John Brancato – Financial Literacy Educator & Advocate
Personal Notes
I’m very passionate about financial literacy. I believe it to be no different than any other subject taught in school. The problem is that it isn’t being taught in every school and business. And without education it’s extremely difficult to have command over something you know nothing about. Remember, either you’re the master of money or money is the master of you. The choice is yours. That’s why I strongly believe personal finance should be taught in every school (and to every employee/business owner). We teach math, science, social studies, etc. Why not personal finance?
Why add something like teaching financial literacy to my already busy schedule? Because those I help today are no more financially literate than those I helped 25 years ago. So, in other words in 25 years nothing has changed! To expect a change you need to make a change. The change I’ve made is that not only have I continued to help people after they’re in trouble I help people before they’re in trouble. What changes are you willing to make?
The perfect target audience is anyone who will ever deal with money. That means EVERYONE is the target audience! And since each stage of life presents its own unique financial difficulties and uncertainties everyone both young and old should be continually educated. Unfortunately, the way financial literacy is treated today is equivalent to handing someone a parachute after they hit the ground. This makes absolutely no sense.
Bio
As a Mortgage Auditor and Loss Mitigator for a law firm in New York City dealing with clients in foreclosure is never easy. I truly wish my profession wasn’t necessary. It’s devastating to see someone who worked so hard to buy a home or start a business become financially ruined by the very thing that was supposed to provide security and happiness. Many times it’s the loss of a job, illness and/or the failure of a business that triggers the hardship. Other times a home owner becomes a victim of a financial scam like predatory lending, mortgage and/or modification fraud. For all of the successful modifications, stayed foreclosures and negotiated settlements over the past 25 years there have been many who unfortunately lost their homes. The majority of the clients I’ve helped over the years (most being victims of predatory lending, fraud and mortgage scams) all had one thing in common – they never saw it coming. They had difficulty seeing what was happening because they were never taught what signs to look for. Having an understanding and being aware is all part of becoming financially literate. Though every foreclosure case is different I strongly believe had borrowers taken some sort of financial literacy course prior to closing there would have been fewer foreclosures and the financial/mortgage meltdown would not have occurred (at least to this extent). My ultimate success will be when someone I’ve taught avoids these financial disasters in the first place.
John lives in Brooklyn, New York with his two children (and black Lab named Jeter). In his spare time John spends time with family, plays golf and teaches martial arts. He has been practicing martial arts for 30 years. Attaining the rank of black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Fuji Ryu Ju Jutsu (5th degree/Head Instructor), classical Japanese Ju Jutsu (Sosuishitsu Ryu – founded in 1650) and Goshindo/Chanbara (Kenjutsu) – Japanese sword/knife fighting (New York State Representative).