What happens when you scrimp, save, and dedicate your life to carefully controlling of your finances in order to generate the capital needed to start buying real estate in New York City, just a few months before the nation-wide real estate bubble?

 

You might just make ‘A Million Bucks By Thirty.’

 

Real-estate mogul and occasional reality TV-star Alan Corey’s first book details his rapid rise to wealth, accomplished through the twin virtues of frugality and intelligent investments.  He writes what he knows, and though the big-name personal finance gurus might have more experience and name recognition, Corey does a great job at breaking down the basics of income management and investing for a demographic greatly in need of advice.

 

Corey’s ‘American Dream’ story is reminiscent of Scratch Beginnings, in which 25-year-old Adam Shephard abandons his life in North Carolina and moves to Charleston, South Carolina with twenty five dollars in his pocket. Though he starts his journey at a homeless shelter, Shephard works his way to a stable job, savings account, and apartment within six months – he never loses sight of his goals, and ultimately prospers for doing so.

 

The same criticism Shephard has received for his experiment in self-reliance could feasibly be applied to Corey as well: most people have other responsibilities that prevent them from fully committing time and energy to their goals, the authors had a middle-class ’safety net’ unavailable to many, the authors should have been more conscious of the advantages they enjoyed along the way, and should not hold others to ‘unrealistic expectations.’  The fact of the matter, however, is that anyone who carefully manges his or her life until they beat the odds and become a success fully deserves respect and recognition.  Did Corey (and Shepherd) have some advantages that simply are not available to many young people?  Yes.  Did Corey (and Shepherd) have friends, family, and something of a stable life back home to fall back on, if their plans went awry?  Yes.  But, do Corey (and Shepherd) ever claim to be the end-all be-all experts on how to manage one’s life, or insinuate that others are inadequate for not following the same path they chose?  No.

 

Regardless of age, gender, race, or social status, we all have our own personal circumstances that we must overcome in order to succeed.  Sometimes we dig deep, work hard, and put in the blood, sweat, and tears necessary… and sometimes, the challenges are too much.  Sometimes we get lucky breaks, other times, just as we reach the top, we get pushed back down.

 

We play the hand we’re dealt, we make the best out of what life offers us.  And every once in a while we beat the odds, and  in doing so, become an inspiration to others.