How to Get Rich Investing in Things You LOVE | Ask Mr. Wonderful Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary

The question I'm always getting is: what about living? What about spending on things that you love? What about clothes? What about fashion? Do I have to just go Spartan? I can't buy any of that stuff?

Hi, Mr. Wonderful here, and welcome to another episode of Ask Mr. Wonderful. This week, I have to address a question I'm getting thousands of times; it's the same one over and over again. It's always this: you talk about saving money and not spending any money and that has to be part of your protocol, how you live your life. You have to invest, not just save.

I've talked about this dozens of times, but that means you can't buy anything. You're always taking 100 bucks a week, which is what I say you should do, and investing it over the long period because the markets give you somewhere between a six and eight percent return over long periods of time. Yes, they go up and down, but the whole idea I've been talking about is taking a portion of your salary, let's say you only make 56,000 a year, the average salary. You take a hundred bucks a week and you start investing it, not saving it in the savings account, because that doesn't pay any interest anymore, but putting it into the stock market and letting it grow over 30 or 40 years.

If you do that and you have that discipline, you'll end up a millionaire in your 60s, where you really need to have some money to retire with, as much as a million and a half dollars. So I think that's a pretty pragmatic strategy. Where did I learn that? From my mother, Georgette.

But the question I'm always getting is: what about living? What about spending on things that you love? What about clothes? What about fashion? What about all the things that I want to buy? Do I have to just go Spartan? I can't buy any of that stuff? Not true!

I want you to have a different mindset when you purchase things for yourself, and let me give it to you in a lesson that I learned from my own mother. I've told this story countless times. My mother, Georgette, was a working girl in her 20s. She worked at a factory owned by her father that made children's winter clothing. She would save 20 percent of her salary each week and invest it.

But it's not all she did with it; she loved fashion too. She loved clothing; she liked to buy things for herself. But she had a different mindset about it. She told me years later, and this really changed the way I think about buying stuff: she would save a whole year just to buy one jacket instead of buying a whole ton of cheap stuff that she would throw out a year later and maybe not even wear. She would save up for one thing that she really wanted.

She loved Chanel, so when it came to clothing, she loved Chanel jackets. They cost a fortune back then, but they were very high quality and they looked beautiful. Her thinking was they last forever in your wardrobe; Chanel never goes out of style.

Now, talking about style and talking about fashion in Georgette's mind was: it really is who you are. You're presenting yourself to the world, and you want to look good. You want to feel good about yourself. The reason I tell you that story and why it's so powerful to me is, years later when she passed away and I became the executor for her estate, I started getting phone calls from all the women in my extended family saying, "What happened to Georgette's Chanel jackets?" What do you mean, what happened to them? They're hanging up in the wardrobe!

Well, I would like one of them; in fact, I'd like them all! I began to realize that these jackets were classics. All the women were fighting over them; they all wanted the Chanel jackets. Why? They were worth more today than they were 30 years ago because they were one of a kind, in some cases classic Chanels. How brilliant Georgette was! How genius that was! She invested in herself in something she really loved that appreciated in value. That's what I'm talking about.

I want you to start thinking that way. Now, let's go back and listen to Ralph Lauren, a guy that understands style and investing. Listen to what he said years ago; you'll appreciate this. So, you get it right? He's talking about how you want to present yourself to the world.

So my whole theory about fashion is: it's about you. It's how you want to present yourself. You have two options: you can buy a whole bunch of crap you don't wear all the time, cheap clothing; a lot of people go that way. Or you can start investing in pieces that are going to appreciate in style, that really mean something to you.

Now I'm dressed up in a suit today, the one you see me in all the time. Why do I dress in this black suit? Well, it's my uniform. Years ago, a very savvy wardrobe director when we were shooting Shark Tank over 10 years ago said, "Kevin, you look good in a black suit, white shirt, black tie; maybe a little classic Coutramal like a tie pin. Make it a standard and you'll never have to shoot outtakes."

Because when you shoot Shark Tank and you change your outfit at the end of that shooting day, you have to do outtakes because those shows are put together, they're stitched together. You might shoot one deal on a Tuesday and another deal on a Friday, and they end up in the same show. But if you change your clothing, it's harder for the editors and you've got to do a lot more post-production work.

By having the standard uniform I wear, I avoid all that wasted time. Great lesson for me, but it also became sort of my signature look in business. It's crisp, it's easy. So I invested in myself and my look. I have 25 of these jackets, 25 pants, 25 ties, 25 black ties, 25 handmade shirts. It's an investment; it's not junk. It's very valuable to me. You should think about your clothing that way too.

