There is a reason David Bach has been a frequent guest financial adviser on NBC’s Today Show and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show six times.  Working as a financial author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur Bach has written 12 books since 1998 with over seven million copies in print. Eleven of Bach’s books have been national bestsellers, including nine consecutive New York Times bestsellers.  He teaches people how to structure their spending and saving habits in a way that produces long-term financial wealth.

His current book, Debt Free for Life, emphasizes the importance of reducing debt, especially in the current economic climate.  The premise is simple.  “Over the next five years, the best investment you can make is to pay down your debt,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Suit Magazine.  According to Bach, having monetary assets without debt will result in increasing degrees of freedom in all aspects of someone’s life.  In the book he explains how to pay down debt faster, how to productively walk away from debt and how to keep from accumulating more debt in the future.  In a strategic alliance with Equifax, he has created Debt Wise, an automated system which gives people an account of how much debt they have, along with strategies to manage and eliminate that debt. The goal is to create financial freedom while gaining a higher credit score.

Bach’s knowledge has been accumulated over a lifetime of financial experience.  As a young boy he accompanied his father, a financial expert, to meetings and lectures filled with business people and investors.  Absorbing that knowledge, Bach became a financial prodigy by the time he reached middle school.  He shared his money-making strategies with friends and family.  Following his passion for teaching and helping others, he pursued his education at the University of Southern California, where he studied communications and business. After college he landed a job at Morgan Stanley and from there his career flourished.

Today, Bach remains actively engaged, searching out new economic opportunities.  He even sees today’s economic slowdown as fertile ground for financial success.  And that applies to those looking to invest as well as those looking to become entrepreneurs.  “Millionaires are made during recessions. The past two years have been phenomenal years to make money on stock and real estate. Everything is on sale, that's when real wealth can be built,” he explained.  “[Also], a lot of people out of work are starting home-based businesses. The internet is working for them, [and it is working for] businesses that [require] very little investment and time.”  Citing multi-million dollar businesses like Groupon and Facebook, he marveled at the internet market’s potential.  He also observed that the Obama administration’s bail-out packages make it a great time to start or expand a business.

One of Bach’s basic principles of personal finance is that by examining daily spending an individual can identify small, unnecessary expenses which can be eliminated.  “People have to make a decision to save money,” he said. ”People say they don't have money to save, but waste it on little things. It's surprising to see people with no savings carry an iPhone and download applications that cost an average of $2 each.”  It is those recurring costs which Bach has targeted with his concept, “The Latte Factor”.

The inspiration for that concept came from a class Bach was teaching in the 1990’s.  During one lecture he counted the money a female student was spending every day on latte drinks and multiplied it over the course of a few decades. The six-figure income he calculated created a buzz in the classroom and motivated him to develop the idea. 

Bach emphasized that he does not oppose drinking coffee, but rather he is encouraging people to slash spending on everyday discretionary items, and then save that money in investment accounts, routinely, over a long period of time.  In his book, “The Automatic Millionaire”, he also suggests automatic savings, such as a retirement account, as a way to plan for the future. 

As consumers and businesses prepare for the economic uncertainty of the next few years, David Bach’s debt-reduction and investment recipes provide opportunities for people to turn a financial mess into personal financial success.  Without guaranteeing overnight success, he does promise that education and diligent analysis of one’s expenses and investments can lead to great rewards.  “People expect the government to bail us out, but the government won’t be able to.  At the end of the day the only thing we can do is fix our own family’s finances. We have to be responsible for ourselves.”