Posted on 12/29/2007 5:48:14 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
He fibbed his way onto the Jerry Springer Show, just to wangle a free trip to Chicago for spring break.
And right there on stage, in front of millions of TV viewers, his long dreadlocks flapping wildly like dirty-blond ropes, he got into the obligatory fight with three of his best friends from the University of Georgia.
Fists flew. Blows landed. Chairs were slung before the bouncers grabbed the flailing foursome.
Alan Corey and his friends — all warily in on the charade — were gleeful.
Sure, they'd made "total fools" out of themselves on national TV, but they'd finagled exactly what Corey wanted — a free trip to someplace other than Florida — and red-carpet treatment fit for stars, complete with a stretch limo, expensive steaks, a wad of cash and a fine hotel.
The former Walton High basketball star in east Cobb and University of Georgia graduate has always been jazzed by seemingly impossible challenges.
His first goal after college was to get a job in New York.
It took a couple of months.
His second: to become a millionaire by age 30.
He did it at 28.
His third, to write a book. He's done that, too.
The Random House title: "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 30."
Here's how he did it.
For years, though he lived in tony east Cobb, he compulsively saved money.
He opened a 10-cent lemonade stand at 5.
"The biggest challenge, there, was my sister taking half the profits when I was doing all the work," he says.
But that taught him a lesson. And maybe it's why in the front of his book, after dedicating it to his parents, he adds on a separate page: "Just to be clear, this amazingly awesome book is not dedicated to my sister, Jill."
He learned that when it comes to money, details need to be worked out ahead of time.
Then, he started making a little more, mowing lawns for $20 a pop. And those customers recommended others. So by the time he graduated with a computer degree from UGA, he had $10,000.
"I have obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to money," he says.
After living a couple of months in his mom's basement, he got an offer — $40,000 a year at a computer company in New York.
He flew to New York and rented a 30th-floor apartment in a federally subsidized housing project in Spanish Harlem, where he could see uptown to the lights of Yankee Stadium.
"I ate ramen noodles for more than three months, found furniture on the streets, bought huge cans of peanut butter, didn't pay for entertainment, but still had fun," he says. "I didn't hide it. I'd brag about how I could get into places."
He started doing a little stand-up comedy for free, getting drinks and some food, gratis.
"It was my entertainment, my fun," he says. "I developed a financial book fetish, reading every one I could get my hands on. I saved all I could, even opening a second savings account way across town that was too inconvenient to get there."
Within a few years, he had a substantial chunk of change, in addition to savings in 401(k) and IRA accounts.
And, oh, he also figured he could get a little help from his friends back in Georgia.
"He had the guts to take the risks in order to achieve his lofty goals," says friend Matthew Hake, who also attended Walton. "He asked to borrow $10,000 from me, promising that he would pay me back in a year with 10 percent interest."
"At the time, it was just about all I had in savings, but since he was my best friend, I couldn't say no," he said. "Not only did he pay me back six months ahead of schedule, with interest, he also made the right decision with the money and ended up making a killing on the profit of the sale of the building. Of course, I'm still waiting on a huge 'thank-you' check, but that's another story."
So, Corey became a real estate tycoon. First he bought an apartment, and remodeled it into a two-bedroom. Then a two-family townhouse in Brooklyn.
"I've sold everything except for my two-family house," he says. "I still live there with three roomies. I live in the crappiest room with no windows. The second floor is rented to random tenants. My mortgage is $2,300 a month. My rental income is $4,300 a month, so I get paid $2,000 a month for living in my own house. As long as I don't spend more than $2,000 in one month, I don't ever have to work again."
Corey's no more shy about sharing the details of his wealth than he was about peddling lemonade.
"My only house I have now can be sold for $1,175,000, and I owe $380,000 on it," Corey says. "Equity is $795,000."
He has $213,370.35 in stocks, savings and checking and $30,000 in equity in a bar. His total equity, he says, is $1,038,370.35, not counting his salary from that computer job and his rental income — more than enough to put him among the richest 2 percent of American adults.
One of his tenants is another friend from Walton, Andrew Wright, who's trying to make it as a comedian.
"Seeing as this guy was a class clown, and I was voted most likely to succeed in high school, you'd think he'd be paying rent to me instead of the other way around," Wright says.
So far, though he's lived in some rough areas, the "scariest and funniest" situation he's faced happened late one night when "I fought with some dude over a cab, and then he threw me out and yelled, 'Maybe if you could afford to live in Manhattan, you wouldn't need a cab home."
Corey laughs:
"I was 24 and owned two properties at the time."
Tons of grads from UGA and Georgia Tech live in New York, and they get together often at bars, including one where Corey's college chum Jeff Palmiotti, 29, pours libations.
Palmiotti is the guy who, with Corey, convinced the Jerry Springer Show they had a sexy story to tell.
They recruited two reluctant female friends.
