the other room and, all in all, things were moving along well.
"I decided to make barbering my life's work. I knew my income from the shop was respectable, but it was never going to make me a rich man. That bothered me because, frankly, I wanted to be wealthy. I grew up poor and, believe me, it's something you don't acquire a taste for. I didn't want to live in town in a tiny, one-bedroom home—I wanted to live on the lake. I wanted to own this building, too. I wanted a nice car, trips to Europe, and some of the other fine things life has to offer.
"The only way I could accomplish all that on my in-come was to budget and save like a madman. Or, at least, that's what I thought. So, I developed a budget: so much for rent, so much for food, so much for clothes, so much for savings . . . you know. Two years after starting to budget, I had very little to show for it. Sure enough, at the end of each month I'd end up saying, 'So much for savings,' but, unfortunately, it didn't mean what I had hoped it would mean. It was pretty depressing.
"Like you, Dave, I realized I didn't know anything about financial planning, and it was high time to learn. I didn't have a father to turn to, so I went to a person who I figured must know a lot about money, he had so much— Old Mr. White.
"I explained my situation to him. I told him what I wanted to achieve. Ts it possible?' I asked.
"He told me, 'Wealth beyond your wildest dreams is possible if you follow the golden rule: Invest ten percent of all you make for long-term growth. If you follow that one simple guideline, someday you'll be a very rich man.'"
"That's it?" asked Tom, making no attempt to hide his