First, lemme just mention i went food shopping yesterday. I do the big shopping once a week, after the coupons and circulars come for my 2 favorite stores, R’s and V’s, (no lawsuits here please)…..guess what we eat—-that’s right, we eat what’s on sale…..I saved 53% at V’s yesterday, and 46% at R’s, so basically I got me and Nathen $80 worth of food for 40, and I don’t buy crap, unless you consider yogurt, turkey, asparagus, apples or tri-tip crap…..people say they are scared of coupons——don’t be—-use the ones that you use, don’t use the ones you don’t, pretty simple. I also have another thought on this……Nathen eats basically whatever we are having, in other words, I don’t have a kid who I have to say “he only eats chicken” about….we eat what’s on sale that week and that way dinners don’t get boring to ME either…I will talk on and on about this, as food shopping is a very obvious area where people spend money, so more for another time……

Now on to Lara, our completely wonderful nanny/housekeeper…..she is in her late 20’s, a yoga teacher, runs an organic garden, and is on public radio, crazy smart and intuitive….she keeps the house neat, cooks amazing and healthy meals, helps organize our lives, and most importantly, is a loving and wise caretaker for Nathen when I can’t….she came to me and asked me how to build wealth. She has $2500 to do something with. To me, that sounded like quite a bit, and off we went.

When I was about 21 (I know, I still look the same, lots of inexpensive plastic surgery, Thanks Costa Rica!!, perhaps a topic for another day), I invested in 2 mutual funds, with I think about $500 each. The ones I chose were through T. Rowe Price in Massachusetts, very highly rated “no-load” funds, which mean they don’t take a fee….but here is the key, I signed up for “asset builder”, where they automatically take $100/month out of my checking account for each fund. That either sounds like a lot or nothing, depending on your situation……all of my income and gains are automatically re-invested into more shares, and I swear to you, whenever i have needed $5000, it has always been there. I never think about it, it just sits, and grows, and grows, and grows…and when I have been in trouble in the past, the money was there. Simple, not groundbreaking, and truly NOTHING to freak out about. 

YESTERDAY, Lara purchased shares in 2 mutual funds for $1000 each, with $50/month going automatically out of her checking account into each, and she also checked the boxes for reinvested gains and income. I am crazy proud of her, and she is on her way to savings, painlessly. The whole process took about 7 minutes. Done.

I also gave her an assignment. Find 5 things you see around you that seem to be great (Nathen’s water-bottle was the example I used). Lets find out who makes it, is it a publicly traded company, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, does it sell for close to $5 a share. Does it have room to grow? Do they have a plan? Does the company have value? Well, Lara stepped right up to the plate with some great choices, and one was perfect. I am VERY proud that today Lara is buying 100 shares of GAIA stock, which is a yoga, lifestyle, and media services company….(I hope to god she did it already, as it is up 8 percent TODAY as I am writing this)….let’s hope the company goes back up to it’s highs of $30/share (I’d be happy with $10, but let’s see what happens)….here’s the thing, for a NEW investor, the company isn’t valueless, it can’t go much lower, even if it drops to NOTHING, she is out 600 bucks, but if it goes up, she can sell and move to a larger company with dividends, like GE or Johnson and Johnson…..When I was a little kid, literally 9 or so, I read IN THE PAPER (noticing a theme here about READING THE PAPER?) that Atlantic City was going to have casinos. There was a company called Resorts International…I BEGGED my Dad to buy me 100 shares at $3/share, my mother said it was dumb…..we sold the shares for $125/share……as an adult, I read about Viagra, my $60 shares in Pfizer doubled in 5 days (horny middle aged guys + wall street = stock exploding, pardon the pun)….it was so obvious it was silly. I did NOT buy Ford stock at 70 cents a share during the recession, and it also was so obvious that I am mad at myself every day, when it hit $12 again, I was pissed off for a week.

Speaking of investments, I am a partner in 2 restaurants in Los Angeles, Dominick’s and Little Dom’s. If anyone does NOT know about the Sunday Supper at Dominick’s, or the Monday Supper at Little Dom’s, then you should. $15 for appetizer, entree, and dessert——these are not roadhouse diners, these are high end, 3 star, destination restaurants, and if your going out budget has shrunk to non-existent, as it has for so many people in this area, this is the craziest, best deal in town…..enjoy…….