How the Vanderbilt Family Lost Their Fortune
When Cornelius Vanderbilt (the Commodore) passed away in 1877, he left the majority of his fortune valued at $95,000,000 to his oldest son. In today’s dollars, this fortune would be worth around $2.1 billion. He left smaller amounts to all of his other children. This particular son, who received the majority of his fortune, actually…
The 7 Income Streams of Millionaires (According to the IRS)
According to the IRS, most millionaires have these seven income streams: 1. Dividend income from stocks owned. 2. Earned income from a paychecks. 3. Rents from rental real estate. 4. Royalties from selling rights to use something they’ve written or invented. 5. Capital gains from selling appreciated assets. 6. Profits from businesses they own. 7.…
The Student Loan Crisis (Must Read If You Have Children)
This video and many other real life student loan horror stories can be found at StudentDebtCrisis.org. Leeeanne and her husband owe $108,000 in combined student loan debt. Their monthly student loan payment is $928. They have tried to lower the monthly payment without luck, because their loans are private loans. Their student loan payments are…
How to Get A Free College Education for Your Children
I’ve attended several financial aid meetings at my daughter’s high school and one of the most common question parents always ask is: “How Can We Get More College Scholarships for Our Children?” Parents want to know about every possible scholarship available including local and national scholarships. I don’t blame them. I want as much free…
Hetty’s $100,000,0000 Fortune
Have you heard of the “Witch of Wall Street?” This is her picture: This is a picture of Hetty Green, who was the richest woman in the world. When she passed away in 1916, she left $100,000,000 to her two children. In today’s dollars, this would be around $2 billion. The crazy part is Hetty…
How to Retire at 35
Back in 1988, Paul Terhorst wrote a book titled, “Cashing In On The American Dream – How to Retire At 35.” Paul was a partner at a large public accounting firm and decided to retire at the age of 35. When he retired, he only had a net worth of around $500,000. As I write…
Saving for Lilly’s College Education
Over the weekend, I happened to see this commercial by Quicken Loans. In the commercial, Lilly’s mom refinanced her home in order to reduce her mortgage payment by $312. The extra $312 per month saved by refinancing is going to be saved for Lilly’s college education. It’s not a bad idea, assuming Lilly’s mother didn’t…
Is a monthly salary a harmful addiction?
I’m sure you’ve heard of Nassim Taleb. He’s written several books including “Black Swan” and “Antifragile.” Back at the end of 2014, he apparently tweeted his resolutions for 2015. You can see the full list of resolutions here. His resolution listed as #9 is extremely interesting. This resolution is: “Use courage and wisdom, not labor,…
The Marshmallow Test
Back in the 1960s a study at Stanford University was completed with preschoolers. This study is now referred to as the “Marshmallow Test.” They presented the preschool children with two choices: ONE marshmallow they could eat immediately OR TWO marshmallows if they waited alone for 20 minutes Years after this study the research team…