"The story was, Alan was dating one, and I was dating her best friend, but I was having sex with both of them," Palmiotti says. "Springer springs the story out on the show, and Alan tried to make himself cry and got so worked up he punched me. One of the girls slapped me in the face. It was ridiculous, surreal."
Corey routinely "got dumped" by women who didn't relish eating boiled noodles.
Says mom, Nancy, a school teacher: "I'm proud of him. He's still stingy. He doesn't act like a millionaire."
But if she wants to go to a Broadway show, she has to take a friend from home.
Corey concedes he may have to alter his cheapskate ways, at least a little.
He's got a "serious" girlfriend now, Sadia Perveen, 27, of London.
"We pretty much split everything, actually," she says. "And instead of buying me flowers, he bought me a big plant that has flowers all year 'round."
He hasn't popped the question yet, but doubts it'll be long, and she knows why.
"He found out I have a friend in London with an uncle in India who can get a diamond really cheap," she says.
” How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (Or After) Turning 30.”
......”stingy parents”......oh brother!....like his parents didn’t give him everything he wanted; when he wanted.....sounds like they did him a favor.....made him get off his butt and start doing for himself.
I know a lot of them as well. People where both spouse earn $100K yet they are continually struggling keep their heads above water. Season tickets to Hurricanes, 4 wheelers for when he goes deer hunting. Hunting and fishing trips all over. New cars and pickups every couple years. Tons of gadgets. Got suckered into a $35,000 time share and now travel all over the place.
Its tough to watch sometimes.
In 1955 if you had a million you were a real millionaire. Compare what 1 million would have bought you in 1955 to a million today. $12,000 bought you a house, $1500 bought you a car. Milk was 18 cents a quart, bread 11 cents a loaf, sodas and candy bars were 5 cents. I’m suppose to be impressed that he is a millionaire today?
“Wow, there are a lot of envious people on this thread. Hey, the kid’s got a house worth over a million and only owes $300K. He’s living frugally — not spending the equity — and you say he could be financially ruined?
Sounds like a hard-working and pretty interesting guy. Wish I’d been more like him.”
Very much agree...
Some have trouble knowing the difference between "wants" and "needs". I suspect most regulars on FreeRepublic has learned this lesson. It is better to learn it while you are young then older, but the road to financial security begins the day you learn it.
He is much too extreme for my taste so I will never be "wealthy" like he is but I will be content to be "comfortable".
Although I see your point if he owns a house in New York city the chances of it losing value is pretty slim.
Graduated college with $10,000 in the bank. At 28, he has $200,000+ in stocks, 30K equity in a bar, 700K equity in a house and over 2K a month profit in rental income...except for the subsidized housing part, I’d say this guy has done something right, financially.
I agree. Thrift and savings is what we want to teach our children. If they can exercise self-restraint, they will have the resources to take advantage of the opportunities life grants them.
When I first started out, I lived pretty frugally. I never bought into all the stuff other people were telling me I could afford. Then when it came time to buy a house, I had a big chunk of change to put down on it. The rest is history.
I favored the “Big Shovel/Little Shovel” approach to financial management when I was young. You put the money into the bank with the Big Shovel and you take it out with a Little Shovel. That way you always have money in the bank. This worked for a long time, when I did not have much finances to manage.
It becomes clear pretty early on that you want your Big Shovel to be as big as possible. If I had to fault this kid for one thing, it would be that he has not maximized his earned income. Earned income is the firm foundation, because it is something you have created yourself, that nobody can take from you.
The other thing this guy did right is he (apparently) made a list of his goals. That may not seem like a big deal, but it is something most people don’t bother to do. I have found that having a list of things to accomplish is a huge asset in actually making those things happen. I can’t prove it, but I think keeping things are your mental radar screen helps you work toward it (both consciously and subconsciously) and stay directed.
Except the government.
I know many tightfisted people.
We always make sure NOT to call them to attend social gatherings, golf trips and sporting events.
Losers all.
They get their cut up front. I consider earned money to be the money I get to keep. The rest of that money is the protection money I pay the racket in order to be allowed to work.
Oh, and this guy should have a plan to give away some of this money, too. Everybody should have a charitable giving plan, and pay that bill first.
Don’t balance your checkbook. You’ll err on the conservative side and periodically move the excess to savings.
Keeping a budget and keeping track of your goals is key. I also set savings goals in my budget, which I almost always exceed. I have made a lot of $$ in real estate, but have paid for it with sleepless nights.
I wonder if he pays his taxes?
"There is the legitimate and moral way to work your way up and use thrift to do it...and then there is this dirtbag."
This kid is just a fast learner. There's nothing in the world more important than having money, lots of it, and letting those close to you know about it so they can learn from your example. If more people were like this kid the world would be a better place. That's one of the things that's wrong with this generation; they haven't learned to work or to invest.
/s FIL rant.
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