Can you be happy while you're BROKE?! | Ask Mr. Wonderful #12 Kevin O'Leary

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They, Mr. Wonderful here, and welcome to the beachside edition of Ask Mr. Boffin.

Now look, you know there's so many fantastic questions that come through the transom in the last couple of weeks. But I was gonna wait until I'm in the studio and do it in there, but I thought, look, there is no rest for the weary, and I want to get to some of these questions that are absolutely fantastic. So, yeah, we're on the beach! Let me show you some of the accoutrements.

Sere, this is a biodegradable straw, by the way. Check this guy out with your little arm. Oh, I like that! Mmm, coconut juice, so healthy, just love it!

Anyways, look, let's skip to the questions. Some very interesting stuff has come over. And what I really like about this week's version is so many international questions! Like, you name it, all around the globe. I think what's great about entrepreneurs and people that want to work, and you know, everybody wants to start a business, is that all these questions are the same required subgenre, regardless of language. We're all in this journey together, and so I think it's great that we share the style.

So, let's get right to the top of this. I have a question from Allison, which I really like. Let's hear it!

"All right, Alice, what do you got?"

"Hello! I'm so glad you're doing this. My name is Allison, and I live in Utah. I have a question. My husband and I are 52 years old, and we have an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old. We had kids a little bit late due to our choices and various circumstances beyond our control. We don't have anything for retirement. I might have about a little bit from about nine years for Tina's state employee. I work part-time; my husband works full-time. He makes about 85,000 to 90,000 a year; I make about 25 thousand a year. I would like to see raise my kids stay home with them as much as possible, and we would like to know some suggestions for fast-tracking our retirement. Our house is... we are on our house paid off 1,400 a month for that."

Allison, this is a fantastic question! You know, it's the essence of everybody's challenge. So let's talk about it. You got kids, it sounds like you're happily married.

Now here's the good news: The average salary in America is about 56 thousand dollars, so you're making over almost 120,000 combined between your part-time gig and what your husband is doing. But let me tell you what the core of this issue is, and believe me, I don't care how rich you are, it's the same problem everywhere: People buy too much crap! I'm guilty of it, you're guilty of it, believe me; it's happening.

What you're gonna have to do if you want to prepare for retirement, because you're basically telling me you don't have any dough set aside, that's a big problem. So you're gonna have to actually save fifteen percent of what you're bringing in every month, which means you have to stop buying crap! There's crap you bought yesterday you don't need. I've been saying this for years.

Look in your closet of all the clothes and shoes you don't wear. Come on, your husband's got the same thing going on. It's not that hard to cut the crap out! Every time you're gonna buy something, Allison, ask yourself right there in that moment, "Do I really need this crap?" And the answer is 90% of the time, No!

So that's the first thing that's gonna happen. You got to raise your kids, so you can't cut back on school, and you can't cut back on good food for them. But there's so much crap you don't need to do, and I know I'm right, and you know I'm right. So, for all of you out there listening to this, and Allison raised this question, she's the right one to ask it!

You got to just cut it back, and then you take that 15% and you buy a bunch of ETFs. You can go online now and set up an account for free with some of these online brokers and just buy an exchange-traded fund. You just buy the market; it's gonna give you 6 to 7% a year, which is gonna be great for you as you put this money aside for the next 15 to 20 years. Allison, that's what you're gonna live on anyways.

I'm glad we met! But to everybody who's listening to this today, from now on, when you walk outside and you get out there and you see something in a store, what do you want?

No, my friends, do not buy that crap! I have been able to train myself to cut back on that on everything except watches. That's the only thing I'm weak at, and it's a horrible, horrible disease I have. But everything else? I don't buy that crap! On the watches, I got it, but some of those I deserve; I work hard! But on the rest of that crap? My kids and my wife? No crap! Zero crap! That's how you save money.

All right, let's move on here. Let's go to Denis.

"All right, Denis, what do you got?"

"Hi Mr. Wonderful, my name is Denis Onyango from Kenya, East Africa. Cool! My question to you is this: What's your take on forex trading? I tend to see it as gambling; I could be wrong. Please let me know what you think. Thank you, Denis."

