduation. Sadly, the school couldn’t afford to buy anything for the students, and I didn’t really find any books that fit the target audience. I thought of the classroom handout we used when I taught at the Air Force Academy so I reached out to Rich Fullerton. I got the terrible news that he had just passed away (December 2016). I was heartbroken for the family and frustrated that I couldn’t do anything; I couldn’t even get back to Colorado for the funeral. Shortly after that, I met with a high school principal who wanted to start a personal finance class at his school. I decided to write Basic Personal Finance as a tribute to Rich. I started with his 2007 classroom handout (which I updated a couple times while working for him). I updated all the information for 2016, and built it up cover all Florida Department of Education standards for economics and financial literacy as well as specific topics that FLYCA wanted covered. The 2023 edition is now the second update to the original book.
To date (October 2023), I’ve donated over 600 books to local high school and college students. The second edition (2019) added nearly 20 pages to cover changes to the tax code (no more 1040EZ) and military retirement (BRS replaced the pension system), and added a section on college and career choice based on my interaction with local students. The third edition (2023) addresses dealing with inflation and adds a new “Final Thoughts” section to encourage readers to plan for financial freedom as early as possible, rather than thinking of investments solely for retirement.
Below are some support materials for those using the book to teach a class or who can’t read the images or tables as published in the book. (You can right click to download any of these.) If you have a previous edition of the book, most of the new material is available below or in a blog post. A typos list follows.
Equations
Finance Project (A little 3-page retirement planning project)
Tables:
- 2022 Tax Brackets
2019 edition: 2018 Tax Brackets
2017 edition: 2016 Tax Brackets - Budget Start
2019 edition: Budget Start
2017 edition: Budget Start - Average Expenditures
2019 edition: Average Expenditures
2017 edition: Average Expenditures - Sample Budget
2019 edition: Sample Budget
2017 edition: Sample Budget - CD Interest Rates
2019 edition: CD Interest Rates
2017 edition: CD Interest Rates - Loan Example (same in all editions)
- 2001-2022 Effective Returns
2019 edition: 1997-2018 Effective Returns
2017 edition: 1995-2016 Effective Returns - 1997-2006 Amazon Revenue (same in all editions)
- Top & Bottom Earning Majors (not in 2017 edition)
- 2023 Military Pay Chart
2019 edition: 2019 Military Pay Chart
2017 edition: 2017 Military Pay Chart - Flight Pay
- 2021 BLS Consumer Expenditures
2019 edition: 2017 BLS Consumer Expenditures
2017 edition: 2014 BLS Consumer Expenditures
Images:
- Sample Check
- Sample Check Register
- Sample W-2
2019 edition: Sample W-2
2017 edition: Sample W-2 - Sample 1040p1, 1040p2
2019 edition: Sample 1040
2017 edition: Sample 1040EZ - 2022 Tax Table p65, p67
2019 edition: 2018 Tax Table
2017 edition: 2016 Tax Table - Simulated Portfolio
Blog: There are several blog posts that build on the concepts in the book (as well as other random economic topics). You can use the search bar on the right to pull up posts on any subject of interest.
2019 Edition:
Uniformed Services Blended Retirement System (New material not in 2017 version)
Typos in 2017 edition: (Let me know if you find any more)
pp24, 33& 38, investments and retirement are discussed in Chapters 6 & 7, not 7 & 8
p28, Insurance is discussed in Chapter 8, not 6
p50, last paragraph: “Also, having over 80% equity in the home…” should be 20%. (This is fixed in later copies of the book.)
p148, the second column (Lease) should sum to $1,978, not $2,637
LenCabrera.com 
