Welcome to WES
Dan Nastou, CFA
Thanks for stopping in! I’m Dan, the founder of Wealth Education System, or WES for short.
First, a little about me.
I began my career as a professional investor, analyzing stocks, bonds, and various kinds of private investments. So I have a deep appreciation for investing and finance. However, I also recognize that most people, well, don’t. It’s not necessarily the most inviting industry, and sometimes it even feels like it was designed to be that way.
I’ve also noticed there’s a lot of absolutely terrible financial content out there, from day-trader scammers to “investment” courses that offer downright reckless guidance. I’ve had friends regurgitate “advice” they’ve heard about the stock market that makes me physically cringe. The amount of public misinformation is abysmal and is doing serious harm to people’s finances.
So I wanted to create a free resource that makes personal finance and investing more accessible to everyone. No gimmicks, just quality, honest content that covers a broad range of key topics.
And with the help of some terrific developers, designers, thinkers and writers, WES was born!
A few quick things before we get started
I genuinely believe that anyone can master their finances with the right tools and motivation. And a solid financial strategy doesn’t need to be particularly complicated. In fact, the simpler you can make it, usually the more successful you’ll be at reaching your goals.
But simple is not the same thing as easy.
Not only do you have to know what to do with your money, you actually have to do it.
So in addition to offering explanations of financial topics, we also try to nudge you into action when appropriate. That doesn’t mean we try to sell you a bunch of junk. We never push a hard sell and we won’t show you a lousy service or product. But sometimes a little nudge in the right direction just makes sense. We’ll be very transparent about it when we do.
That said, while we do provide explanations and even offer some tailored feedback, we are not your financial advisor and we don’t know your specific situation down to every last detail. We’re focused on education. And all of our guidance and feedback is based on standard, widely-used guidelines. But ultimately you’ll need to make the right choices for yourself. And that’s what this is all about – making informed decisions to set yourself up for long-term financial success.
So what can you do to get started?
Option 1) If you’re just starting out and want the big picture
Then I suggest you take our signature money quiz. It’s completely free and offers tailored feedback, covering everything from growing your emergency fund to investing for retirement. Once you’ve taken the quiz, you’ll have access to our library of Core Content, where you can dive into the most relevant areas or browse through it all for a crash course in personal finance.
And if you’re feeling anxious about the quiz, don’t worry, the feedback isn’t too harsh (we know everyone has to start somewhere). We also don’t ask for your most sensitive information, like how much money you have or how much you earn. We’re not here to guilt you or to data mine your most personal info. Instead, we want to point you in the right direction and equip you with the tools to master your finances and then let you do it.
► Let’s start the quiz!
Option 2) If you aren’t quite ready for the quiz just yet
No worries. You can also sign up for our email newsletter. We do our best to keep you informed of topical financial issues and what they might mean for you on a (somewhat) regular basis. You can sign up in the box below.
Option 3) If you want to hit the ground running
Then get to it! You can check out our collection of guides and articles right away.
A couple suggestions to get you started;
Some general personal finance
How to check your FREE credit report
5 Common money questions answered
Am I saving enough?
A few investing topics
What to know before you invest in the stock market
What is an index fund
***The WES Investing Cheat Sheet***
How to set up your 401(k)
Also feel free to follow us on social media (if you’re into that sort of thing – Twitter, Instagram).
A few more things to keep in mind…
It’s okay to start small
Don’t feel pressured to hit every aspect of your finances from the get-go. In fact, trying to tackle too much at once can quickly become overwhelming and lead to inaction and frustration. It’s the same reason crash diets usually fail.
Instead, try focusing on one thing from your to-do list. Or set a smaller, achievable goal to get the ball rolling. And then use that momentum to keep going. Or if you want to do it all at once, that’s cool too. Just remember it’s not a must. The real key is to just get started.
Simplify as much as possible
Dedication and willpower are great. But we’re all human. So you should always be looking for ways to make your life easier, like automating your finances to save more.
Ultimately, you’ll want to develop a system that works for you and won’t be overly demanding of your valuable time and energy. In other words, keep it simple when you can!
Stick with it!
Most importantly, we all need to realize that maximizing our finances takes some time, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Rome wasn’t built in a day (or so I’ve heard). So don’t get discouraged if you aren’t immediately seeing the results you’re hoping to see. And like all things in life, be prepared for a setback or two. No one’s perfect.
But remember, this is all part of the process. If you hang in there, stick to your plan, and keep working at it, you WILL see results. You got this. Let the financing begin!
– Dan
A few reads to get started
