Comments on: Diane's Odyssey

By: Rich Dad. Rich Kid? « How to Make 7 Million in 7 Years™

Rich Dad. Rich Kid? « How to Make 7 Million in 7 Years™ — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:31:50 +0000

[...] inspiration for this post comes from a comment (on a post by Diane about her car), where Debbie says: I think most 16 year old’s get cars these [...]

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:48:00 +0000

@Debbie – Good to hear (or read) your voice again. I agree with your points on the benefits of starting early. My kids are now 8 and 10 and have started receiving an allowance.

They get 2/3 in cash and 1/3 in a savings account. It goes into the savings account automatically (just like Mom and Dad’s investing).

I figure if I get them into the habit of setting aside some of their “income” now, they’ll be more prone to start early as you mention in your article.

Keep up the great work and I wish you much success.
Jeff

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:35:09 +0000

I’m with you Adrian, my stepson is 16 now and knows that if he wants a car, he’ll have to purchase it himself, just like I did when I was 16.

While I was a teenager, living in Tennessee, working part time to buy my own car(and better school clothes than my parents could afford), many of the other kids were getting freebee cars from their parents, as well as the finest school clothes from regular mall trips, as well as escort trips to the finest colleges to ‘scout out the best’ and get ready for the Ivy League.

Interestingly, i’ve made contact again with many of them on Facebook and even seen some of them back home when we go to my parents house for the holidays in Tennessee. Most of them have lower income jobs now and aren’t doing so well unfortunately. Even the school’s ‘top 10′ and ‘most likely to succeed’ have been struggling for many years according to their own statements.

I think many of them are wishing that their parents didn’t give them everything they wanted even up through their college years. They now unfortunately have to learn stuff about money in their 30′s that they could have started learning as a teenager. Stuff like “no” and “I can’t buy that” and “I guess i’ll have to roll my sleeves up, delay gratification and save”.

By: Car or curse? 7 case studies … « How to Make 7 Million in 7 Years™

Car or curse? 7 case studies … « How to Make 7 Million in 7 Years™ — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:01:09 +0000

[...] Diane and I have a discussion around what comes first, the “debt or the car”? It’s moot … Diane know what she needs to do! [...]

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:03:56 +0000

@ Debbie – It was more of a generic “one needs to do this …” rather than a ‘you’ (as in Debbie) needs to do that. Oh, to be 16 again

By: Debbie

Debbie — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:54:17 +0000

@Adrian – except I’m not 16 any more

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:16:55 +0000

@ Debbie – Thanks. The principles are sound: start as early as you can, invest in anything that provides a return greater than inflation, and wait … presto … a million bucks! You may not even need Making Money 201

By: Debbie

Debbie — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:05:34 +0000

@ Adrian http://www.wisebread.com/help-your-teenager-earn-their-first-million I admit the math isn’t perfect, but the general idea was high schoolers have a great opportunity to start their investments during a time when most don’t have a ton of financial obligations to worry about. Once you hit college and the “real world” that all changes – plus you lose time.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:34:57 +0000

@ Debbie – I’d love to see the link to the article (and, comments!) … our children know that if they want cars, they will need to buy their own. We will contribute (prob. up to 50%) …

@ Diane – Thanks for the clarification.

By: Diane

Diane — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:21:43 +0000

Adrian,
I don’t plan on replacing the mini-van, but I can’t think what transportation there is out there that would suit me better. I love being able to toss just about anything I want into it and go. I had wanted an SUV, but the van got better gas mileage, and given how much heavier it should be over cars today, gets probably a better mpg per pound that those “fuel efficient” cars I see on TV. I mean something that is the size of a bug on a windshield getting only 34 mpg is pretty poor in my book. And I’d be the one squashed if I hit anything with it!

No, if I get rid of the van now, I’d use one of my df’s vehicles, until such time as we decided to swap out one of those. Basically, we have his vehicle available for my use, his truck available (but only has a front seat, well, there is a squished up space where a smaller dog could fit, but I have an Old English Sheepdog and he is big and strong, not small and lithe, so that wouldn’t work well for him.

So, we’d most likely have someone come up with a solution for doggy transportation before I sell the van. It’s also still the only way I can “run away from home” if I ever get the urge, so like every “old” person out there, I don’t want anyone to take away my keys yet!!!