He is known as a major disruptor in the science of finance, revolutionizing the field’s entire academic foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in applied management and decision sciences, with a concentration in finance, from Walden University.
He earned his BBA at The George Washington University with a concentration in international business. He earned a Master of Science in financial services from The American College, where he also obtained prominent financial designations, including Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Registered Executive Benefit Consultant (REBC), and Registered Health Underwriter (RHU).
Dr. Criniti holds Pennsylvania licenses in fixed annuities, life and health insurance, and real estate. His various professional experiences include work as an investment and a retirement specialist for The Vanguard Group, as a financial planner for several hundred clients, and as a real estate developer.
A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Criniti is a professor at several universities, an active investor in various marketplaces, an explorer, a financialist, a survivalist, and has traveled around the world studying various aspects of finance. He is the author of three best-selling finance books: The Necessity of Finance, The Most Important Lessons in Economics and Finance, and The Survival of the Richest.
Many states had shut down for 60 days or more. Is this advisable? What are the ramifications of this tactic for the long term?
“Absolutely not. A quarantine should have lasted no more than 30 to 40 days maximum (and only if money was immediately available for the financial entities who needed it the most during this period). Everything that has unfolded in our country this year demonstrates how much is needed to be learned about economics and finance. The conclusions of my book The Survival of the Richest demonstrate that money is an essential survival tool that helps you to obtain immediate survival essentials, which are items that I listed and ranked in order of importance to stay alive.”
“If you close all non-essentialsbusinesses for more than even a week, you shut off access to the money needed to obtain items that people need to survive like food and shelter (via paying rent or a mortgage). The longer you extend this out, the bigger the risk of financially killing your civilians.”
“The lesson here is that what is considered ‘nonessential’ to the government regulators is ‘essential’ to the employer and employees of those organizations forced to shut down. They needed the income earned from their jobs to live. This unfortunate categorization of their business could have equated to a slow death sentence.”
“This point highlights the untold story during the Great Pandemic: that is, how many people have been killed from not having access to the proper money and resources. Since this number is difficult to measure (but certainly not impossible for those with time and resources), it was not fully investigated and reported.”
“Sadly, I am willing to guess that the number may have been both directly and indirectly much higher than the actual virus itself. These effects of money deprivation that were not accounted for properly include increased rates of suicides, homicides, overdose deaths, and deaths from lack of access to proper resources (especially for the elderly and handicapped). This doesn’t even include the added burden of financial stress that may have done long lasting psychological harm to the majority of our population. The longer this goes on, the higher the exponential effect of a financial meltdown. This is what happens when you pull the plug from the true lifeline of our country…our money and the wealth we buy with it. No wealth, no health.”
For many people getting a handle on, or keeping a handle on their finances is harder than ever before. What advice do you have for people during these turbulent times?
“First, I think it’s important that families start to reconnect with each other after a reasonable self-quarantine. It is much easier to navigate these turbulent times with your extended family then alone, especially if you have younger children. Second, you might want to search for funds that you can qualify for from your local, state, and federal resources. This can help you get on your feet until you fully return to work. You must think outside the box to get the financial support that you need during these abnormal times.”
“Lastly, consider revisiting your financial plan to incorporate an emergency reserve. This might help you through this event and any other unexpected events in the future. In The Survival of the Richest, I recommended an emergency reserve that consisted of the following: at least six months of current living expenses in cash equivalents (e.x., a checking account in a bank), three months in actual cash money stored somewhere fire-proof and safe, three months in gold, and an additional one-year
minimum emergency reserve of the survival essentials listed in chapter 12 of that book, for example, a one-year supply of food, water (or at least an alternative plan to obtain more, such as by collecting rainwater), and so forth (Criniti (AKA ‘Dr. Finance’), 2016, p. 216).”
The Survival of the Richest: An Analysis of the Relationship between the Sciences of Biology, Economics, Finance, and Survivalism is available on Amazon.
To learn more about Dr. Criniti, check out his official website, and follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
