just one final comment for those who may follow my example. Once upon a time I was a college-level student working to support myself. I didn't get a degree, and I'm paying for my mistakes in life by not being able to retire at age 62. I am one of the unfortunate victims of the 'hustle' I saw you speak about on your blog. I got in, and now I am trying to get out. But here is the catch: I made the mistake of not understanding that, once you are in, it isn't easy to get out. At the beginning, I made a game plan to get out at least $3,000 monthly after paying all expenses, but by the time I did what I wanted to do, it was clear that my plan wouldn't work. That is, I wanted to do what I wanted, instead of what the game plan said I should do. So I started looking for a part-time job. But by the time I got one, I was told I didn't have enough experience. So I started looking for a better part-time job. But by the time I got a better part-time job, I was told I didn't have enough experience. I have started an over-time job. I have started an internship program that will work out wonderfully in the long run. But, again, not with a clear game plan. How do you do it? Is it simply luck? What skills and strategies have you developed to get out? How did you make this happen? Do you have a mentor you can contact? How did you put your plans into action? Thank you for your time and for everything you have already done to help those of us trying to "get out." God bless. A: This is very, very difficult. Here are some observations: It sounds like you were motivated to make money at an early age. This is the worst possible position to be in. The vast majority of people want to make money without having to go through the rigors of the "ladder of success" or the "work trap." Don't worry about "getting out". Focus on doing things that make you feel good. This works for some, and not for others. To start, find activities and hobbies that you enjoy. For example, if you're an artist, make artwork that you like. Get involved in volunteer work. Do something to occupy yourself in addition to working. Decide to become a millionaire. It's much easier to become a millionaire by taking action than by passively hoping for it to happen. Once you realize that it is a goal of yours, you will be less likely to take it for granted and more likely to appreciate it. A: I have read some of the "get rich quick" literature of the past. It would be easy to tell you that "the system is rigged" and how to do it. I do not want to do that. I have seen many people do things so far removed from the norm that a "get rich quick" story does not seem out of place. You do have the support of family and friends, which is a blessing in disguise. You are "in the system". You now have to "play the game". If you want to get out, you will have to play by the rules. There is an important distinction I see between wealth generation in the financial world and wealth generation in the real world. Money in the Bank is a real number, tangible in dollars and cents. But money in the stock market is just numbers. Your money is in your 401k, your IRA, or your pension fund. But if you take the right "risk" with your money, you will be ok. The wrong risk will wipe out your retirement plans. You will be left with nothing. My suggestion is to take a step back. Get a job, get a mortgage. Spend wisely on things that make you happy. If you're a parent, take some time to mentor your children. They will be around longer than you are. Behave and manage your risk, get an education, build a resume, and you will find a job. Keep your head up and your chin up, and you will be ok. A: I'm going to make a couple of important points. The first is if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably a scam. Second, as a former financial broker with a big bonus, I see through those too. It doesn't sound too bad to you, but they are a big fraud. You know how easy it is to get into that? A couple of years ago I hired a guy with no degree, "just a nice guy with some friends." He had zero experience, except with his friends. We got him an internship, and he did well enough that we put him in training at a brokerage company that was going out of business. That resulted in a full time offer. There was something off about him though. He couldn't take constructive criticism well and was extremely suspicious of anything you said or did. When it came down to it, all his "friends" could do was talk about him. When we tried to fire him for poor performance, he was so mad that he had to be escorted out of the building by security. It turned out that he had actually started this company with the money the brokerage company had given him and had a lot of people in his network. When they failed, he went back to his investors, saying that we were lying about everything. We don't have any of his people in our network anymore. You have to be careful, but there is a business for sale for everyone. They just have to sell it in a way that is not illegal, or that is not fraudulent. This is exactly the kind of thing that the government and the banks don't care about. They don't care about anyone but themselves and their network of friends. I know some people in the government now and they are all the kind of people that would love for you to try to sell something and them to come by to shut you down for making money. If you want to quit and try to get your money back, there is still a couple of years for you to try, but it's going to be tough. Even when we were successful, there were lots of problems. I had a job and I needed to be able to take time off, so that was one of my concerns, but it took me years to be comfortable with it. Don't quit before you've got a safety net, and don't quit even after you've got one until you have gotten your finances in order and have planned a backup plan. Also, the financial market has changed a lot since you were in college. The SEC is trying to catch more frauds than ever, and they are also making more cases. You're looking at more regulation and more enforcement in the future. It's going to be hard for anyone to make serious money. A: I had the good fortune to have a family member who became a high level executive of a mutual fund in the US, and got fired after two years. From there he was able to find a small private company that had no business plan, but a single very bright founder who was going to quit in a few months and take all the employees with him. The mutual fund executive took over the company, paid for his old job, and made a fortune for himself. What did he know that we don't? That the founder has a plan in place for the exact things that need to be fixed, he was going to leave and take the employees with him, but we'll give them a chance to get their jobs before we fire them. I want to be able to start a business and see it grow while I'm working my job. How do I start this without being taken advantage of? You can't. I tried for decades to start a business, failed countless times, made a bunch of stupid mistakes, and then finally got lucky at an age where it's too late to start another business because "life experience" and I have both learned the lessons of the past. How do I manage my portfolio? Not your portfolio, but your savings, investments, IRA. I want to start saving my money before I retire. You can't. Once you start investing, you won't be able to