JONATHAN GRIMM (Photos of Jonathan are by Alex Scott)

Literally rising from the ashes, Jonathan Grimm returns to his mission to help us all avoid becoming ‘The Future Poor’

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

For years, Jonathan Grimm has been a leading financial consultant helping clients to prepare for the future—and then, in January 2025, his family’s modest home in California—and their entire neighborhood—went up in smoke in the raging California wildfires. As he and his wife and children raced for their car in the middle of the night to escape the flames—saving only what they could carry to the car—Jonathan was on the verge of launching his inspiring call-to-action book, The Future Poor.

(If you care to know more about the specific fire that Jonathan and his family survived, The Washington Post staff just published a highly detailed report on this horrific fire that hit with little warning, summing up this “cautionary tale” this way: “In an era of climate-fueled firestorms that can overwhelm first responders, delays to evacuation alerts can prove catastrophic.”)

Like so many others—Jonathan, his wife and children had zero warning until suddenly their life went up in smoke.

We’ve delayed the release of his new book a bit—to allow Jonathan breathing room to begin rebuilding his considerable online presence. And now, as we approach spring, Jonathan tells us that he’s still traumatically unsettled, but he’s also more determined than ever to help people navigate the potential financial crises around us.

“I’m coming back! I’ve got to share with other people what I can see so clearly. And, I can tell you: I’m coming back to this work with an urgency I’ve never felt,” Jonathan said this week. “The fire has changed our lives in so many ways that we still are discovering. In my family we have begun talking about pre-fire and post-fire realities. The bulk of my new book—including all of the financial analysis about the deep cracks in our retirement planning—was written by ‘pre-fire Jonathan.’ But now there will be a new, introductory, post-fire section in the book that we just finished this week. And the real news is the post-fire urgency with which I’m going to be reporting on these issues through my ongoing speaking, teaching, columns and podcasts.

“What unites the vision of pre- and post-fire Jonathan is my life-long sense of the value of ‘community.’ Even in the coldly, carefully calculated conclusions of my pre-fire research, I kept returning to a profound sense that we must collectively realize that our financial futures are bound up in our communities. And now? Now, I’m living through what a community can do when it truly comes together in powerful new ways. I’m living through the truth of what I had been recommending to people—and discovering what works and what doesn’t work. I know, now more than ever, that we need the entire community around us to build a better future.”

Step 1 in Jonathan Grimm’s ‘Rising from the Ashes’:
Restarting ‘Grimm News’

BACK IN SEPTEMBER 2024, we published a Front Edge Publishing column headlined: Care about your financial future and that of your loved ones? Start reading The (free) Grimm News!

For several months, we occasionally repeated our recommendation to “go read what Jonathan’s writing! If you follow his Grimm News columns regularly—you’re sure to find news that’s both fascinating and helpful.”

HERE’s THE ADDRESS YOU NEED: https://www.thefuturepoor.com/ Sign up to get his free columns by email and, yes, you can cancel easily at any time. So, don’t worry.

IN MARCH 2025, the newest columns include:

Wildfire Aftermath: A short update from Jonathan about life after the devastating blaze.

The Bill Belichick Model for Retirement: Taking notes from one of my coaching heroes.

And, Full Retirement Age changing: What happens when Full Retirement Age changes?

You can expect at least a couple of new columns each week—keeping you up to date about important news you might otherwise miss in your busy life.

Step 2 (coming soon):
Restarting his ‘What’s up with money?’ podcast

In March 2025, Jonathan and his colleagues are ramping up their popular podcast about navigating the complex challenges of America’s marketplace. If you sign up for Jonathan’s Grimm News newsletter (above), you’ll learn about the podcast’s new episodes as they are launched online.

Step 3 (coming soon):
His book will appear nationally

In the Spring of 2025, you’ll see Jonathan’s new book appear for pre-sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart websites—and all other online sellers of quality books. If you sign up for Jonathan’s Grimm News newsletter (above)—you get it, right? You’ll learn about the book’s pre-sale and launch schedules as well.

And, finally we’ve got to crow about this—
What an appropriate book cover, hmmm?

Click on the cover to visit Jonathan’s website.

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