Think of the Savvy Trail Playbook as a collection of 'how to' guides, perspectives and other resources about improving your financial situation. The hope is to help you learn from others' experiences. It offers a one-size-fits-most progression from just barely getting by to financial sustainability. It starts with some financial foundations you can begin working on at any time. It takes you through the steps of selecting a career path, getting qualified to begin work in it, and getting your first job in a lucrative field. It then picks up, assuming your income is sufficient, with topics like investing to secure your financial future. It's intended to be applicable for most people most of the time. It serves to highlight the topics you might want to be thinking and learning about, puts them in context and helps fill in the blanks when you're at a loss for how to move yourself forward financially. When other, quality resources are available, it'll point you to them. And when they're not available, it'll help provide the guidance that's missing.
The Savvy Trail Playbook is also an ongoing work in progress, maybe for as long as it exists. By collecting input from our community and from experts, we'll continue to update and refine it, making it more useful and applicable to more people’s individual circumstances. If you have input about one of the topics, think we’ve missed something important, or just want to ask a question or share your own experience, your feedback will help develop the quality of the content.
A couple of things set the Playbook apart:
It comes with no agenda - There is literally no motive behind it beyond trying to create a valuable resource to help you get your financial feet underneath you.
It covers many topics and puts them in context - Rather than a deep dive into separate, specific topics, the Playbook helps stitch an array of topics together into the bigger picture. Beginning to end, step by step. For example some other guides do a great job covering money management, but don't address at all how to get a higher paying job. Some include information on investing, but skip the financial implications of buying a home. We'll aim to hit many of the biggest topics so that it's more clear how they come together.
It's right-sized - The intention is to give just the right amount of information so that you have the understanding and confidence you need to move yourself forward without having to spend weeks (or years!) developing your own expertise. Many of the topics are only intended to point you in the right direction, and let you investigate topics further as they become relevant to you circumstances.
It's interactive - The Playbook isn't quite a free-for-all of everyone's input. It's important to curate the information for quality. But it does open up a channel for questions, feedback and contributions. Anytime you have questions or comments, you're invited to get in touch to share your thoughts. Input, feedback and questions all help to develop the scope and quality of the content.
The Playbook picks up with the assumption that you're already getting by financially. You may not be affording many (or any) luxuries, but you are able to reliably cover your bills. If you're really struggling to make ends meet, you'll likely need different resources first to help stabilize your finances before the steps we cover will be useful or effective for you. The Playbook also assumes that you're already motivated to improve your financial situation, most likely including up-leveling your career if necessary. It is geared toward helping you work your way into careers with a high likelihood of financial success. It will make the most sense for people who are prioritizing financial outcomes. It will have less to offer you if you're already dead set on a career path that's unlikely to provide financial stability. Following the Playbook also requires an investment in yourself. It is not well-suited for anyone looking for a get-rich-quick plan. Real progress takes time and work. Also the Playbook is intended to help you become financially sustainable for the long term, even financially comfortable maybe, but it stops short of guiding you toward building huge amounts of wealth.
A great first step is to join our email list to become part of our community. That will ensure that new info and revisions stay on your radar, and you'll be invited to ask questions and provide feedback that'll help make the Playbook more relevant to your own particular circumstances.
If you're already financially comfortable, you're invited to read through the Playbook with an eye toward helping grow and refine its content. Does it align with your experience? Are there other financial tips or topics you wish you knew earlier that you'd like to pass along? Are there links we can add to our resources? Please share your impressions and input!
If you're in progress working toward financial sustainability, you're also invited to read through the whole Playbook, just to get the end-to-end perspective. Then pick out the topics that are most relevant to you right now, and dive a bit deeper to put the information to work. The Playbook won't give you all the details you'll need to know, but it will help point you toward the topics that you need to investigate in order to move forward financially. Please also get in touch with any feedback about challenges you're having or topics you'd like to learn more about.
Spread the word! Do you know someone who could benefit from some free financial guidance? Or maybe someone you think would have a unique perspective to share from their own financial journey? Please invite them to visit this website to check out the Savvy Trail project! Growing our community helps everyone involved!