I got home very late last night to see this e-mail from my son – we live in the same house, but he is 14 years old, so that is now his preferred mode of communication 😛 –

i have decided that this is gonna be my car, i dont know how but somehow …eventually : http://www.carpoint.com.au/used-car/NISSAN/GT-R/Victoria/csn6641299.aspx?State=VIC

You have no idea how proud that made me feel …

To explain, let me give you some background:

I was a ‘late bloomer’ in that I was always willing and able to work, and never stood in line for a handout … but, I didn’t really get hit by the entrepreneurial bug until my late 20’s (even though I always had that vague “make my first million by 30” idea in the back of my mind. Oh, I missed by about 15 years … then retired at 49).

On the other hand, my son has had his own eBay business for about 2 years (off and on due to various accidental – and minor, in my opinion – account ‘oversights’); we are used to the idea of seeing packages on our doorstep in the morning (left by our son for the postman to deliver to his customers) and in the evening (packages left for my son, containing stock from overseas … usually China).

Right now, he is instant messaging (i.e. in ‘live’ conversation) with various suppliers in China looking for more genuine Bose headsets (he has just imported 2 at about $150 each).

Now, to put this in perspective:

– he was 12 when he started his business

– he researched and set it up totally on his own

– he found and negotiated with his own domestic and foreign suppliers (mainly communicating via e-mail)

– he downloaded Quicken (accounting software), integrated it with eBay’s software, and worked out how to set it up (including opening balances)

– his allowance is twice his age (currently $28 per month) and easily outstrips that rate with his eBay profits per week

… and, he did all of this with NO outside help (I have no idea how to do ANY of this).

So, I am proud of my son, not just for his entrepreneurial spirit (he is self-starting 10 to 15 years before I did), but that he has discovered something important:

Don’t ask “if” or “I wish I could have this car” … ask, “HOW can I get this car“; as I said in my e-mail back to him  – I think I need to make an appointment in his busy schedule to speak to him about this 😉  –

This car is WAY too powerful for you to drive until you are at least 25 years old … but, after then, the world is your oyster (that means: go for it!) …

BTW: You are asking the right question: How can I get this car? Not: IF I can get this car? Once you ask yourself HOW, your subconscious starts to work on providing the answer and eventually it will come! Good Luck!

Notice that I did NOT say ” good boy, now rich dad will buy it for you” and, notice how he didn’t ask? That’s MY boy 🙂

This is actually a very common question: How do I invest with only twenty dollars to spare each month?

It was most recently asked by Jacqueline Robinson of TX in response to a US News article that I contributed to:

Basically, I would have to put back pennies at a time and hope that one day it will add up to a nice saving for me in the future. Ok, yes I would like to have that special person to come onto my job at Sobway and say, I read your story on the us news and how I feel that this money would benefit you more than it would me at the moment, or that you are the lucky winner today. Well, that would be living in a fantasy world, so if I could get some good, strong suggestions on how to save money and invest at the same time for my future I would leave El Centro College in Dallas TX with a smile on my face.

Well, Jacqui, I’m certainly not going to come into your ‘Sobway’ for a sandwich and write you a check for $150,000 as a ‘tip’ as you will no doubt lose it pretty quickly because you need to first learn the lessons of money before you make your money so that you can keep your money 😉

The question is normally asked in a manner that suggests: “$20 is such a small amount, what possible difference can it make if I save it instead of spend it?”

Well, in some respects I understand the ‘losing attitude’ because even if you faithfully save $20 each month and somehow manage to match the 30 year ‘guaranteed’ stock market return of 8.5% compound (ignoring fees), after 30 years Jacqui will have saved less than $30,000 (which is worth less than $9,000 in today’s money if inflation averages just 4%).

But, Jacqui will no doubt be receiving better and better jobs and at least increasing the $20 monthly savings with inflation (won’t you, Jacqui?), so she should end up with something approaching $45,000 (or, less than $14,000 after inflation) …

… so, I share her implied pain.

But, with $20 a month you can rent a stall at a market and sell on consignment seconds from local manufacturers (that means that local manufacturers will gladly let you have a bit of their not-quite-right stock on ‘loan’ until you can sell it and pay them a pretty cheap price) … or, one of a hundred other ‘micro businesses‘ that require little to no start-up funds.

With the couple of hundred dollars a month that you might make from that activity, you might be able to build up a ‘nest egg’ 10 times larger than before …

… better yet (because, who can live the rest of their lives off the equivalent of $140,000 after inflation … total?!) use that money to gain a higher education and/or start an internet-based business that might make you an extra few hundred dollars a month.

With, say, an extra $700 a month you could ‘retire’ after 30 years with the princely sum of $450,000 (in today’s ‘after inflation’ dollars) or use that few extra hundred dollars a month to start a ‘real’ business … one that can …

… well, you know the rest: it’s how I went from $30k in debt to over $7 million in the bank in just 7 years.

Jacqui, you’re already $30k – and, $20 a month – better off than I was when I started my journey, so suck it up and get to it! 🙂