Monday, February 18, 2008

Book Review: A Million Bucks by 30

I recently finished reading the book titled "A Million Bucks by 30" written by Alan Corey. I first off want to say that I liked this book. I liked it a lot and would definitely recommend it to anyone for a good read. It's not a definite plan for getting out of debt and becoming a millionaire. However, it is very funny and interesting to see how this particular individual went about becoming a millionaire.

Alan Corey made it a goal at the age of 23 to become a millionaire by the time he turned 30. He accomplished this goal by his 29th birthday. Alan Corey grew up in Atlanta. He decided after college he wanted a change and found a job in New York City making 40k a year. He worked this job up until he became a millionaire. He was very frugal and came up with clever ways to save money all the time. He was a cheapskate.

I find it interesting to hear the different ways he saved money. He maxed out his 401k at work and lived off of very little of his income. He stashed a large percentage of his money into a savings account that he did not have easy access to before he even saw the money. Through direct deposit he was able to amass a small fortune in this one savings account alone without keeping track of the balance daily, monthly, or even yearly for fear of temptation to spend it.

The way Corey became a millionaire was more through his real estate ventures. He bought his first apartment in an up and coming neighborhood. He rented out the living room to a friend to decrease his costs and he stayed in the one bedroom. Corey made it a goal to buy one real estate property every year. His next property was a multi family unit that he made into one unit where he could rent out each room. This arrangement was more like a dorm then city living but he found willing renters and was able to create a positive cash flow from his two properties after paying mortgage, taxes and insurance. He kept his eyes open and found good properties to get involved with. He found business partners and made things work.

I like this book because it gives me encouragement that I too can become wealthy. This book motivates me to be frugal and keep an eye out for opportunities that come up. I believe Corey got into the real estate market of New York at the perfect time and even he admits a little luck played a big part in achieving his goal. I would like to get involved in real estate some time. Now is not the time because I have many other goals but in the future I will keep my eyes open for opportunities. This book is a very motivating and interesting read.

1 comment:

Katie Gregg said...

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to check this out. I'm always looking for new money-making and money-saving ideas.