And of course I added my own perspectives, along with specific tips and ideas of my own.
No one was compensated in any way for participation in How to Be a Financial Grownup, and I wasn’t paid in any way to include any person or company quoted or mentioned in the book. Every product, app, and website recommendation that I make is genuine.
My goal is to get you, my readers, to pay attention to your own financial story. And then you can take action and set a course that gives you the happy ending you desire.
CHAPTER ONE
WE ALL HAVE THAT FIRST MOMENT when we realize our parents aren’t watching. The world is ours. We feel like we can do anything and they can’t stop us. Odds are they won’t even know what we did. Freedom at last.
Unfortunately, that exhilarating rush of possibility doesn’t usually last. Eventually we are the grownups. Adult life is great – no one tells you what to do, what to eat, when to go to sleep, or how you can spend your money. But that’s the problem – no one tells you. Now it’s on you. And soon you realize that all the freedom you want often comes down to money.
Start to pay attention. You’ll make bad decisions you’ll regret, and you’ll live with the consequences. You’ll also make some great choices and enjoy the freedom that financial success will offer. Financial ignorance is the only true mistake, and it can be very expensive. So be a financial grownup.
• ENTREPRENEUR
MY FINANCIAL GROWNUP MOMENT
At age 14, I remember waiting to board a flight at the airport with my mother and siblings. My mother gave me my boarding pass and I realized she was in first class and my brothers and I were in coach. With classic teenage angst, I expressed my displeasure at our seating arrangements. She told me that I was welcome to use my own money to upgrade my seat. She then reminded me that I should be grateful for the opportunity to travel at all. Obviously she was right and I flew to our destination in coach.
MY LESSON TO SHARE
Be judicious when deciding where and how to spend your money. I appreciate a splurge as much as anyone else, but I tend to be prudent more often than not. My financial philosophy is invest wisely and splurge selectively.
GET ALL THE ADVICE YOU CAN
A SIMPLE, MEMORABLE MOMENT from an impetuous teenager set the stage for Ivanka Trump to become a financial grownup. Most notably, someone who has achieved one of the ultimate marks of grownup success. Ivanka has become an independent entrepreneur and business leader, with her own identity, despite being the child of one of the most iconic, headline-grabbing businessmen and politicians in our lifetime – Donald Trump.
Ivanka learned early on that her parents’ financial success was not hers. She had to make her own way. And when she did so, she could decide how to spend her money. Yes, she had a huge head start. But so do a lot of wealthy children. It would be hard to name many who have reached the levels of success of Ivanka Trump. She didn’t just have a plan to be successful – she figured out how to execute it.
The vast majority of us have nowhere near the same advantages as Ivanka. But if we’re lucky, we have parents with child-rearing philosophies like those of Ivana and Donald Trump, philosophies that instill solid financial values in us as we grow up. All the adult Trump kids are known to be solid, hard workers, and that’s not always true of rich kids.
And as Ivanka points out so well, just because you have money doesn’t mean you have to spend it. Taking her advice to invest wisely, and spend selectively, will carry you far.
Financial beginnings must not define who we will be as financial grownups. Some of the poorest children have become huge success stories. A great example is Tony Robbins, the uber-successful entrepreneur, speaker, and author of the best-selling book on finance, Money: Master the Game, who will share his financial grownup moment later in the book. Robbins has talked extensively about not having enough food when he was growing up. It doesn’t get much worse than that. And yet he managed, at a very early age, to be a financial grownup. In his case it was because he had to. There wasn’t room for excuses. He didn’t have the financial or parental support that even the average kid has.
Ivanka and Tony are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to their financial starting points. And yet they both achieved true financial grownup status because of their determination to control their financial lives. Your parents’ financial success is not yours. Nor are their financial shortcomings. To be a financial grownup you must pay attention and take ownership of your own financial decisions.
Invest wisely and splurge selectively
To be clear – if your parents happen to be financially successful and that is a resource, consider yourself lucky. If they have the opportunity to give you a head start in life, such as paying for college, you’re off to a great start. Don’t be a martyr. Accept the help with gratitude and appreciation.
Get all the advice you can from adults who are willing to help out. If you have access to financial resources, be accepting. And if you don’t, be resourceful. This book will help you make the most of what you have, or be successful despite what you don’t have. Most of all, don’t be afraid to ask.
• ENTREPRENEUR
• O’SHARES FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN
• STAR AND INVESTOR, SHARK TANK
MY FINANCIAL GROWNUP MOMENT
My financial grownup moment came during my final year of high school when my stepfather, George, sat me down and asked me, “What do you want to do with your life?”
I told him that I didn’t want to go to university. That I was going to be a photographer.
George proceeded to explain that “to be, or not to be” isn’t the question. The question is: What are you willing to do in order to be what you want to be?
MY LESSON TO SHARE
If your dream is to become a photographer, writer, or artist, you have to be willing to make a lot of sacrifices to support that goal. I simply wasn’t willing to take the risk of all the tasks and jobs required to support my dream of becoming a full-time photographer.
I wanted to make money, and lots of it.
Today, thanks to George’s advice, I’ve built a successful career that allows me ample time and resources for my real passion – photography.
FOCUS ON YOUR FINANCES TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS
KEVIN’S STORY ILLUSTRATES a common and costly myth that often prevents young people from achieving their dreams – the myth that following your passion will necessarily pay. If you really want to follow your passion, find a way to pay for it.
Following your dream doesn’t