Alumnus Blake White has published a book, How to Retire Early: The Common Person's Guide, which gives us a basic understanding of personal finance and how to use it to reach the goal of early retirement.

White, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Sam M. Walton College of Business, said that his book contains tips for almost everyone, whether you are starting from scratch or looking to improve your plan.

"One subject that we all have to deal with every day is personal finance. Unfortunately, not everyone receives a formal education in that subject," White said. "That is why I wrote the book to provide the people that pursue careers in other fields a simple plan to follow."

The book provides best practices for specific subjects such as budgeting, insurance and investments. It also provides ways to make basic, small adjustments to your current lifestyle.

"The responsibility of having enough of money for retirement used to be on the employer, but now is almost exclusively on the employee," he said. "That is why it is more important than ever to have a guide or plan for your retirement. Being able to retire early doesn't hurt either."

White majored in finance and minored in business management at the U of A and then earned a Master of Business Administration at the University of Tulsa. He has worked in the financial services industry for seven years. 

"After speaking with clients on a daily basis, I began to notice there are certain questions about retirement that come up often," White said. "To me these questions seem simple, but I realized not everyone has had access to the information that I have. I wrote my book to reach a more widespread audience and pass along the knowledge that I have been blessed with."

He lives in Longview, Texas, with his wife, Sadie. The book is available through Amazon.