Kenya, you basically asked the question about FX trading. That's currency trading. Now, let me tell you why that is so solely personal. Currencies fluctuate against each other all day long. A lot of people don't know this: The largest market in the world is the currency market; it's huge! Trillions of dollars. Nobody makes money trading it—it's almost impossible. A few years ago, the Swiss franc almost doubled against the US dollar; nobody saw it coming!

So many people are wiped out trying to catch that trade, as they like to say! That is, when you are trading currencies, you are basically speculating; you're taking huge risks. I am completely against it.

I have some currencies in my investments: Swiss francs, British pounds, euros, American dollars, Canadian dollars. But I keep them in a ratio. I don't trade them. I don't know what's gonna happen with any of those currencies at any one time, so I'm totally against that, that's for sure!

So, that's the right question! Do I think it's a good idea to invest in? No! I'm more conservative. Give me companies that pay me a two or three percent dividend when we grow earnings over time. I use ETFs for that stuff now! But FX trading or currency trading? No, no, Nanette! I hate it! Although a great question, and I love the Kenya connection! Ask Mr. Wonderful is going global now!

Click break! Let’s go check out the beach — what's happening here?

"Oh, ya kiddies! That is so nice! You know, the sound of the waves is so peaceful. I just love it! Something about the sun, the sand, and the water. It's just great to be able to talk to each other while we hear the waves crashing in each... Well, I've had a number that's wonderful, I'll get back to work! Here we go, let's get to the next question!"

All right, yeah, this one is from Jack. Let's hear it!

"Jack? I'll cool it on the birds!"

"All right, so back Alfred Hitchcock menu. How do you stay motivated, stay confident in yourself, and how do you stay happy?"

Jack, what a deep question! How do you stay motivated, confident in yourself, and stay happy? I love it!

I'm glad you raised it! Let's talk about that. Nobody's happy a hundred percent of the time; that's not how life works, my friends. It just doesn't work that way. But, you know, you got to get up in the morning and ask yourself, "What can I do today that solves four or three problems for me?"

One, most of us are working; I'm gonna be working until I drop dead, so I want to get something done towards that. Two, how can I do something for my family? Because family first all the time! What can you do for your family? And if you're married or living with your significant other, what can I do to help them? Because a happy significant other—you know the saying: "Happy wife, happy life." Well, these days, "Happy significant other, happy life!"

So you got to balance all these three things with your day. You gotta take care of who you're living with; you gotta take care of your family; you gotta take care of your business. And when you're doing these things, you're gonna find that they eat up sixty or seventy percent of your day.

If your mind goes idle, sometimes you can get depressed. It's happened to me too! You know, things get on my mind, I can't sleep, I worry about it. It's the wrong thing to do!

You've got to think big picture. Happiness is so hard to pursue, and anybody that tells you they're happy 100% of the time is full of [ __ ]. That is so not true! Everybody deals your stress regardless of your situation. I have people that are friends of mine that are incredibly wealthy, and they're miserable. I know people that are struggling financially and are happy with their families.

So there's nothing to do with money! Happiness is not a destination; it's a journey! Every day is different, and life is gonna throw you some crazy stuff. Remember this conversation when it happens! Stay focused; don't go nuts. Try and stay focused on the things that matter in your life—your job, your family; those are basically it! And the things you love. You know, if you love to play music or love art, you gotta spend some time with that too.

Anyways, you know, I feel like I'm gonna cry or something here; I'm getting emotional with this one! But it really is all about—what is life about? Well, life is about being happy. You got to find that which makes you happy. Who knows? Gee, it was a great question!

All right, let's move on here; I like that one. Now we'll go to the 7-Eleven! Yes, okay, that was for Catherine!

"Tell you, Jack, I love members! So, Katherine Scott: Good morning, Mr. Wonderful! I have a question. My name is Katherine Sarimana; I'm from Trail, British Columbia, Canada, and I was wondering if you would ever consider becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. I think that you would be a great Prime Minister. I don't really know you very much, but I've seen a few of your videos on LinkedIn, and you seem pretty positive, uplifting, very nice man, noble, how the hell, intended, and worldly! It seemed like the perfect Prime Minister! It would be so great if you did. I think you could win. I would vote for you!

I've only voted boys in my life, and I'm 58. I think it would be great because I love President Trump, and I hope that he runs for office forever! I think that YouTube would make a great North America! God bless you!"

