Rubin, Michael B. 1972-

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Rubin, Michael B. 1972-

PERSONAL:

Born 1972; married; children: one daughter. Education: University of Michigan, bachelor's degree; Northwestern University, M.B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Portsmouth, NH. Office—Total Candor LLC, P.O. Box 4283, Porstmouth, NH 03802-4283. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Certified public accountant, financial planner, speaker, and author. Total Candor LLC (financial planning education company), Portsmouth, NH, founder; Toys "R" Us, Inc., Wayne, NJ, new venture executive. Also worked in personal financial services divisions of Arthur Andersen and Coopers & Lybrand.

WRITINGS:

Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck: A Conversation about Income, Wealth, and the Steps in Between, Wachtel & Martin (Portsmouth, NH), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Michael B. Rubin told CA: "Although I wish I'd had the foresight to intentionally take advantage of the enhanced readability of dialogue, I never intended to write Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck: A Conversation about Income, Wealth, and the Steps in Between as a true conversation. But shortly after I began writing, I began hearing people with questions. Since I didn't have any significant mental problems I was aware of, I decided to—quite literally—include those questions.

"It is because I've had so many money-related conversations that I knew what most readers' follow-up questions would be. So rather than just continuing by providing the answers, I showed the questions too, in everyday language. This allows people to gain comfort in the knowledge that they are not alone in pursuing true understanding.

"I've also talked with and been disappointed by the many people who've been taken advantage of by others. Some people came to me knowing they'd been had and wanting me to both explain and lessen the damage. Other folks were quite surprised to learn they had been given poor advice. Still others remain in denial to this day. It is critically important to understand that not every financial services professional has your best interest at heart. As a result, I created Gary, who embodies all that can go wrong with a financial advisor. He lacks ethics and is amazingly sly. To be truly educated, you must know he's out there. Far better for you to meet him in Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck, than at the golf course. You need to know what he says, the way he says it, and be able to ask the right questions in order to identify him.

"We all learn from Gary, since it's as important to be knowledgeable about what not to do and who not to trust as it is to achieve awareness about what to do and who to trust. The financial advisors you want to work with would all agree passionately. After all, Garys make such advisors look even better."