Introduction to How You Can Live Better than a Billionaire on Five Dollars Extra a Day

Hi,

Thanks for stopping by to learn how you can improve your life to live better than a billionaire on no more than five dollars extra a day . . . or about what you might spend on a Venti half-caff, skinny Cafe Mocha at Starbucks.

I got interested in this idea when my mother was about to turn 50. My dad had to work that day and asked me to take over the festivities.

My mom had always sacrificed for our family. I think she bought about three new dresses in all of the years I had known her. She made the rest, or bought used dresses.

Mom lived then (and still does) in San Bernardino, California. I used to describe San Bernardino to my New England friends as a place so culturally isolated in the 1950s and 1960s that we used to get movies six months after they were released . . . even though we were located only 60 miles from Hollywood.

It seemed to me that a little glamour was in order, don't you think?

I was traveling in my job as a management consultant to the West Coast and planned to stay in the Los Angeles area. So I invited mom down for dinner, along with my sister, my aunt and my cousin's ex-wife (I know that doesn't make any sense, but I'll get back to how that happened another time). They would meet me at the hotel.

Now, it just so happens that the Academy awards (you know, where you are awarded the Oscars) are held around my mom's birthday. That year, they were on the exact date. And the event would be held near a hotel in Beverly Hills.

I did a little research and booked a room in the hotel.

When I arrived, I told the front desk clerk that I was going to be entertaining my mom for her 50th birthday, and asked if they had any rooms where we might be able to watch the movie stars as they arrived on the red carpet. He kindly agreed to help, and soon I found myself heading for a suite overlooking the red carpet area . . . with its own private balcony -- at no extra charge!

I called the catering department to ask what they could do for a private dinner. They said, "Nothing." The hotel was filled with movie stars, producers and other Hollywood types and they were running nonstop events all night. Next, I went to the hotel dining room to see if they could give us a private corner for dinner. "Nope." They were totally sold out. I must have looked a little desperate because the host offered that he could arrange to have two waiters let us order off the restaurant menu and serve us in our suite. "How much extra would that cost?" I asked with trepidation. "Oh, nothing extra, sir." "We're glad to be of service to you and your mother."

Now, this was starting to look promising.

I found a local liquor store, bought some champagne and left it on ice in the room.

Next, I headed for world-famous Rodeo Drive. I thought it would be great to buy my mom some fashionable items from the world's best boutiques. But I was a young father and didn't have much money to spend.

In each store, I looked for the youngest sales woman and told her what I wanted to do . . . and asked her advice on what I could buy for very little money. Typically, the young woman would grab all the other unoccupied sales women and they would discuss what would work best. Soon, I would be sitting down, drinking champagne, eating chocolates and having a ball as they trotted out their best bargains. After visiting every store that looked at all promising, I headed back to the ones where I wanted to buy and had my purchases wrapped. Those packages looked like a million dollars!

Walking down the street, I spotted a bakery and tried my magic touch once again . . . asking if they could write "Happy Birthday Mom" on a cake. They could and did, and I headed back to the hotel.

I put all the surprises into the room and headed down to the lobby to greet mom.
From there, she became Queen for a Day (just like the old television program, which she loved). She toured the five-room suite, inspected the outdoor patio, sipped a little champagne and then asked when we could go to dinner. I told her that the hors d'oeuvres would be served soon (and they arrived about ten minutes later -- I had preordered some appetizers from the restaurant) along with the dinner menus.

We enjoyed the appetizers on our patio, and I pointed out the movie stars waltzing across the red carpet below us. My mom was thrilled!

Dinner went well. The service was wonderful. I arranged for a waiter to bring out the cake at the right moment for desert and the gleam in my mom's eyes is something I will never forget.
After dinner, I brought out the beautiful gifts . . . and my mom (who is never at a loss for words) was speechless. She kept opening and closing her mouth, but no words came out. She was overwhelmed!

Finally, she regained her speech and began scolding me for wasting so much money on her. I said, "Mom, this cost almost nothing." She didn't believe me. But it was true. The room was a business expense on my expense account. My dinner was on my expense account, too. The rest of the meals cost what a normal dinner costs in a usual restaurant in a business hotel. The champagne and cake were just a few dollars. The gifts were less than $50 in today's money. The total out-of-pocket expense for me was about $150 in today's money . . . or about five dollars a day for a month.

Was it worth it? Darn tooting it was!

Since then, I've had a ball planning and running similar thrilling events for family members, friends and charitable organizations. A few years ago, I began offering this kind of assistance as a professional.

In this role, I call myself a Dream Concierge. By that, I mean that I'm like the person in a hotel who you tell what you want to do and she or he organizes it for you. The difference is that I help you find a way to enjoy the best . . . but spend like you are on a peanut-butter-and-jelly budget.
A few months ago I decided to write a book about my experiences and to show others how they can do the same thing for themselves (after all, I can't be everywhere). My current title is Live Better than a Billionaire on Five Dollars Extra a Day.

The idea is that being a billionaire has a lot of problems attached to it. You spend a lot of time taking care of your money. People are always trying to get your money. And you don't have a lot of privacy. Besides that, a lot of the fun things I've helped people do most billionaires haven't done either such as: Host thousands of notables in prestigious surroundings; receive personalized gifts from celebrities; exchange ideas with your heroes; and have once-in-a-lifetime family events in the most desirable public locations.

I'm making progress towards bringing this book to you. I recently selected Peter Miller of PMA Literary and Film Management to be my agent. Peter has sold over 1,000 books to publishers in his distinguished career, including over 20 New York Times best sellers. He has also produced many movies (both for theatrical release and for network television). I'm hoping with his help, we can also create a reality television show built around the book's advice . . . giving people like you the chance to work with a real billionaire to compete in creating great moments on a budget of five dollars extra a day.

Peter has already attracted interest in the book from many of the world's largest publishers. I will be using this blog to keep you informed about our progress towards publication, planning the television show, and bringing these ideas to you.

In future blogs, I'll share more family stories about better than a billionaire experiences that cost little. I'll also spell out some things you can do.

I also would like to ask for your help with things you would like to learn, sources of great experiences I should include in the book and reactions to what I write.

You can reach me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell