Last week, The Oxford Club held its Private Wealth Seminar in Charleston, South Carolina. Our hotel was located on King Street, a popular part of town near the College of Charleston. The area was teeming with a mix of college kids, other folks spending their disposable income at crowded upscale bars and restaurants, and, like any big city, homeless people. It was an interesting trichotomy of young adults hoping to "make it," people who had already "made it," and individuals who through either their own bad decisions or bad circumstances (or both) did not. When seeing those who are destitute, I often have a "There but for the grace of God go I" moment. I was lucky to be born into a stable family that nurtured me. But I also know for certain that I made the right choices along the way that led to my financial success. I grew up middle class, the son of an assistant principal and stay-at-home mom. I had everything I ever needed and even some things I wanted. I was very fortunate and know it. But when I went out into the world as a young adult, I was broke. New York City is an expensive place to live, and I wasn't making much money in my very non-Wall Street entry-level job. There were a lot of spaghetti with butter dinners in my hovel, which was called an "apartment" by New York realtors and, apparently, housing officials. My parents were good role models in that they never had any debt besides a mortgage. When it was time for me to go to college, they said they would pay for me to go to a state school. They couldn't afford a private school and weren't going to go into debt to pay for one. Neither was I. And I didn't take on any debt after college either. Because I had no money, I had a strong desire to make some and taught myself about investing. Buying stocks for the long term didn't relieve me of my plain pasta dinners in the near term. But it did set me up for the future. Here are the lessons I've learned about handling money that have served me very well in my life and that I teach my kids... |
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