Читать книгу How to Be a Financial Grownup - Bobbi Rebell - Страница 12

IVANKA TRUMP

• 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.