These 27 Napkin Sketches Will Teach You Everything You Need To Know About Money

With a sharpie and a stack of napkins, financial planner and personal finance blogger Carl Richards is on a one-man mission to save consumers from financial suicide.

Richards knows a thing or two about the subject.

Within a few years of purchasing his dream home in 2003, the housing crisis threw him into a downward spiral of debt. He lost his home and found himself living in his in-law's basement while he and his wife scrambled to stabilize their finances.

"The setbacks have taught me important lessons, including some that I've tried to pass along," he writes in his book, The Behavior Gap. "One of those lessons is that you aren't in charge of everything. You do what you can, and the relax."

These days, Richards is a staple on the New York Times' Bucks Blog, where he uses his clever napkin sketches to teach readers the basics of money.

With his permission, we've republished some of his best drawings here.