Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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

Anonymous wrote:PP do you feel stupid for buying a home in the exurbs in 2006?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp (full list)

As you can see, the best undergrad degrees are science, tech, engineering, and mathematics. Economics is the only degree in the top 20 outside of STEM.

They should hand this out in the freshman year. Of high school.

haha! Pretty funny, no degree and my w2 was 165K in 2011 and it is a very rare week that I crack 40 hours.

Jig will be up soon unless you own your own business

Not really. No degree required when you are in sales. I'm in inside sales and the only reason I don't step outside is that I don't want the pressure. I'm fine making in the mid 100s, don't need the extra hassle required if I want to break into the 3's.

I can even go 1099 if I want, but I prefer the consistency of being a w2.

You must be so proud.

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.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp (full list)

As you can see, the best undergrad degrees are science, tech, engineering, and mathematics. Economics is the only degree in the top 20 outside of STEM.

They should hand this out in the freshman year. Of high school.

haha! Pretty funny, no degree and my w2 was 165K in 2011 and it is a very rare week that I crack 40 hours.

Jig will be up soon unless you own your own business

Not really. No degree required when you are in sales. I'm in inside sales and the only reason I don't step outside is that I don't want the pressure. I'm fine making in the mid 100s, don't need the extra hassle required if I want to break into the 3's.

I can even go 1099 if I want, but I prefer the consistency of being a w2.

You must be so proud.

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.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp (full list)

As you can see, the best undergrad degrees are science, tech, engineering, and mathematics. Economics is the only degree in the top 20 outside of STEM.

They should hand this out in the freshman year. Of high school.

haha! Pretty funny, no degree and my w2 was 165K in 2011 and it is a very rare week that I crack 40 hours.

Jig will be up soon unless you own your own business

Not really. No degree required when you are in sales. I'm in inside sales and the only reason I don't step outside is that I don't want the pressure. I'm fine making in the mid 100s, don't need the extra hassle required if I want to break into the 3's.

I can even go 1099 if I want, but I prefer the consistency of being a w2.

You must be so proud.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp (full list)

As you can see, the best undergrad degrees are science, tech, engineering, and mathematics. Economics is the only degree in the top 20 outside of STEM.

They should hand this out in the freshman year. Of high school.

haha! Pretty funny, no degree and my w2 was 165K in 2011 and it is a very rare week that I crack 40 hours.

Jig will be up soon unless you own your own business

Not really. No degree required when you are in sales. I'm in inside sales and the only reason I don't step outside is that I don't want the pressure. I'm fine making in the mid 100s, don't need the extra hassle required if I want to break into the 3's.

I can even go 1099 if I want, but I prefer the consistency of being a w2.

You must be so proud.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BA in humanities.
MA in International Economics

PP, if you're still reading, do you ming sharing where are you working? My husband just got an MS in International Economics and is having trouble getting a job- he thinks he needs a PhD too. Or maybe it's just the economy right now?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp (full list)

As you can see, the best undergrad degrees are science, tech, engineering, and mathematics. Economics is the only degree in the top 20 outside of STEM.

They should hand this out in the freshman year. Of high school.

haha! Pretty funny, no degree and my w2 was 165K in 2011 and it is a very rare week that I crack 40 hours.

Jig will be up soon unless you own your own business

Not really. No degree required when you are in sales. I'm in inside sales and the only reason I don't step outside is that I don't want the pressure. I'm fine making in the mid 100s, don't need the extra hassle required if I want to break into the 3's.

I can even go 1099 if I want, but I prefer the consistency of being a w2.

You must be so proud.