Tom Graneau was born in Dominica, a small island in the Caribbean with a population of roughly 70,000 people. While growing up, he had little or no time for school, partly because of family complications. Being the oldest in the family and growing up without a father in the home, he had to provide for the family, which included his chronically ill mother, two brothers, and a sister.
When Tom was seventeen years old, he and his mother immigrated to the United States. After two years in the U.S., he became acutely aware of his need for an education.
Realizing his predicament, he persistent in his quest to get into school. After several close possibilities of being deported by the US Immigration Department, Tom found the help he needed. Two concerned friends came to his rescue. Unable to read or write at the age of nineteen, he was given the opportunity to start his long, educational journey in a private school. Being the oldest among all the students, he was placed in a room alone where he began his studies at the second-grade level.
At twenty-four years old, he married and started a family. After his first child was born, Tom decided to join the military and was shipped to California. During his fourteen years of service in the Navy, he became increasingly concerned about his financial situation. With little or no savings, he was falling further and further behind as a result of debt.
Things became worse when he left the service. The income from his new job was barely enough to support his family and pay his debt. Consequently, his house went into foreclosure. With added pressure from credit card companies, he ultimately filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
Shortly after his personal financial tragedy, Tom decided to pursue a college degree to improve his chances for a better life. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix, he spent several months looking for employment in corporate America.
Unable to find the job he wanted, Tom decided to go back to college for a master’s degree and graduated in 1998. Eventually, he found work as a Financial Management Counselor and Educator. In 2001, Tom continued his education through a comprehensive Financial Fitness Course generated by the collaborative efforts of the Universities of California, Georgia, and North Carolina State Cooperative Extension Programs.
In his last employment, Tom spent roughly ten years working as a financial management coach and educator. During that time, he conducted numerous workshops, presentations, and private consultation sessions with members of the military, government employees, and others in the community.
Tom enjoyed working with his clients. Watching them overcome various financial challenges was emotionally rewarding. However, his own financial struggles, combined with that of thousands of his clients caused him to wonder about the financial plight of Americans, as a whole. His research proved that money problems extended well beyond the reaches of his office and personal life.
Various surveys have shown that roughly 90 percent of working Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, no matter how much money they make. In most cases, the problem is directly related to financial misconceptions, poor training, and lack of knowledge. While many people pretend to be doing well financially, the month by month ordeal to stay afloat keeps sapping their joy, leaving them financially strapped, physically exhausted, and emotionally spent. Hence, the book: ARE YOU FINANCIALLY CHECKMATE?
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