Think the way Georgette did: buy one thing you really love that you know you're going to wear. But it's not just clothing, okay? I want to talk about another asset class. Let's take for example watches. Everybody knows I collect watches. This is another situation where you can buy something for yourself, love it because you love the style of it, and then over time during your life it appreciates in value. Can it be material appreciation? Oh yeah.

Now I'm wearing today a Rolex steel white face Daytona, an entry-level watch, not excessively expensive, but you know, a stylish piece from Rolex. Now, I have many different brands and I'm not endorsing Rolex one over another. I love Grand Seiko, I love Patek, I love Eddie More Piquet, I love all kinds, Mings, micro brands, Vacheron; you name it, I have these watches in my collection for a reason. I love to collect them, but I also am investing. I'm thinking long term.

Now, how much are watches worth over time? I'm going to give you an extreme example. I want you to watch this video about a Daytona, which is why I wore this one today, bought in the 70s for just around 400 bucks or under 500, anyways. And then what is it worth today? You might get a real kick out of this. Now, this is an extreme example, but I want to point out to you the idea of investing in yourself in pieces you love that can appreciate over time.

I brought in a Rolex watch that I had purchased while I was in the military. I flew on Air America Airlines and Continental Airlines, and I noticed that most of the pilots that were flying those aircraft wore Rolex watches, and I was intrigued by them. I always wanted to purchase them, but they were very expensive.

Later, when I was transferred to another base, I did some scuba diving, and I knew that the Rolex watch was good for scuba diving. I found this particular watch where I could afford it, and I never used it. I looked at it and I said, "You know, this is really too nice to take down in salty water." I just kept it.

This particular model, being marked oyster, is extremely, extremely rare; basically, it's a new old stock watch. No wear on it, the original foil sticker on the back of it, and the fact that we have all this complete documentation here means it's maybe one of the very few in the whole world that still was never worn.

Your watch at auction today: five hundred to seven hundred thousand dollars! Now, how crazy is that? Four hundred and change to seven hundred thousand dollars during a man's lifetime? Yes, it can happen! That's an extreme example, but my point is these watches do appreciate.

In fact, Paul Newman's, you heard reference to in that video, sold for 17.5 million. Your watch may not do that, but the point is, over time, a beautiful timepiece that you love, that you invested in for yourself, goes up in value.

I'll give you another example; I love guitars. Now here's a guitar. This is a one-of-a-kind guitar. It was made for me by the guys at Benji Locke, one of my Shark Tank companies. It's a beautiful piece, EC 401, with this special paint, "Mr. Wonderful" screaming at you. I love that! But I also love to play it.

Now this is another excuse for me just to mess around, and I love doing it. But I'm trying to make a point about another asset class: guitars. They're beautiful, they're fun, you can play them, you can learn how to play them. [Music] You know, just messing around! But that's the whole idea.

I love the guitar. Is this guitar going to be worth more 20 years from now? I think it will be. Now let me give you an example. Those of you that love guitars know what a Gibson Les Paul is. It's a classic guitar in rock and roll; you've seen it played by some of the biggest rockers of all time, designed by a guy named Les Paul.

Well, Les Paul recently passed away. He used to play at a jazz club called the Iridium in New York. I loved him; I loved all he did in that, and he was a Grammy winner as well, not only for music but also for inventions around music, multi-track recorders, that kind of thing. Les Paul’s a legend for that!

I went to see him at the Iridium, and I brought my Les Paul to ask Les Paul to sign my Les Paul, and he did! Here he is signing it. Now, what do you think that guitar is worth today? Not only do I still play it; I love to have it, but it's signed by Les.

To me, my whole point is to talk about investing in yourself and thinking wisely about how you spend your money. You don't have to be Spartan. You don't have to starve yourself from the joys of life. You have to think pragmatically: buy less stuff, but when you buy stuff, make it good stuff, make it investable stuff. Whether it be a watch, whether it be a guitar, even something like a ballpoint pen.

Yeah, you can spend 29 cents on a pen and throw it away, or you can buy a collectible piece like this one, a Mobius; they only make so many of them, and over time they appreciate in value, and they're wonderful to have. This is a collectible; it's a design around Egyptian hieroglyphics; it's etched on the body of the pen.

Now you may say that's trite and stupid. I don't think so! It's stylish, I love to use it, it's functional, pragmatic, and it's appreciating in value. You know, I gift pens to people in business, very rare pens sometimes to celebrate a deal; they really appreciate it.

And when they look back five years later when that pen has gone out of production, it's enhanced in value dramatically. I want you to think that way: buy less stuff, but buy good stuff. That means something to you. That, too, my friends, is investing in the future. Take care!