Bruce Kajiwara: Super Volunteer

California CPA magazine: September 2008

Bruce Kajiwara, CPA, CFP embodies the CPA volunteer spirit. From teaching high school students how to save and budget, to regularly working with adults on how to save for retirement, Kajiwara has been a leading force for CalCPA Institute’s financial literacy initiative.

What would you say to your peers who, “don’t have time” to volunteer?
I would say, “You just have not found what really motivates you.” Just like it’s not “work” when you enjoy your job, it’s not volunteering, but pursuing something you believe in.

Do you have more success talking to students or adults?
The successes are measured differently. With students, I’m trying to introduce basic finance topics and ideas that they’ll remember (and implement) for the rest of their lives.

Success with adults is more immediate and measurable. Examples might include a couple that has their first financial plan prepared; an employee who starts (or increases) a 401(k) contribution; or an overzealous spender who cuts back and pays off credit card debt.

What has been your most rewarding experience?
Presenting personal finance topics to high school students. If we’re able to reach future savers and investors when they are young, we will better achieve our mission of improving financial literacy and these students will have the advantage of time to reach their financial goals.

How did you learn to manage your money growing up?
It’s much easier to manage something when you don’t have much of it! As a kid, if college was in my future, I needed to be prepared to fund the majority of it on my own. So, money I earned during the summers in high school was used to pay for college.

Shortly after college, I was married. My wife and I agreed that as children came along, she would stay home with the kids. So we began planning for that by living on just my salary. What made that especially hard was when our first child was born, my wife earned more than I did!

Both situations have a common theme—advance planning for a future goal. Nearly all working adults have at least one future goal—not just retirement, but having a secure retirement. If we can make the goal so important and meaningful, the likelihood of meeting that goal is increased.

How do you talk to your kids about money?
With three kids ages 23, 20 and 17, they are clearly in the “active” spending years. It seems not a day goes by that we don’t talk about money and I try to get them to spend within their means.

My oldest is a recent college graduate and is working at her first full-time job. As you might guess, the first purchase she wanted to make was a new car. I had two “suggestions:” she wait until after she has worked for one year and the most she could spend would depend on how much she saved during the year.

I want her to be able to pay cash for the car. Of course, when the time comes, she may take advantage of special financing, but she would be in a better bargaining positioning if she had all cash. Besides limiting how much she can spend, this provides some assurance she’ll be able to afford the monthly payments should the purchase be financed.

If you were a super hero, what would your power be?
To have all California schools mandate personal finance education as part of their core curriculum.