Wow, Catherine, that was really, really cool! You know, Mr. Wonderful for Prime Minister? I have to be honest with you, though. I tried that once already, and I got my pass handed to me. Politics is really tough; I’m still paying for it!

But listen, I love the question! You know, sometimes you find in your life a time to serve your country, and I think it's a very noble thing to do. But politics is not like business; it's nasty stuff!

I'm glad I gave it a try, and I learned so much about it, but I never say never to anything. You don't know what life is gonna bring! But I love helping launch; I love starting businesses and helping people grow them. That's what I'm good at! And that's what I want to do. I got that bug of public service.

Originally, my wife said to me, "You're crazy to try it." And then when you got into the game, she said, "I'm proud you're doing it." And then when I lost, she said, "Hey, bozo, why'd you waste all that money?" So, you know, that's basically what happens! It's a risk, but I think politicians—I would prefer, just generally speaking, you talked about the US and Canada and Mexico. Now we've got the NAFTA thing coming; all should come from business!

That's how I view it! Because then they experience what it takes to create a job, and in the end of the day, that's what makes a country great. Any country: Entrepreneurs starting businesses, creating jobs, regardless of what party—or which politics are against job creation! Nobody!

And I think that's what's wonderful about politics: If you can actually bring it to the table and help people grow businesses, that's cool! But thanks for that question, and you know, I'm flattered! I’m just absolutely flattered. I love that you think I would be a good leader. I think that's kind of cool. They say business leadership doesn't translate to politics, I say finish it.

Anyways, that's my two cents! Let's get another one in here! I'm loving these questions, here we go! Oh, this is interesting! Nicola!

Let's find out what Nicola's real!

"All right, hit me, Nicola!"

"Hello, this is Nicola from Poland. We have a project in Poland in a clinical waste recycling. We want to do finance; it's a starter. Do you please tell me what would be the best way to get financed for that project? Thank you!"

I love it! Once again, Ask Mr. Wonderful goes global! That was from Nicola in Poland!

Wanting to finance something to do with recycling? Anything to do with recycling is of interest to every government on Earth today. So the first place I'd go to get financed is to look at government programs, including A-1 that want to help startups that are trying to improve the environment! That's the first place!

Why? It's the cheapest cost of capital. When you get money from the government, it's a lot cheaper than the private sector. They already have a mandate; they basically take your tax dollars and recycle it into the economy to try and help people get more stuff done around recycling in the environment.

Of course, it makes sense! So my answer to that question is go online, check your own government programs, and you're gonna find somebody somewhere in one of those ministries that want to help your business! You sound like a sharp guy; now get to work and make it happen!

Then, after you prove out the model, you can say it'll be profitable. Then you go to the private sector, then the capital will flow! That's how it works! You know, thank you for that question!

Quick break here and I go to my... oh yeah, a little coconut with an aggressive... mmm, it's delicioso! Coconut water—so healthy for you! The umbrella keeps it cool from the heavy sun, hitting the water in the coconut! Plus, the coconut is a natural insulator! Who knew, right? You learn these things on the beach!

Let's move on; let's get another question here! By the way, I want to show you this t-shirt I'm wearing. You see what it says? As you back a little bit, this is a t-shirt from my new collection. This is the cold, hard truth. I don't know when the guys that are making this thing are going to bring it out, but it's very cool!

It'll actually do something that we could do together—maybe I'll do a limited run of it! It's kind of an Ask Mr. Wonderful thing, but I like this whole t-shirt thing and of course these guys are great entrepreneurs, so I'm gonna help them out.

Let's get the next question! Let's see what we got here! All right, Sharon coming up!

"All right, Karen, hit me! What do we got here?"

"Garry, my question to you is: What are the three businesses/ideas that you see will change and completely revolutionize the way we operate and work in the next decade? What would be those three versus what would be the three problems begging for solutions that you mean? I'm a big fan of yours, love how stupid romantic, and I'm gonna take you out through investments in us. Thank you very much!"

Another global question from London, England! That was really cool! So I like it; I thought it was character such that Kareem! But anyways, great questions!

