Sharing Financial Wisdom

Colleen O’Dowd was staggered at Phil Colozzi’s advice.

“Budget my money? Are you nuts?” she practically screamed as she backed away from him.

Her dramatic reaction made such an impression on Phil that he used it as the title of his newly released book on money management for common folks.

“There’s no advice on stocks, bonds or mutual funds in here,” he says, tapping the cover of his self-published, spiral-bound book. “There are plenty of books for people with money. This is for people without money.”

Phil’s book is a primer on household budgeting punctuated with pearls of wisdom on life. At 59, Phil has decades of observations and experiences to share.

He learned the value of money and mentors as a teenage haberdashery salesman in South Philadelphia. His employers taught him that money is a tool people should learn to use properly.

Phil soaked in everything they taught. He parlayed his first business - a 14-seat failing restaurant - into a 135-seat thriving Italian restaurant in six years.

No business intimidated him as long as someone was willing to serve as his mentor. He opened businesses in nature conservation and ammunition, built each to a success, then sold them.

“I just enjoyed getting them started,” he says.

By the 1980s, Phil figured he had enough expertise to counsel others. After he landed in Coeur d’Alene with his wife in 1989, he went to work as a business consultant.

At the same time, he involved himself in a homelessness prevention program through his church. Phil helped families about to lose their homes to foreclosure. He negotiated with banks and taught debtors to communicate with their lenders.

By 1991, he directed the program. Every client who visited him needed some degree of financial counseling. A study of some overdrawn budgets showed hundreds of dollars a month wasted on cigarettes and beer.

Phil found people who had no clue how to balance a checking account. Most didn’t know how much they earned or spent in any given month.

“It was a real awakening for me,” Phil says. He realized a huge segment of the population doesn’t earn enough to cover basic living expenses, much less extras.

That’s when he decided to write a book. He believes his topic is boring, so he teaches through anecdotes and writes in a conversational style. The only thing missing is his South Philly accent.

The 118-page book includes such basic advice as, “The best way to use a checking account is not to write a check unless money is there to cover the check. End of story, no discussions.”

It also walks readers through the foreclosure process, gives tips on home-buying and breaks household budgeting into sensible baby steps.

“He taught me where I was losing money,” says Colleen, the director of a retirement community. “I learned to stop using credit cards. I stopped borrowing from one bill to pay another. They could use his book in high school classes.”

Phil didn’t look for a publisher. He published 200 books on his own this month, hoping for feedback from readers and interest from publishers.

The $20 book is available in Coeur d’Alene at Hastings and The Book and Game Company, and at Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane. For more details, check Phil’s computer Web site at www.usa-sites.com/pmc.

Laugh for the kids

Coeur d’Alene’s Harding Family Center is smart to assume people will flock to see best-selling humor author Pat McManus’ new play, “Pott’s Luck.” The show will debut Saturday in the Lake City High auditorium at 8 p.m. to benefit the center.

Tickets are $15 to this chucklefest and are available at the door or by calling at 666-6755. Don’t miss out.