It's their house. Occasionally someone does not pay. And that is wonderful because there are late fees, or they move out and the property is sold again. The court system handles that. And it may not work in your area. The market condi- tions may be different. But the example illustrates how a simple financial process can create hundreds of thousands of dollars, with little money and low risk. It is an example of money being only an agreement. Anyone with a high school education can do it. Yet, most people won't. Most people listen to the stan- dard advice of "Work hard and save money." For about 30 hours of work, approximately $190,000 was created in the asset column, and no taxes were paid. Which one sounds harder to you? 1. Work hard, pay 50 percent in taxes, save what is left. Your savings then earns 5 percent, which is also taxed. Or: 2. Take the time to develop your financial intelligence and harness the power of your brain and the asset column. Add to that how much time it takes you, time being one of your greatest assets, to save $190,000 if you used option No. 1? Now you may understand why I silently shake my head when I hear parents say, "My child is doing well in school and receiving a good education." It may be good, but is it adequate? I know the above investment strategy is a small one. It is used to illustrate how small can grow into big. Again, my success reflects the importance of a strong financial foun- dation, which starts with strong financial education. I have said it before, yet it is worth repeating-financial intelli- gence is made up of these four main technical skills: 1. Financial literacy. The ability to read numbers. 2. Investment strategies. The science of money making money. 3. The market. Supply and demand. Alexander Graham Bell gave the market what it wanted. So did Bill Gates. A $75,000 house offered for $60,000 that cost $20,000 was also the result of seizing an opportunity created by the market. Somebody was buying, and someone was selling. 4. The law. The awareness of accounting, corporate, state and national rules and regulations. I recommend playing within the rules. It is this basic foundation, or the combination of these skills, that is needed to be successful in the pursuit of wealth, whether it be through the buying of small homes, large apartments, companies, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, precious metals, baseball cards or the like. By 1996, the real estate market had rebounded and ev- eryone else was getting in. The stock market was boom- ing, and everyone was getting in. The U.S. economy was getting back on its feet. I began selling in 1996 and was now traveling to Peru, Norway, Malaysia and the Philip- pines. The investments had changed. We were out of the real estate market, as far as buying goes. Now I just watch the values climb inside the asset column and will probably begin selling later this year. It depends on some law changes that may be passed in Congress.