More than six year ago, I started this personal financial planning and investment advisory column with the great encouragement of Roger Crombie (a writer I barely knew who is now a good friend) and a willing Editor. It was a desperation move. Nevertheless, it had to be done since returning to my home country after 37 years had become a fast course in total anonymity.

The Bermudian investment firm I was with at the time had adamantly refused to spend a dime on marketing me. Writing was the only thing that I could think of that would promote my family name and the financial experiences and service that I wanted to provide to prospective clients. And, somehow, it worked as I struggled to learn how to write coherently and cohesively.

Amazingly though, Moneywise (the column) has morphed into something more far-reaching and comprehensive. It has become an objective vehicle for the dissemination of financial concepts unique to our Bermuda ways and our international financial community. From a personal perspective, every week, I attempt to bring passion, polish, and personal dedication to these discussions. Truly, readers, it is so very satisfying to have someone stop me in the street and say, "we read your column every week, and now we do understand annuities." I thank you all sincerely for your interest.

My quest to understand the financial world was not always there. Like most people, the thought of perusing their financial statements ranges from an unpleasant, totally unrewarding chore to medieval torture. Growing up in Bermuda, my family avoided talking about money except to wish that we had much, much more to spend. There were many children and few resources ? my father could never afford basic health insurance until he retired. Everything in the words of our mother, "cost too much", so they spent as little as possible. Free became the family credo. Yet, money anxiety and the fear of having none (thus having to file bankruptcy) was an implicit undercurrent in our childhood daily lives. We do not easily discard these family traits. To this day, my own money anxiety is a scenario of ending my days, very old, very alone, and very poor.

So, the truth is, because of your interest (and concomitant increase in Saturday paper circulation, so my editor says), I am increasingly concerned about the level of financial literacy in our jurisdiction. While the interest is there, our lives have become hectic and time consumed. Bermuda is an expensive place to live. When a family has to work two or three jobs just to keep up with the basics of survival, there is precious little energy left for planning for your financial future.

But plan you must, if only to bring into focus one hard fact ? that money spent on depreciating assets is money thrown away, gone forever.

We are not the only ones. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke cited a recent US national survey that showed that on average, high school seniors answered correctly only 52.4 percent of questions about personal finance and economics.

As a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, I also want to introduce you to our efforts to increase financial awareness. '360 Degrees of Financial Literacy' is a national effort of the CPA profession to improve the financial understanding of Americans. It provides a comprehensive approach to financial education, focusing on the information that people need at each stage of their lives, from childhood to retirement. Life stages include: Childhood, college, career, military and reserves, marriage and couples, parenthood, home ownership, small business, life crises, sandwich generation, and retirement

While some areas may only be applicable to US markets, the rest applies to all of us.

My gift to you, however, for the next 14 weeks from June 10 through September 9, will be a series of articles relating to financial literacy for the Bermuda jurisdiction and the care of your local financial life.

This gift has an incentive with it and has to be earned. At the end of the series there will be an investor knowledge quiz; all answers are in the articles. If you need to refer back to them, I hope that archives them all (this is a big hint).

The answers can be e-mailed to me at any time after September 16 when the quiz will be featured, but no later than September 25. All winners will be placed into a drawing and six of you will win a copy of the 'Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing' by Kenneth M. Morris.

Location of distribution to be determined.

Good luck and happy reading