UCLA students can now stop watching a show about a fake
millionaire and can instead learn how to become a real one.
Twenty-something Peter Bielagus’ recent book
“Getting Loaded: Making a Million While You’re Still
Young Enough to Enjoy It” aims to give readers a new
perspective on financial planning and saving.
Tonight, money-hungry and money-deprived students can get
Bielagus’ advice about how to make the big bucks at Borders
in Westwood, where he will be discussing and signing his book.
A New Hampshire native, Bielagus began his journey to financial
success at the age of 11 when he started to mow lawns for his local
neighborhood. Bielagus and his brother started a landscaping
business and expanded it throughout high school to the point where
they began hiring their friends for larger projects.
“I grew up in a household with an entrepreneur father in
real estate who drilled many life lessons into our heads,”
said Bielagus. “He always told my brother and I that we
should run our business and start it early in life.”
Start it early he did ““ throughout grade school and high
school, Bielagus worked on landscaping with his brother, while also
beginning to invest in stocks with the help of his grandfather.
Meeting new challenges, making mistakes and recovering from them
were all part of the process of learning for Bielagus.
After graduating from high school, Bielagus went on to receive a
communications degree from the University of Miami. In Florida, he
began thinking of his book. After interactions with friends about
financial planning and the realization that he didn’t have as
much money as he was used to, Bielagus started thinking of ways to
help his fading financial situation.
“In college, I realized a lot of my friends and I were
pretty much broke,” said Bielagus. “I started reading
up on financial planning, and when there’s been a tax book on
your nightstand for weeks, people begin asking ““ so I gave
books to my friends about finances, but they were always returned
unread.”
From then on Bielagus began working on his own book ““
something that would be appealing to a younger audience so it could
impact his friends and help them realize their investing
potential.
By taking classes from financial planning to economics, Bielagus
formed a foundation for his book.
Bielagus hopes to capitalize on opening the eyes of younger
investors by using real-life examples in his book. Concentrating on
the 50 most important investing tips, the book is divided into
small chapters decorated with icons, highlighted points and even
cartoon characters.
“I want the book to be something that is easily read and
understood,” said Bielagus. “Especially for younger
people, it’s easier for them to read a shorter chapter a
night and be able to skip around in the book to research important
tips for themselves.”
The chapters in the book are arranged in the ideal order one
should follow in the investing world. It starts with prioritizing
goals, moves to saving, and continues with being able to raise a
family. This is ideal for investors who need quick advice because
they can go from chapter to chapter and skip irrelevant
information, according to Bielagus.
Furthermore, the cartoon character named “Buck”
plays the devil’s advocate to whatever Bielagus writes.
“In the book I talk about saving 10 percent of your
paycheck ““ Buck’s response would be, “˜Why?’
I added him in the book to argue my point and make it a more
definite statement for the reader,” said Bielagus.
The book also flashes warning signs to its younger audience
about insurance and credit cards.
“I want people to start young ““ when you can make
mistakes and afford to be stupid because you don’t have a
mortgage or a family to worry about,” said Bielagus. “I
want them to realize the amount of money they can make by following
simple rules so they can relax a little more at the end.”
Peter Bielagus will be at the Borders in Westwood tonight at
7:30 p.m. For more information, go to
www.gettingloaded.com.