My mom saw you appear on Oprah, and she knows that I’m into the personal finance stuff and thought I would be interested. Here’s the story: I’m 22 and started investing when I was 18 years old. A “friend” of the family was a financial advisor and I sat down with him and we worked up long term goals. One was to build a fund for a replacement car in 3 years, a house downpayment in 5 years, and retirement at 50. About 6 months into the plan I decided to read the fund prospectus. What was actually the small sales charge I was paying him? It was 5.75 front end loaded with an average mutual fund expense ratio of 2%. Well after I found out what was going on, I found Morningstar. I then compared those funds to their peers and found out what I really owned and the risks they entailed (not suited for the right goals). I fired him in late 2001.
I just purchased my first house @ 5.5% over 20 years – just like the couple in your book. We (I) don’t do debt. I am on the road to becoming an automatic multi-millionaire. I make an average living. However, it’s not what you make, it’s what you do with it!! Make your money work for you! I now have everything on autopilot – it is automatic. I have given your book to a co-worker and I have many others that will be getting it in the next few months. The little things really do add up!
