High school seniors are asked plenty of questions about the future.
What college are you going to? What will you major in? Are you getting a job? Have you chosen a career? Where do you want to live?
But there is another question that may be just as important: What will your dreams cost?
That question sits at the heart of Rich Wittmeier’s What Money Tree Will You Plant, a practical financial education book created for high school juniors and seniors preparing to make some of the biggest decisions of their young lives.
Wittmeier encourages students to think beyond the dream itself. Want a certain career? Great. Want a house, a family, reliable transportation, vacations, financial security and eventually retirement? Those goals are worth having. But each one comes with financial responsibilities that are much easier to manage when you understand them early.
The book asks students to think about their lives across different stages, from just out of school to 10, 20, 30 and 40 years later and even into retirement. The goal is to help young people connect long-term dreams with the income and financial planning those dreams may require.
That changes the way career planning looks.
Instead of asking only, “What do I want to do?” students are encouraged to ask, “What will this career pay?” and “Will that income support the life I want?” Wittmeier makes it clear that the book is not intended to choose a career for anyone. It is designed to provide enough financial information to help students make better decisions for themselves.
This is where budgeting becomes essential.
A future lifestyle is not defined by salary alone. Housing, transportation, utilities, insurance, food, taxes, savings, entertainment, debt and unexpected expenses all compete for the same paycheck. What Money Tree Will You Plant walks students through many of these categories and encourages them to build budgets that reflect real-world costs.
That exercise can be eye-opening.
A career may sound attractive until the expected income is compared with the cost of a desired lifestyle. A high salary may also look different once taxes and deductions are considered. A dream car may seem affordable until insurance, fuel, maintenance, registration and financing are added.
These are not reasons to give up on ambitious goals. In fact, Wittmeier’s message is almost the opposite.
The book repeatedly encourages readers to protect their dreams by improving their plans. If the numbers do not work, students can reconsider their career direction, build additional skills, change their budget, increase their earning potential or adjust their path while there is still time to do so.
That is why asking “What will your dreams cost?” can be so powerful before graduation.
It turns a vague future into something students can begin thinking about, researching and planning for now.
What Money Tree Will You Plant reminds young adults that financial education is not about limiting what they want from life. It is about understanding what those goals require and making choices that improve the chances of reaching them.
Dream big. But know the numbers behind the dream.
Learn more: https://moneytreeeducation.com/
Get What Money Tree Will You Plant on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQNYXF46/
