Customer Reviews

A Million Bucks by 30: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thought this book was a good read, but most people are going to miss the point that the author's outcome (ie, having a net worth of $1 million) was mostly due to luck. Just look at his breakdown of what his assets were at the end of the book. His multifamily house essentially doubled in value in the space of a couple of years, and accounted for a large chunk of the $1 mil.

To borrow one of Taleb's (Fooled by Randomness) phrases, you have to look at "alternate histories" here. Not what just happened to occur, but think of what COULD HAVE occured if the author used the exact same techniques, but in different environments that he would have no control over. The author happend to be the right age and live in the perfect time and place to benefit from an unprecendented real estate market. What if he instead was born five years later (or at any other time for that matter) and did the exact same things? If he did the exact same things NOW, he could easily have wound up with negative equity in his property, if he could finance it in the first place. His outcome discussed in this book would probably be in the top 1% of possibilities. He even addresses the fact that he benefitted from luck, but totally undervalues that impact of course.

Don't get me wrong, his money saving techniques are all valid, but that is no where near the reason for his net worth getting to $1 mil that quickly. Eating ramen is more for show, to try and make a statement to your friends. In the end, doing those type of things will certainly help, but it's still a drop in the bucket when compared to luck beyond one's control.

In the book, Corey makes the point that you have to spread out your assets so that you can be in the position to get lucky with one of them. I agree with that completely. But you still have to GET lucky!

While I think most readers could learn something from the author, it would be wildly inaccurate for the author to claim this is an instruction manual on how to get to $1 million. You can't just say "buy real estate in a perfect environment, and it's value will increase by 50% per year." Not to mention the fact that he got his last $100k or so from the advance on this BOOK DEAL! Haha. If the book was titled, "A Sure Fire Way to $100k by 30" that would be much more reasonable and would factor out randomness.

While not everyone will be interested in using all of Alan Corey's techniques to become a millionaire (eating ramen noodles every day for three months, for example), I think most people will benefit to his no-nonsense approach to saving money and building wealth.

His book is full of funny stories (like going with a group of friends on the Jerry Springer show with a made-up story, as a way of getting a free spring vacation) and some extreme cheapskate anecdotes, but mainly this is the story of a guy who set up a very ambitious goal: to become a millionaire by age thirty and, despite having a low salary in the most expensive city in the country, managed to accomplish his goal--ahead of time. As he said, he couldn't control his income but made sure to control his outcome.

I wanted to hate this book because it basically says 'if you are okay with not having a life until you are 30 then you can be a millionnaire'.

But when I started reading it, I kind of got into the whole concept. The author is actually funny (sometimes when he is not even trying to be) and some of his tips are dowright unethical (reuse the same popcorn bag for free refills - time after time after time), but I found his story kind of inspirational.

You can tell that the author firmly stands behind his recommendations and he has the guts to get out there and just do it (although a fair amount of luck was also involved).

I liked the writing (straightfoward and entertaining) and if you are ready to basically stop living for a set number of years, then this is the book for you.

It's written as sort of a tip-guide to making a million. He's cheap and that's great and he has some great methods for unconsciously living below your means. The hidden savings account is a great one. Eating for two dollars a day in NYC is also awesome. The fact is he got into Red Hook and Clinton Hill real estate just as (or before) they completely exploded. So, as long as you can buy a two bedroom in Clinton Hill for $100,000 you should be all set as well. It came across to me as a tale of a real estate flipper which was not what I was looking for.

Also I thought the book ended very abruptly.

I love true stories about the ways that people created their own opportunities for being succesful. The author has a witty and sarcastic writing style that makes you want to cheer for him. Throughout the book you can just tell from his determination that he is going to find a way to make it.

Even though a large part of his success was luck and timing, you have to have the guts to be in the game to make any money. This book is a relief from all of the other fake real estate authors out there that are just trying to motivate you by selling the lifestyle and theory.

I'm not one to read "how-to" books, especially not financial ones, but I found this book to be engaging, inspiring and funny! I enjoyed reading about Alan's journey as well as learning about saving and investing money. His easy-going, conversational writing style made it an easy read.

I have made some financial changes in my life, for the better, after reading this. Even if you're not interested in investing in real estate, there is plenty of advice about having fun while saving your money and how to not spend foolishly. Very practical things you can do to save a little here and there, which adds up..and then what to do with the money you've saved.

I recommend this book to people of all ages but it would make a great high-school or college graduation gift. Thanks, Alan!

This guy tells a great story about how he managed to gain wealth. There are a lot of finance books out there that one might gain a few nuggets of useful information, but this book has a great overall message...anyone can reach their goals with dedication and a little risk. The humor always helps the financial subject, as well. Great Job, Mr. Corey.

I was walking around barnes and noble looking for real estate/investment books when i came across this one. I feel lucky that I ran into this book because it's completley changed how I handle my money. It's simple and to the point. I'm two years out of college. When I graduated I went out and bought flat screen tv's, camera, xbox,ipod and brand new car. I was doing everything wrong. Then I read this book which this kid did the complete opposite. And now I will never go out or buy a new product ever again. Thats a big point I think the Corey is trying to make. Instead of buying toys for himself, he bought real estate and gave himself the opportunity to be lucky. The book was worth the 15 bucks and it only takes a couple days to finish.

A Million Bucks by 30 is one of the best money books that I've read so far. When Alan Corey graduated from college, he set as his goal to be a millionaire by the time he was thirty. The book reads like a novel. What will he do next to reach that goal. He has such great money ideas but best of all, he thinks outside the box. He gets a job in NYC for $40,000 a year. How many people would become millionaires on a salary like that in an expensive city like NY. He does it. The book is a great influence. You can't do it exactly like Alan did it, but you get the idea. On sleepless nights, I read to put myself back to sleep. This isn't the book to do that. It keeps me awake wondering what he will do next.

If you're anything like me you like things to be put into layman's terms and A Million Bucks by 30 does this. The author specifically details how he went from graduating college with 10g's to his name thru all the steps he took to amass one million dollars. He gives great advice and tips along the way and manages to keep the book interesting by keeping the mood light and funny. With a high propensity for risk, a lot of discipline, and a little luck, this book gives you the path to one day become a MILLIONAIRE BABY!!!!