Diana Clement: Never too young to earn

A gift of three cows at the age of 10 was the financial eye-opener that set young Kirk Vosper on the path to becoming a millionaire. The youngster, with the help of his father's wisdom, learned how grass munching equalled capital growth and soon he was totting up on paper how much he could make from 10, 20 or even 100 of the beasts.

It was a catalyst that helped set Vosper, of Grey Lynn, on the path to serial business owning and financial security. Now still at the tender age of 23, Vosper can see the word "millionaire" painted on the wall.

But the money hasn't landed in Vosper's lap, free of effort. While his peers were playing with the latest gadgets or honing their rugby skills, the teenage Vosper was reading his fill of financial books and testing his entrepreneurial skills.

Vosper's first business venture came while still at Tauranga Boys College. With the help of the Young Enterprise Scheme, he and a mate designed a flag, had it manufactured, and bussed to Auckland to sell their product outside a Bledisloe Cup match. The pair went on to sell a refined design in bulk to adorn Mt Maunganui's streets.

The venture returned 600 per cent profit to its shareholders who were friends and family of the pair.

Regular financial discussions at the Vosper family home about the value of money and how to make it taught the youngster strong lessons. But so did a stint working for $4.60 an hour to pay off a boat - his only real experience of working for someone else. "No offence to my employer, but I really really hated it," he says.

An early introduction to financial books led Christchurch-based Hadley Shurmer to buy his first investment property at 23.

Shurmer, who along with his parents and younger brother have bought 12 investment properties in five years, had his life transformed by reading a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

Shurmer went straight from being a student and beneficiary to full-time property investor.

"I didn't have a day job beforehand. Property investment became my day job. My father left his after a year, my mother after two and my brother after three. We now all work in the business, and consider a 20-hour week to have been a busy one," he says.

Shurmer attends the Christchurch Young Punters Club, part of the local property investors' association, where investors as young as 15 rub shoulders. He also reads voraciously about investment.

The latest cluster of financial books on the market aim to teach teens and 20-somethings the financial facts of life in a fun way. Kiyosaki's latest book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens claims to impart secrets that people don't learn in school.

His philosophy is based on his experiences as a youngster and learning his money skills from the rich father of a friend.

"My father taught me to get my education through schoolwork. My best friend Mike's father gave me a job and gave me another education, one I learned in the real world."

Kiyosaki is keen on the power of positive thinking. Teens who put their brains into gear are more likely to achieve the financial results they want. He compares the statements: "I can't afford the things I want," and "How can I afford the things I want?"

"One statement stops you from thinking. The other revs your brain up," he writes. Kiyosaki's new book encourages teenagers to start their own small businesses.

"Going to school might be your full-time job, but there is plenty of time in the week to work on business and still get your homework done."

If you type "Kiyosaki" into Google you'll soon find a lot of criticism of the nine Rich Dad, Poor Dad books. But love him or loathe him, his basic philosophy is motivational.

Vosper is an embodiment of the Kiyosaki message, although he's not a great fan of the books.

In 2002, he founded Amasus, which is negotiating with the US Home Shopping Network to sell one million of its NiteGlow brand products a year.

"That's a lot of money for a young guy like me," he says. And if that's not enough, he's working to set up a foreign-exchange dealing company for private investors in New Zealand.

Like Kiyosaki, Vosper doesn't believe young people are learning the financial facts of life they need to in school and university.

The need to tailor financial education to meet real-life needs is one that the Enterprise New Zealand Trust has at its heart. ENZT will have more than 40,000 youngsters go through five programmes next year.

Financial education national director Lyn Morris says it's essential that teenagers learn the financial facts of life early.

One of Morris' key messages to teenagers about living within your means is one that Vosper lives by. Despite his wealth, Vosper is unlikely to be seen driving a Porsche or wearing flash clothes.

"I go out to dinner and get on the piss, but I'm a tight arse; no doubt about it.

"If I do need something I don't go to the shops, I look on [the auction website] TradeMe," he says.

Avoiding advertising hype is a message that The Barefoot Investor author Scott Pape hammers out time and again in his book.

Instead of spending up large and borrowing money to live a Sex and the City-style lifestyle, Pape believes in keeping his spending under strict control and can be seen driving an old banger in preference to the flash wheels he ogles in magazines.

"I'd rather put up with driving the Magna of Death [a 15-year-old family sedan with a coat-hanger for an aerial and dents in every panel] and put that money towards a house," Pape says.

The final word goes to Shurmer who advises young people to think before jumping on the "wage slave" grind.

"Think hard about where you want to be in 10 years and how you're going to get there. I have yet to meet anyone that wants to be a wage slave all their life."

* Books for teens and young people also include:

Financial Secrets by Martin Hawes; Get Rid of Your Student Loan Now by Lisa Schulz; Get Ahead, Get Financially Sorted by 30 by Joan Baker and Annette Sampson; What Not to Spend, by Alvin Hall.