Collette Kuemper
Have you ever played the board game called Life? For me growing up, it was my number two game – number one being Monopoly, of course.
The Game of Life simulates a person’s travels through life. On your first turn, you must decide whether you want to go to university or start a career. If you chose a career, you would draw a career card and a salary card. If you chose university, you would instantly need to borrow $40,000 in bank loans for the tuition.
In this game, as in real life, you have to keep moving forward. And just as in real life, you can’t go back in time. The path you choose and the decisions you make are crucial to where you end up. Where you end up in this game is what matters – just like in real life.
I loved playing this game growing up, and in fact I still do. It was always my goal to retire at Millionaire Estates. I was focused. I knew what I had to do and I was determined. Being a millionaire was in my future and, let’s face it, being a millionaire is what many of us want, in the game and in real life.
Our idea of being a millionaire is not just about landing on Millionaire Estates. It’s the idea that somehow life is easier when you are wealthy. Trouble-free even. To some, being a millionaire is having that mansion on the hill, the fast Italian sports car, a private jet, a beachfront vacation home, expensive clothes and designer bags. We all know how it works; we have seen it on TV, right?
But is that accurate? For a few, yes, it is. But when it comes to most millionaires, you might be surprised. Many clients I work with everyday could be considered millionaires. In fact, some are millionaires a few times over, but you would not know it just by looking at them. They are not wearing designer clothes and screeching up to you at a red light in their fancy sports car. More than likely, they are waiting in line at the grocery store with the rest of us.
How did they make their millions? A glamourous job? Solving global problems? Nope. Not one of my clients has been on the cover of Vanity Fair, and most are self-employed. They are builders, locksmiths and car salespeople. They take care of your pest control. A few are self-employed doctors and accountants. They amassed their wealth by spending less than they earn and thinking long and hard before purchasing big ticket items, never buying a brand new car but instead one that has been “broken in” for a couple of years.
The millionaires I know are very busy people. They are passionate about their work and their families. They strive for balance in their life, working long hours and still managing to take in their children’s hockey games.
They are obviously savers, and many of my clients are meticulous budgeters. They are not about to put their money just anywhere.
They do their homework. They take the time to research financial decisions. They talk to friends and ultimately put their hard-earned savings where they will work for them, with people they trust.
When I played the Game of Life, I would change things up a bit each time. One game I would choose to go to university; another I would hop right into a career. I didn’t always get the highest-paying career, but I always did the best I could to get to Millionaire Estates, where the living was easy.
I didn’t reach that goal every time, though I came close. But in the Game of Life, unlike real life, I could always start over with just a spin of the wheel and maybe land on a better space. In real life, we know it’s much harder to start over, and starting over isn’t something my clients are interested in doing. They want to continue to move forward, building their wealth and enjoying their lives, and they know how important it is to have someone like me, someone they trust, to give them the right advice. After all, the road to financial security is full of distractions, and it’s my job to make sure they stay the course and reach their financial goals.
One more thing: if you see a shiny Italian sports car zooming past you, chances are the driver is a millionaire. But chances are that the person pumping gas into their 2008 Pontiac is, too. ■
Colette Kuemper is an Associate Portfolio Manager and Investment Advisor at Odlum Brown Limited. Colette offers discretionary portfolio management and personal investment advisory services for busy professionals, families, and small businesses. She can be reached toll-free at 1-800-788-5677.