Not necessarily proud, but certainly finacially comfortable and debt free. Getting started in the professional world when I was 20 gave me a huge leg up on the real estate market. Bought my first home at 22 when you could get a house for under 200K and now at 36 I'm mortgage free thanks to a succession of homes/rentals over the last 14 years of a beautiful DC real estate market. Frankly for me, I considered college a waste of my time, especially since there was an absolute ton of money to be made in telecommunications back when I was first starting out. I think sometimes when one does not have a degree to fall back on, you end up sharpening your entreprenurial skills and (at least for me) tend to work that much harder to prove yourself, however at this point in time, I’m already known in my industry so job mobility is easy. I don’t discount having a college degree, I expect my children to finish college, but there is much more to financial success than a degree that you certainly don’t learn in college. This is networking, competence, an ability to get along with people, an ability to read personalities and adapt, and an eye for opportunity. In addition to my children going to school, I’m also want them to learn how to work well with others and to always be adaptable. |
| BS Accounting, CPA |
The IMF. With a lot of prior work experience though. No need for a PhD - government and most international organizations don't require them. |
| So true 12:52 - great points! |
you got lucky timing the market on the backs of young first time buyer professionals who were duped into overpaying for homes you sold in your ponsi scheme of real estate. Also you got lucky with the telecom bubble. Those days are over and the future is based more on reality and hard work than luck. |
| PP, I know a millionaire who dropped out of Yale and didn't Bill Gates drop out of Harvard? These are outliers, and I am not suggesting that everyone choose this path. However, I think there are some people who are just naturally successful in life. |
And they both were incredibly hard workers. It is not luck---intelligence AND hard work. People often forget about the hard work and struggling part. |
| MA in International Relations - $150K |
There is luck and timing everywhere, even today. For real estate, it was about keeping your ear to the ground. The second I saw home prices slip in February of 2006, I dumped my properties at fast as I could and immediately moved my money into the stock market and then pulled out at the end of 2007. I'm very cautious, so in both cases when I saw things start to slip I immediately bailed. The stock market was a beautiful thing leading up to October 2007. If you were not paying attention to real estate in 2006, you would not have realized that the party was over and it was time to head home. I knew there was a bubble, anyone with common sense and an 8th grade education knew that homes appreciating at 3% a month and loans being given to anyone who walked in the door was completely insane and unsustainable. I’m still amazed that people were buying homes in 2006-2007 given what all was going on. I suppose college did not teach people not to buy homes when the real estate market is in the middle of a complete melt down and near collapse-oops. Even now with the wild swings in the market the is plenty of short term gains to be made. Money is luck, but not dumb luck, you have to read and pay attention. Just reading The Economist and figuring out what industries are on the rise and which ones are limping along goes a long way in making informed decisions about employment and investment. You don’t need to attend a college to figure out how to navigate the system and create a financially secure life for yourself. I might not have a college degree, but I know how to position myself. I realize I have been incredibly fortunate and made some great decisions. So instead of squandering my money I have a house that is paid for, a healthy savings, and carry absolutely no debt. I’ve set myself up so that if I have to, I can work at a restaurant, waiting tables and still support my family and live in my home. It’s all about being wise with what you have and making good choices-college is a bonus and maybe one day I will go back and study something that interests me, but just for fun. |
and luck |
so you predicted the complete meltdown of housing prices? You got lucky STFU good for you. Many young professionals couldnt just cut and run when they bought houses a few months to a year earlier. NO ONE predicted the fall that hard and quick. |
do you feel guilty that you basically ponsi schemed money away from other people? |
| PP do you feel stupid for buying a home in the exurbs in 2006? |
No, just saying that anyone gloating about making money off of real estate during the bubble is an asshole. FYI my mclean locations are fine |
Impressive, 22101 or 22102? I certainly hope you are on the north side of town. BTW, the real estate bubble was not caused by investors such as myself engaging in a "ponsi scheme" as you so intelligently declare (BTW Ponzi is with a z not an s). The wheels were put in motion in 1999 with the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act. It was then compounded by the unregulated sale of bundled mortgage backed securities and a robust sub prime mortgage market full of buyers who had no business buying homes and lenders who had no business lending to them. The biggest failure of our current cast of political clowns is that none of them have the balls to do anything to protect us from this happening again. Already FHA is the new sub-prime lender and nothing has happened in terms of smart regulation. Please do educate yourself, this is a good beginner start, they probably did not teach you about this in college: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/11/glass-steagall-act-the-se_n_201557.html |