Doudna Fine Arts Center’s main concourse was crowded on Thursday, with those celebrating Linda Simpon’s book launch, enjoying food and drinks from Panther Catering and hoping to gather financial tips.
Simpson’s book, Mindful & Intentional Money Management: An Unbeatable System to Calm the Chaos, is 12 chapters packed with helpful tips and skills to build a more successful financial future. The book also comes with a companion guide to help the reader take notes and practice the skills listed in the book.
Copies of the book and companion guide were being sold for $10 each at the launch party, although they valued at $20. Each one of her books contains a barcode that gives instructions on how to receive a free companion guide if readers do not want to purchase one.
As an Eastern professor in human services in the College of Health and Human Services for 25 years and an adjunct faculty member for five years, Simpson felt that sharing all her thoughts, research and tips that she had gathered throughout the years was a necessity.
“I had so much to tell people and everybody who reads it is always like ‘I can understand it’ so that’s why I wanted to share it and get information out there,” Simpson said.
For the past year, Simpson has been hard at work, perfecting her book. She stated that once she began writing, the inspiration could not stop flowing.
“It was 30 years of stuff that I knew that I couldn’t write fast enough to get it on paper,” Simpson said.
Simpson hoped that her book gets in the hands of high schoolers, college students and especially parents. She stated that when parents are able to educate their children about money management, it allows the child to grow into a more successful adult.
“Research shows that what they learn at home from parents, role modeling, intentional instruction and parent child discussions, that predicts their adult money behavior,” Simpson said.
Mary White, a close friend of Simpson’s and retired mortgage lender of over 32 years, was asked by Simpson to read her book prior to the launch, for feedback.
“It was really easy to understand,” White said. “The workbook is really great with it. So, I’m getting these for my kids and they might go through it with their kids. I really enjoyed it, she’s got a lot of great points.”
White was a member of Simpson’s launch party group, which all had a sneak peek at the book. After reading the book, the members of the group took to social media to share their thoughts on her book. The group also helped out during the launch party.
Nancy McGugan, Simpson’s good friend took care of the money from those purchasing books at the event.
McGugan said she is very proud of her friend and has been promoting the book as much as possible. She has already bought copies for her son and daughter.
“I think it really hits home for young people, especially to get a sense of their finances and what matters and how to plan,” McGugan said. “I just think it’s a very good tool for young people.”
The part that stood out the most to McGugan was the penny page.
She said, “it shows how it compounds and people can get a sense of compound interest. It’s really, really interesting how if a penny doubles for 30 days, what you would get.”
Audra Gullquist can be reached at 581-2812 or at agullquist@eiu.edu
