Can You Become a Millionaire by Age 30?

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO BECOME FILTHY RICH. - Product disclaimer from Amazon.com

If you're over 30, don't despair because this just might apply to you as well. There's a new book out by Alan Corey which was profiled in the latest US News magazine. It has the lengthy title of 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. I like it.

Alan's claim to fame is that he gave himself a goal of being a millionaire by the young age 30. After finishing college he put the plan in motion, but not by creating a fancy business or viral dotcom idea. He didn't go around networking with bigwigs to secure startup funds, or finding lots of iPods to sell on eBay. He simply started to cut costs by being the ultimate cheapskate. That's right, Alan would reuse old popcorn bags for refills at the movies (ethical?), find thrown out or used umbrellas, never bought new bottled water and went on "cheap dates". He and his friends even made up a fake story to get themselves on the Jerry Springer show and win a free spring break trip. Now of course all those things won't make you a million alone, and Alan also realized he needed to produce some assets to get himself rich.

Basically, Alan worked a 9-5 job for 6 years, but was fed up with "working for the man" for peanuts, just like many of us are. He used to live in his mom's basement in Atlanta, but then decided to move to NYC to work on his goal of becoming rich. New York is far from a cheap place to live and Alan was making just 40 grand at his job. He realized his college degree was useless in terms of him making money, which may or may not be true. So he started cutting costs, saving, and then ultimately investing in real estate and other financial vehicles. There was luck involved, as he got into the right real estate deals at the right time (not to say there's no deals now). But now at age 28, Alan's happy to say he's retired (and still being a cheapskate)! (and by the way he claims that one of his cheap dates is now moving in with him)

The moral of the story here is that if you scrimp and save and make some wise investments with the money you do have, you have a good chance at using that extra money to build wealth. It's more of a mindset than anything to become rich. Alan even states in the magazine's interview excerpt that he just believed his goal was going to happen, and it has, 2 years early. Hmmm...so maybe that book The Secret really works?

Not that he needs the extra money, but Alan's now in search of his next million, and this sounds like one interesting moneymaking journey to read about...Alan's Book 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 is currently available at Amazon.com.