One of my top three ideas—well, they happen! We start 10 companies. So the one that I think is the most intriguing is a company called Blue Land. Now this is the ceramic bottle; there's a Blue Land bottle, and this is actually a little capsule if you put in it.

So you don't have to lug two pounds of water from the grocery store, and you don't throw the plastic out into the ocean afterwards! So these guys have got a patent to crystallize cleaning liquids! Very cool company! As a matter of fact, I love the question going to roll the commercial; check this out to get an idea of what they do!

Introducing Blue Land, the better way to clean! Our reusable bottles and revolutionary tablets transform water into a powerful cleaning solution. With Blue Land, cleaning is easy and good for the planet! Our non-toxic formulas are proven to work better than the leading brands, and you'll never throw away another plastic cleaning bottle.

So clean your home with Blue Land and clean the world! Get your kit today at BlueLand.com!

That's number one!

Number two, which I think is going to be a global winner, is this product here called Benji Lock. This is the first lock in the world to have a key in it! See that? And have a fingerprint pad that lets you open the lock with your fingerprint on it! Very, very cool!

And then number three, which, you know, maybe it's not a world beater, but it's really, really cool and I use it every day!

Check this out; this is a bottle of Boost Oxygen! Yeah, yeah! 95 percent oxygen! So, kind of sharpens your mind a little bit, particularly when you're getting tough questions like this one from London, England!

Very cool product! Another Shark Tank deal! Now, you can't ship Boost by air because it's compressed oxygen, so it's got to go by ground! That's one of the challenges the company has, but I think we're gonna hit 50 million in sales this year, so it's still an okay!

Anyways, all these products are online; check them out! Yeah, I'm shamelessly promoting them, but you asked me for game-changers; I just gave you three great ones!

Let's do one more question! Each—well, occur on, but I'm really... you know I'm really enjoying this week's version of Ask Mr. Wonderful! More sip!

This one isn't the token of something else; never ski! You know, it's a skinny margarita! I can't stand the sugars in those things! But anyways, it's got the salt around the rim; I like it!

Let's go here to Grace.

"Hi, Grace, here we go! One more question!"

"Hello, Kevin! My name is Grace Calavera, and I am seeking your advice. My husband and I came legally to the United States as part of a relocation program for a company, and we both work full-time for an IT Fortune 500 company. We came with two suitcases in our hands and started from scratch in this country! We have filled the family with two kids already. My background is administration, and my husband is an IT engineer. We have 50k penalized, and we really don't know what to do with it. We have thought about putting our business before investing the money in the market, but we just really don't know what to do! We would really like you to eventually quit our jobs, or be your own bosses—or even better, if we could have our money work for us! I would really appreciate your advice on what to do with our capitalized money. Thank you so much for your time!"

Grace, you are the backbone of America! Just like me, I'm half Lebanese, half Irish, and you obviously have the work ethic! About the $50,000 set aside, the key to this journey, particularly to build that family pillar around finance, is to save it and invest it in marketing to get you about 6 or 7 percent!

I say this all the time: You want to take—it’s gonna be a little conservative, because the market's had a great run the last couple of years! So you wanna make me put a third of it to work!

I like to use ETFs! I use these online brokers that are free, low-cost, low-commission, all of them! No matter which one you choose, give it by!

So you can just, you know, go online and have a dialogue with them, and say, "Look, I want to buy a couple of ETFs for long-term investing!" Maybe of that 50k, maybe put a third of it to work! But be very conservative! If you can make 6 or 7 percent on that, that's great!

But the key to success for your husband and you, believe me, I say this to everybody, is to keep 10% of your after-tax income each year and investing that way for the next 20 years; you're gonna end up in a great place—an absolutely great place!

It's all about family values. It's not, you know, family is about—let's say you say to me, "Well, it's not about love." No, a family is actually a business! Love is important! You gotta have that! But you're actually building a financial pillar that you can support a family with, and that means you've got to save!

You have to have economic goals! It sounds like, in your case, both of you came over the United States, got jobs— that's fantastic! Now you gotta go to work! But you sound driven! But at the end of the day, you're building a family! And then later in life, you can be a provider and help your children launch, and then they provide for their family! The cycle of life!

What a great way to end this week's Ask Mr. Wonderful! I just feel exhilarated! Partly because the questions were so fantastic!

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