I decided to address my views on going to college because I seem to get lots of criticism on this issue and I believe it relates to my foreclosure story.
I chose to skip college right after high school because I was offered a $30,000/yr salaried position at a startup company (Sevant.com) with benefits and stock options (year 2000). I was already working for the company part-time as a computer service technician and I was being promoted to a “Super Sevant”, as they called it, a lead tech / trainer / field manager.
I chose not to go to California State University of Sacramento which I have been accepted to. I was 18 at the time and this job at a dot-com startup company was too big of an opportunity to pass up. Plus I crashed my car a few months prior and I didn’t have insurance (forgot to send it the paperwork on time) and I had some bills to pay. So the job was right in time.
Then Sevant.com dot-com when dot-BOMB due to cash flow problems and went the way of other dot-coms during the tech crash around 2001. That was hard for me because I started to get dependent on that job and moved out of my parents house to a nice apartment. So I had bills to pay now.
Instead of going to college I decided to do freelance website design and web development. I have been learning to do web stuff on the side ever since I came to America in 1994. So now I wanted to make a full-time business out of it.
Well the business didn’t take off like I wanted to and I went back to another full-time tech job a few months later. Since then I’ve had jobs on and off while trying to get established in some kind of a business that I could do full time.
I’ve gone through a couple of these cycles now: get a job, then try to do business on the side, business looks like it’s taking off so I quit my day job and do business, business is not as strong as I thought and I’m back to a day job.
What can I say? I’m an entrepreneur at heart and I must keep trying until I succeed. And I’m still trying to build a passive-income generating business, that’s why I got into real estate flipping, which is actually a job too - you must trade time for money. But it’s a highly paid job that would build up some cash for me which I can in turn invest into rental property, apartments, commercial real estate and other passive-income business.
So I never really went back to college, though I did take a 1-unit Linux class at American River College (community college) just for fun back in 2003 or 2004. I wanted to get the college experience and I had friends there. It was a half-semester class. I did pretty good but never cared enough to see what grade I got on the final. I was done with college for now with 1 unit under my belt.
College wasn’t for me because of my circumstances. And in my opinion a traditional college does NOT teach you any wealth building skills or how to be an entrepreneur. It teaches you general education and how to be an employee.
Most people who have read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad
This is where I get mis-understood…
I DO believe in the value of a well rounded education that college provides. The college experience also teach you critical thinking skills, research skills, team work, time management, etc. I have even thought of going to a 4 year college eventually just for the education, not because I need it for a job.
By default, I recommend everybody to go to college, get educated and get a good job. I will not judge you if you don’t but the college experience will definitely give you an advantage (they tell me, I don’t know from experience).
But don’t stop there.
If you want to be financially free someday you need to start learning how to invest, buy assets and build multiple streams of passive income. Do this on the side while working your job.
Once your passive income exceeds your earned income then you can retire early (if you want) with true financial security. You will not be dependent on your employer or the government to take care of you. That is a good thing!
Update: I must not be making myself very clear because everybody seems to focus on the negative. I’ll say again… I have nothing against going to college! It’s just one way to learn and has it’s own pros and cons as compared to other ways to learn - like seminars, on the job / mentors, internet / self study, etc. General education aspect is also a good thing and the social aspect - networking, making connections - is a great thing. Based on my friend’s experiences in college I will even say that I have very much respect for those who are disciplined enough to get a 4-year degree or higher. Many people drop out so the ones that graduate are going to be overall more successful they have learned/demonstrated determination to stay the course. On the other hand I’m not going to judge you if you never went to college but still find a way to reach your goals. In the end, it’s all good!
By he way… check out the video of my talk at a well-known university in California, if you haven’t already. It sort of fits here.
247 Comments
March 15th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Uh…ok… another barely relevant and minimally interesting diversion….
So, back to the real world, what about:
Utah?
NM?
Cashcall?
Taxes?
Job?
etc…
March 15th, 2007 at 8:31 am
It has been said before but, we aren’t here to learn from you or even to consider your opinions, we’re here so for the entertainment value.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:31 am
must…resist…. new…job…title… ‘idiot’ ’sevant’
yes, i am weak…but at least not 600k in debt
March 15th, 2007 at 8:41 am
If financial freedom is your goal, you have no idea how far that goal has receded from you in the past year. Really. It is going to take at least a decade to get out of the hole you dug, and that’s assuming the IRS goes easy on you.
Caveat: that decade won’t begin until you man-up to your debt, and GET A JOB!!!!
Dreams of financial freedom are nice…motivating even, but they don’t come true overnight. Financial freedom is the reward for a LIFETIME of proper decisions and prudent investments. The habits that result in financial freedom are a product of the journey to financial freedom, and the destination cannot be reached without developing the correct habits along the way.
If you’d spend some time reading the book “The Millionaire Next Door” you’d know that the realm of financial freedom often times doesn’t even extend to lottery winners (which is more akin to what you were trying to do….despite putting the label “investing” on it)
For the millionth time…WAKE UP ALREADY. Those of us you refer to “haters” are merely trying our best to describe to you how the real world really works.
