INSPIRING: Son Shares How Mum Turned Only $8 into a Million

An author, CEO and founder of a financial education and wellness company, SmartPath, Alok Deshpande, (pictured with mum and older sister as tots above) shared how his mum turned only $8 into a million with the Wall Street Journal.

Read and learn from his inspiring story:

“In 1969, my mother landed in New York with $8, a suitcase, and the sari on her back. She left India after receiving a scholarship to the physical-therapy program in Warm Springs, Ga. The fact that she left familiar surroundings for an unknown world was remarkable. But even more remarkable were the simple lessons on money that made her a millionaire and will impact our family for generations.

My parents were part of a community that followed two principles on money:
1) Avoid things you don’t understand.
2) Spend less than you make.

As an immigrant, the first principle eliminated most financial products. In their early years, my parents simply didn’t understand credit, insurance or investing. My mother never liked the idea of buying things she couldn’t afford. She preferred to wait until she could pay cash. In the same vein, she didn’t understand why she would take her hard-earned $100, put it into an investment and watch it go up and down with limited control. She preferred knowing exactly how much she had.

Over time, my parents were ushered into more mainstream financial products. Still, my mother kept physical bricks of gold and silver with the steadfast belief that they were all she could rely upon. From the perspective of most financial savants, using little to no credit and not investing for growth are financial suicide. They may have been right if my mother wasn’t a professional at the second principle–spending less than she made.

My mother was the model of saving. At restaurants, she ordered water, lemons and sugar instead of the $2 lemonade. She conserved water from the dehumidifiers to water the plants. She purchased airline tickets for peak flight times and then surrendered them for vouchers. In fact, every expense she made was filtered for how she could spend less. It was second nature. It was her way of life. It was done in a way that didn’t deprive the family. And it significantly reduced her financial stress.

By following principle No. 2, my mom had a foolproof plan where she was in complete control. She wasn’t dependent on market returns or a pending bonus for financial security. She didn’t lose sleep over her lack of financial knowledge because she was investing in herself. Sure, in hindsight, she didn’t maximize her portfolio, but that was far less important than the daily feeling of empowerment she gained from following the two principles.

Many immigrants took the same path as my mother. They saved 20% to 50% of their income every month for 40 years. Most didn’t do it to consciously make a sacrifice. Instead, it was part of their daily routine that simply made sense. Their stories are far less decorated than the rags to riches tributes of Oprah, Howard Schultz, and Jean Paul DeJoria. But their strategies are far more replicable.

No matter what your broader financial strategy includes, you can all apply the two principles. You have the ability to spend less than you make. You can avoid things you don’t understand or take the time to learn them. You can develop a deeper relationship with your money that creates a burning desire to keep it. And in the process, you can pass down more than money. You can pass down the principles that protect that money for generations to come.”