La Jolla couple’s new book seeks to help young people avoid money mistakes

A new book by La Jollans Scott Kyle and Victoria Lakers Kyle tackles an uncomfortable conversation parents may have with their children. But it isn’t the one you might suspect.

“The Other Birds & Bees: The Financial Facts of Life: Money $ecrets No One Ever Taught You” covers financial literacy in a story the authors felt was especially relatable to 15- to 25-year-olds.

The two have experience in financial matters: Scott Kyle is chief executive and chief investment officer of La Jolla-based Coastwise Capital Group, and Victoria Lakers Kyle is a partner in executive search firm Calibre One and  board vice president of NuFund Venture Group.

“I thought it was a funny take on the idea that there’s certain conversations which parents are supposed to have with their kids, like the birds and the bees being their sex talk,” Scott said. “And this is the other birds and the bees.”

The book follows California teenager Ophelia “Phe” Albright as she enters the workforce, buys a car, gets ready for college and decides her future. From ninth grade to her 20-year high school reunion, Phe learns lessons about budgeting, investing, spending responsibly and more.

Her story is contrasted with those of two of her friends, whose different choices leave them on a different path.

“The mission behind it is to make it accessible to teens and adults,” Victoria said. “The information is out there, but nobody reads it. I know I didn’t when I was growing up. So the idea was that if we add a story to all of these concepts, we’ll make it … easy to remember and more interesting.”

In writing “The Other Birds & Bees,” Scott and Victoria aimed to strike a balance between giving the story depth and delving too much into details and making it like a textbook.

They first talked through the concepts they wanted to include and created the backbone of the story. From there, they carved time out of their busy schedules to take turns writing chapters.

“We did want the responsible one to be a girl, just because there’s often that dynamic where men are thought to be more responsible and women are kind of the frivolous ones,” Victoria said.

The book was written last year, but with a new baby, two full-time jobs, and editing and production on their plate, its release was pushed from March 1 to Sept. 18. Its more formal launch came Nov. 4.

This isn’t Scott’s first foray into writing, as he co-wrote several books, including “Via LaVie and the Friendship Code” and “Via LaVie and the Secret Key” with his daughter Liv Blu Kyle and Karyn Langhorne.

Other books, such as “The Power Curve: Smart Investing Using Dividends, Options and the Magic of Compounding,” tackle finances from different angles.

Scott and Victoria emphasized the importance of a resilient financial plan.

“You have control over the choices you make on a day-to-day basis, Victoria said. “I feel like a lot of people feel powerless about money, but with education and a focus on it, you can create financial freedom for yourself.”

“I would add that … small choices, over time, can have a huge impact,” Scott said. “People can feel overwhelmed because they think ‘I have to have $2 million by 65; that will never happen’ when they’re 35. But they don’t need the $2 million tomorrow.

“If you make $5 choices today, which is very manageable, then over time that will have a big impact.”