Okay, you 50 year old idiot, let’s say you started to work at the very late age of 25 (I picked that number because the math is easier.) From the age of 25 to the age of 50, you were only able to put away one hundred dollars per year. Aren’t you proud? Somehow you were able to set aside $1.92 a week. I am SO impressed.

Are you kidding me? How does that happen? There are lots of ways. You spend more than you earn - that’s certainly the biggest way. You don’t have a plan. You have screwed up priorities. You don’t pay attention. You indulge yourself. You indulge your kids.

I got an email today from a woman who explained that she and her husband filed bankruptcy in 1999. Now, eight years later, their debt is right where it was then. First let me say this: Bankruptcy gave you a second chance and you blew that too!!! She said that she and her husband don’t buy anything for themselves but do have three daughters that in her words, “don’t want for anything.” Her question was how does she explain to her daughters that they have financial problems and need to “cut back” without “failing her daughters?” I wrote her back. You can imagine how nice I was. First, her statement about how her daughters “don’t want for anything” is a lie. They want for responsible parents who are smart enough to learn from their mistakes - who know how to provide for their family’s future - who have put away for college for their three kids - who have their priorities straight - who can teach them about financial planning and budgeting - who know how to live a lifestyle they can afford - who aren’t idiots!!!!!!! Failing her daughters? One more time: are you kidding me? She and her husband have already failed her daughters. She said that her daughters all have cell phones that run more than $200 a month but that they are barely scraping by. She told me that she doesn’t think it is fair that her daughters “suffer” because of her mistakes. Holy crap!!!!! Since when is a young teenager doing without a cell phone called suffering?

I could really get off on a rant here but you get the point already I believe. Sadly, I get lots of emails like this. People just can’t figure out how they got into their mess. It’s like those bills sneaked into their house at night along with the plasma TV and the closet full of cheaply made crap they can’t get their fat butts into anyway. Then they wake up in the morning and SURPRISE!!!! they are in debt up to their eyeballs and have no money to pay for all that stuff they don’t need and probably don’t even want.

Pay attention people!!!! SAVE SOME MONEY. Get a wealth strategy! Wishful thinking is NOT a wealth strategy. Hope is a not a plan for success! Get a grip. Anyone can save money. I don’t care how bad your situation is, it can be done. How? By just doing it! Stop writing me and asking me how to save money. Really. I am sick of your stupid emails begging me to tell you the secret to saving money. There is no frigging secret! Put some of your money into a savings account. Period. Just do it. Before you do ANYTHING else - do it! It’s as simple as that.

Here is another stat for you: Only 1 out of 100 of the people who start working at age 25 will be wealthy by the age of 65. Only a total of five out of a hundred will have enough money to retire at 65. Get a plan! The first step is to spend less than you earn. I get accused of being simple and people have trashed my book, You’re Broke Because You Want To Be, because there is nothing earth shattering in it, yet 40% of our society spend more than they earn and live paycheck to paycheck. Seems to me like “spend less than you earn” is earth shattering news for 40% of society so I’ll stick with my simple approach. That simple approach has served me well. I spend less than I earn and save some and invest some and give some away. That simple approach has made me a millionaire. It’s worked for lots of my millionaire friends too.

There are as many ways to be rich as there are rich people. I am not going to tell you how to do it. That is not my area of expertise. In fact, I pay people who are richer than me to show me what to do when it comes time to invest my money. I can, however, tell you how to end up broke and heartbroken and disappointed with your life: spend more than you earn. That’s all it takes.

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First, the positive response to the book has been overwhelming. It seems like those who need to change their situation and read the book are very satisfied with my advice and have written me thankful emails. I sincerely appreciate those letters. You are ready for things to improve and you are doing something about it. That’s all I ask of anyone. I applaud you. And over one thousand of you have used my Refer A Friend button to suggest my book to others…..maybe you just wanted the free book, but that’s okay too. Thanks!

But to those of you who have trashed me over the title saying things like, “How dare you put people down for being poor and for having financial problems…..yada, yada, yada.” I say to you, READ THE BOOK. I understand financial problems. I understand poor. I even start the book sympathizing with the condition “POOR.” The book is NOT for poor people.

Then there is the group, like the couple who trashed my book with one star reviews on Amazon (by the way, they are a married couple who write separate reviews) and they follow me around trashing every book I write. Also, they hate all self improvement books they read and these bozos read a lot…..seems they have every problem known to man, buy books on how to deal with the problem and then hate every book they read. Gee, think THEY might be the problem? Nope, that can’t be it - the experts must be the problem!!!! These people weren’t happy with the book because I didn’t address a number of very specific problems like what happens when you get some disease and can’t work as much and have medical bills and your boss is unsympathetic and again: yada yada yada. In order to address every single specific problem known to man that can cause financial problems I would have to write a 26 volume set of encyclopedias! Instead I address a handful of the most common problems people experience that cause their financial situation. Mostly the problem of an extravagant lifestyle. So to those of you with specific problems that my book doesn’t address……too bad. You are still looking for someone to blame. I’ll let you blame me since obviously you have no fault in your situation at all!

Next, for those of you who post negative comments on Amazon and write me about how stupid the book is because you think I am an arrogant, trash-talking elitist who hides behind sunglasses and stupid shirts and has no idea what it is like to be broke (yep folks, this and more has been said to me and about me), I again say READ THE BOOK. If you read the book, you will find that I am ANYTHING but an elitist and I know broke better than most. I am a country boy from Muskogee, Oklahoma where my family still lives and I grew up without much of anything. And I wear those shirts because I like them! And I wear sunglasses because the sun hurts my eyes! And arrogant? Well, maybe a bit but it is not because I grew up rich or am now rich. I could be the poster child for stupidity. I have made every mistake in the world in every area of my life: with my family, my wife, my businesses, my money. I just learned from my mistakes and now teach what I learned. Period.

Then we have that group of people who trash the book because it is too basic and doesn’t teach anything new. You and ONLY you are 100% correct!!!!!! It is basic….but I meant for it to be that way. People don’t have a clue what their situation is. 40% of our society spends more than they earn. Something basic is needed to wake people up and get them on track… they don’t need a sophisticated approach - they need a basic approach. And you are also right when you say that I am not teaching anything new. I admit that too. There is NO new information anywhere in the world on any topic. I have said that in all my books. I present proven information in a NEW way. I don’t say it like other people. My style is the only thing new and different in any of my books.

Now, it may appear to you who are reading this that I can’t take criticism. Actually I like criticism. In fact, I thrive on it. When you say the kinds of things I say in the way I say it, you have to be prepared to offend people and make them uncomfortable. I am fine with that. So I love all the reviews. IF you read the book. If you read my books and don’t like them, you are free to leave an informed critique of my work. If you haven’t read what I write and you want to critique it, I say, “Shut the hell up because you don’t have the right to comment on something you know nothing about.” Fair? Seems so to me.

Again, thanks to those of you who like the book and are telling me and others. And thanks to those of you who read the book and have issues with it. That shows you are reading and trying to learn and should probably look elsewhere for your answers since I am not the right guy for you. But to you whiners……. you can ….. oh well, you can figure that last one out can’t you???

Larry

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Below, I have included a few of the letters I received just today. Again, I can’t answer all but will answer some when I think that everyone could benefit from both the question and the answer. I have changed the names to protect the innocent. Though you will see from reading that there aren’t any innocent!

Thanks!!!!

Larry

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