Peter Clenott

Presented with striking simplicity, We Must Change the Way We Live is a thoughtful and compelling narrative on financial prudence. It offers a simple-to-follow guide on how to plan for advanced education, retirement, debt elimination, and personal investments. It also lays out a reasoned view on how to strengthen Americas leadership in higher education and fiscal discipline. Unlike most other resources on financial education, the approach in this book is grounded on how we, as individuals, can be best prepared to not only become financially independent, but also, and perhaps even more important, offer a helping hand to others who otherwise would be limited in their own efforts to succeed. The authors early struggles in life, his humble beginnings as a naturalized American, and the unparalleled opportunities that America continues to offer, bolster the argument for self-empowerment. In that sense, this book begins with a thoughtful reflection on the core American values of hard work and excellence, both of which helped build this nation into an enviable destination for those seeking to actualize their dreams of a better life. At the dawn of the 21st Century, two important phenomena that gained renewed attention were globalization and financial crisis. Globalization is the reality of how economic integration among nations has heightened the pace of international competition, especially in commerce and technology. The collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2007, and the financial crisis that followed it, exposed the fragility of our financial system, in particular, when financial prudence is overlooked. In We Must Change the Way We Live, these events are used as a backdrop in articulating how we can advance our competencies to meet the rising challenges of the highly competitive and ever changing global economy.