The money book people wish they had before they needed it.
The Hero's Guide to Finance is a practical financial education written to be read, used, and referred back to. The first volume, the Student Edition, is a grounded introduction to the principles that shape a financial life. It arrives summer 2026.
Financial education that respects the reader.
Most personal finance content sits at one of two extremes. Either it oversimplifies to the point of being useless, or it buries the reader in jargon that serves the author more than the audience. The Hero's Guide to Finance was written against both habits.
The goal is simple. Give people the principles that actually shape financial outcomes over a lifetime, explain them clearly, and trust the reader to apply them. What follows is a body of work built around that idea, with volumes planned for different audiences over time. The first volume is written for students and young adults. More are on the way.
About the bookFour convictions behind the work.
Every choice in the writing, the structure, and the design of this project traces back to a small set of beliefs about what financial education should actually do.
Principles over tips.
Tips go stale. Principles compound. The writing focuses on the underlying ideas that apply across decades, not the trendy tactics that fade in a cycle or two.
Real examples, honest math.
Every concept ties back to a concrete example, and the numbers behind it are shown, not hidden. Readers should be able to verify what they read with their own calculator.
Built on real experience.
The material is drawn from years in lending, advising, and real estate investing. The perspective comes from watching real people make real decisions under real pressure.
Respect for the reader.
No hype, no hand-waving, no shortcuts that sound better than they work. The writing assumes the reader is intelligent and takes the time to explain things properly.
Run the numbers yourself.
Eight practical calculators for the decisions that come up in everyday financial life. Free to use. No account required.
Budget Starter
A four-category snapshot of where your money is going each month.
Open calculator Wealth BuildingSavings Rate
What percentage of your income are you actually keeping, and what does that pace build to over time?
Open calculator SecurityEmergency Fund
Calculate your target reserve and see how long it takes to build at your current savings pace.
Open calculator Debt StrategyDebt Payoff Planner
Enter up to 10 debts and compare the avalanche method against the snowball method side by side.
Open calculator Growing WealthCompound Growth
See what disciplined contributions and time can build in a long-horizon portfolio.
Open calculator BorrowingMortgage Affordability
Full cost of a mortgage, plus a what-if for extra monthly payments and lump sums.
Open calculator PlanningRetirement Projection
Project a portfolio forward and see what sustainable income it might support.
Open calculator Retirement AccountsRoth vs. Traditional
A side-by-side comparison of Roth and Traditional retirement accounts. No winner declared.
Open calculatorEducational tools. Not personalized financial advice.
Written for readers who want to understand.
The first volume is written with students and young adults in mind, but readers of every age have used it as a reference they wish they had encountered sooner. Future volumes will address different audiences as the series grows.
Bring the material to your audience.
Trey speaks to schools, colleges, community organizations, parent groups, and youth programs on the principles that shape financial outcomes. Every talk is built for its audience. The goal is always the same: leave the room with something useful.
About speaking engagementsTrey Fankhouser.
Trey is the author of The Hero's Guide to Finance. He has spent his career in lending, advising, and real estate investing, and he writes from what he has seen rather than what he has read. His work is shaped by the practical experience of sitting across from real households and real businesses as they work through the decisions that define their financial lives.
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