America’s record stock market masks a personal finance crisis: half the country still can’t cover a $400 emergency. How to Not Be Poor gives readers a blunt, research-backed escape plan.

In these laser-focused chapters you’ll learn why banks adore your overdrafts, how schools condition you to trade life for wages, and why every “affordable” car payment compounds into an $8 million shortfall. Then the book installs a five-step system that flips the script:

• Mindset Recode – Replace scarcity programming with an owner’s psychology that treats dollars like employees.

• Financial Sacrifice Protocol – Cut high-impact expenses first, freeing capital without penny-pinching every latte.

• Surplus Investment Engine – Deploy ETF-based strategies that outperform 90 % of active funds while you sleep.

• Income Expansion Blueprint – Monetize skills, negotiate raises, and spin up side gigs that funnel straight into assets, not liabilities.

• Continuous Education Loop – Leverage free books, podcasts, and YouTube playlists to stay ahead of market shifts—no MBA required.

The prose is ruthlessly practical: short sentences, shorter paragraphs, zero fluff. Every claim rests on peer-reviewed studies, Federal Reserve data, or real-world case research. You’ll walk away with the 75/15/10 money-allocation ratio, a one-page investment screen any non-expert can run, and scripts that deflect guilt-ridden loan requests from friends who refuse to change.

This isn’t a pep-talk. It’s a clipboard-wielding coach forcing your finances through a stress test—and handing you the exact metrics that mark the day your investments start paying your bills. If you’re ready to trade status games for compound-interest autonomy, open this book and clock in. Your money’s first shift starts now.