In 'Money And Life Lessons For Young Adults,' Spooner Offers 'Street-Smart' Advice

Financial planning is just part of the advice handed out by well-known Boston financial adviser John Spooner. That's why Spooner has followed up his recent and popular book, "No One Ever Told Us That: Money And Life Letters To My Grand-Children," with a new book: "No One Ever Told Us that: Money And Life Lessons For Young Adults."

Spooner, who says his goal this time is trying to help young people grow up and face the many challenges in life, joined WBUR's Morning Edition.

Note: Spooner is also a WBUR board member.

Interview Highlights

On the premise of the book:

We live in a society with 320 million Americans, 7 billion people on the planet. How do we rise above the crowd and get ourselves noticed? And because this need seems so compelling in society, I wanted to give street-smart advice about how to make your way in life so that you stand out in a crowd.

On deciding whether to get married:

I say use your brain in this decision more than any other organ of the body and think to yourself, "If I say no, will I look back on it and regret the fact that I didn't marry her or I didn't marry him?"

On divorce settlements:

Sooner or later, almost all discord is about money. And if you made a deal in the first two weeks, it probably will be the same deal that you end up making two years later at great financial expense.

One of my smartest lawyers, he said, "Think about, wouldn't you much rather have your children get this money some day than give so much to the lawyers over a two-year period?"

On putting down our smartphones:

I just, in this book, wanted to strike a blow for real relationships — not virtual ones — for having a sense of humor, for having a view of history, and that all life is relationships, real ones.