We are kicking off our meetups with the first of Robert's "10 Steps to elevate your Financial IQ."

Step 1: The Big Picture

There are people who make a lot of money but they can't seem to hold on to it. We have also heard stories of lottery winners that lose all their money within 1-2 years and pro athletes that go bankrupt only years after retirement. In short, money alone doesn't make you wealthy. Financial education does.

In 1909 John D. Rockefeller went into our public schools and took financial education out of the curriculum. Three years later he co-conspired with J.P. Morgan and other financiers to create the Federal Reserve System. After several economic crashes and financial scares, the elite at the time believed the answer was a financially inept population served by a central bank to control the country's fiscal policy. Most people believe the "Fed" is an arm of government while in reality it is a private institution collectively owned by its members: the banks.

Little did they know the long term damage their decisions would cause.

Today the country is beginning to reflect what began on an individual level: financially undereducated and over-leveraged.

Our discussion begins with the question: "Why doesn't your banker ask for your report card?"