"Your Family Legacy" by Michael W Palumbos, a financial adviser, provides us with a wealth of financial advice, in every sense. It all centers on the I3 formulas. The three I’s are influence, impact and income. Income, usually the sole basis for the way others judge us, is only one part of a measure of our success. We need influence and impact too. The book is divided into four sections that look at family wealth, family business, family values and family legacies. Each one is subdivided into clearly labeled sections where we find nothing but good advice, even though, at first glance, it may appear harsh. For example, as a family, we should be encouraging our kids to contribute more without being paid. They should do chores for nothing and learn to take pride in their achievements. It is sensible and needs to be said. The 5 Fs are put forward as rites of passage for us all, and they are faith, family, friends, fitness and finances. Overall the message is about communication, thinking, inclusion, positive action and harnessing our social capital.

My one criticism is the amount of unnecessary testimonials about the book that you have to wade through to get to the text proper. These would be acceptable in advertising material but not in the book itself, which the reader has already purchased. These together with a preface by the author’s father and a foreword by John Warnick mean we are a quarter of the way through the book before we hear from the author himself and get down to the nitty gritty. This front matter is interesting but a little too much. However, when we reach it the advice we have waited for is valuable, well-explained and thought-provoking. Having been a successful businessman, the author is a highly successful communicator too and packs in this short book a lot of information that we need to know.

"Your Family Legacy" s a road map not only for success in increasing your fortune, but also a way to leave a positive and sustainable legacy for your family. I believe, if this map were to be used and carefully followed, then all of us would find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This is a quote in Mr. Palumbos’ book from James Allen: “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.” Mr. Palumbos is convinced that a dream and then a persistent plan of action are as important when it comes to working on leaving a positive and sustainable legacy to our families as they are to the business of creating financial wealth. In other words, Mr. Palumbos will guide you on what to do to keep your hard earned money so that you can live comfortably after retirement and see if it is possible to earn more.

In this book you will find mostly the normal rules of financial management that every family should be acquainted with. All I can say is, read the book, see if it inspires you to follow its precepts, and then work hard to make your dreams a reality. I believe that the material presented in this book could be of benefit to all mankind. I would like to add that it is up to you to make it work. Do whatever you are capable of to follow its teachings and see if at the end you are not better off for doing so. This is a good book to be passed from one generation to the next. Readers from young adults to adults, alike, will benefit from Mr. Palumbos' findings. It is a must for any home library.

Author Michael Palumbos knows the ins and outs of family planning and shares his knowledge in the pages of this short but valuable book.He notes that research shows that there is a 70% failure in passing a family's wealth from generation to generation. Sadly, he writes that by the third generation, a family's wealth disappears 90% of the time.To save a family's heritage, the author believes that "a collaborative group of advisors and families working on the challenge of passing down wealth will develop a vision that will hold up for generations".(p.20)Author Palumbos offers his formula of three essential "I" elements: (1) Influencing people around you;(2)Impact or change you can bring about in the world;(3)Income or rewards you can gather over time.He quotes Thomas Edison who said "Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meet with planning." On page 28, it is stated that "working right makes all the difference" and the author notes that if a family has values and knowledge, lost wealth can be replaced. One essential key is to look for a financial planner who can be trusted and if a proposed plan is not comfortable, the figures offered should be looked at and tested again.

"Your Family Legacy" is a valuable,well-organized and well-written book for readers to absorb and then put into practice.The author cites the late John D. Rockefeller who knew the value of communicating and using the same, unvarying procedures in group meetings, making certain that everyone knew what was expected of themselves and others. Michael Palumbos recommends practical measures such as giving one's children a sense of responsibility and writes that generations of a family should find a balance with each other, finding respect and joy in each other's lives. Mr. Palumbos knows very, very well of what he writes and the bibliography at the end of this text is additional and valuable help for the readers.

It is simply amazing how author Michael Palumbos squeezed thirty two ways to preserve your family's wealth in a book that only has seventy nine pages. Your Family Legacy has four main chapters namely: Your Family Wealth, Your Family Business, Your Family Legacy and Your Family Values. Statistics show that ninety percent of a family's wealth are gone during the third generation. This is a sad statistic but this book offers what would seem like simple tips that will help your family keep their wealth for many generations to come. Most of the time, it is the first generation who works hard to accumulate wealth. The second generation is the one that adds to a family's asset while the third generation squanders the money away.

What makes the book really enlightening is its insistence that a family should not only think of preserving its wealth but also its legacy and values, and only then can they become really successful. Mr. Palumbos has succeeded in coming up with a book on family finance that is reader friendly. His book also offers practical ways in managing and perpetuating a family's legacy in many aspects. Drawing on his extensive expertise and experience, he knows how to reach out to the most novice financial planner by choosing his words well. I am surprised that there is very little economic jargon in his book and this makes it appealing to all kinds of readers. There are many books out there on how to deal with your finances, but not many as enjoyable and informative Palumbo's Your Family Legacy.