You currently don’t have the discipline or maturity to handle “financial freedom” even if all your debt were erased, and a few million were handed to you. With your track record, within a year, you would have burned through the money, and be right back in debt.
The discipline and maturity you lack is only developed on the road to financial freedom. It’s not something you can acquire from reading a book or attending a seminar. There are NO SHORTCUTS!!!
March 15th, 2007 at 8:42 am
1. You have spent WAY more than a decent college education on ‘guru’ seminars which, AT BEST, taught you questionable ethics and were mostly a scam intended to sell you on the next seminar. If the gurus were as good as they claim, they would have their own real estate empires and would not be preying on wannabe investors with their seminars and books.
2. College does not teach you how to be an employee. College teaches you pretty much whatever you want to learn, but does not generally go into how any career path operates. College is totally different to work as an employee… it is actually more like being an entrepreneur. You take the scheduled classes (just like any business person has some appointments) but most of the work is done on your own time and in whatever manner you choose to use. There is a fundamental individualism involved since you are graded as an individual, but working with others and contributing to team efforts is a natural part of the process. Just like in real life, actually.
3. Stop quoting Kiwasaki as though he actually knows something. He doesn’t. His numerous lies and fictional facts have been well documented elsewhere. If YOU were to read his books (or those of the other gurus) with an open mind, you would realise this, but you are a sucker for their get-rich-quick BS and so do not use any critical thought when reading them.
4. The ONLY reliable way to become rich is to spend less than you earn and invest the remainder. This appears to be the one method that you steadfastly refuse to attempt. Read ‘The Millionaire Next Door’ sometime. You will learn more from it than from all of your seminars.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:46 am
College? LOL. Maybe you should have stuck it out through elementary school where they teach basic math skills.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:50 am
“Plus I crashed my car a few months prior and I didn’t have insurance (forgot to send it the paperwork on time) and I had some bills to pay. So the job was right in time.”
The story of your life.
You never do the right thing, because you ALWAYS forget to do so. You ALWAYS intend to do so. You ALWAYS say you’ll do it later.
Just think about it. Had you gone to college, you could be earning as much as $100,000 a year.
Instead of being 2.2M in debt.
Oh, well. I guess good intentions are all that matter, you tried your best, at least you tried, you think you did all right, etc.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:53 am
You “forgot” to send in your paperwork for your insurance before you crashed your car? Hmmm… I have this strange feeling of deja vu.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Casey,
No one is really telling you to go back to school, as far as a way to pull yourself out of the hole you’re in. They’re telling you to roll up your sleeves and actually do some work.
Yeah, people tend to latch onto your statements about college and W2 jobs, but the message is a much broader one. Roll up your sleeves and do something.
Falling back on the cult of Kiyosaki and his tired, meaningless parables isn’t doing something.
Assuming the following is true:
“I’ve gone through a couple of these cycles now: get a job, then try to do business on the side, business looks like it’s taking off so I quit my day job and do business, business is not as strong as I thought and I’m back to a day job. ”
you used to be motivated, understood the need for the funding a day job provided, and were willing to work and take risks to try to realize your dream. When you faced a setback you did what you had to do, rolled up your sleeves, and plugged away until you could pursue the next opportunity.
What happened? Was the thrill of someone handing you money for doing absolutely nothing (cash back deals under the table at closing) enough to wipe all that away? Is it because you still see all this as a shell game where you simply shuffle play money around and around, with no real repercussions?
Whether you realize it or not, you’re light years away from someone working towards realizing their dreams. Your absolute only hope is to roll up your sleeves again and start chipping away at your debt, yet you avoid that like the very plague.
Even if you somehow finagle a sweet deal to wipe all your debt away and start over, as it stands now you’d just find yourself in exactly the same situation a year or two down the line, chasing some other rabbit down some other hole, trying to make a mountain of money without ever doing a lick of actual work.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:58 am
“College wasn’t for me because of my circumstances. And in my opinion a traditional college does NOT teach you any wealth building skills or how to be an entrepreneur. It teaches you general education and how to be an employee.”
Words elude me.
Here we have a major league failure talking about things he doesn’t know a thing about.
Oh, wait. You took half a semester of Linux. Damn, I forgot about that.
I guess all those entrepreneur courses I took at College merely existed in my imagination. Or the ethics ones. 1 1/2 years spent taking training about ethics, values, social skills and the like, with people like me. I wasted those years.
Or the rest of my education, where I was actually thought abstract concepts that can be applied in my everyday life.
I guess I should have listened to Kiyosaki or whatever their names are. I mean, if they could get rich by RE, why are they selling overpriced courses? I guess that’s one of those things that doesn’t sound logical to me, BECAUSE I WENT TO COLLEGE.
Looser.
sc: LOOSE
March 15th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Casey:
How does this sound for a new wikepdia post? Sweet!
Casey Serin (born September 10, 1982) is a real estate mogul who, at the age of 24, became the envy of the free world. Serin was born in Uzbekistan (and emigrated to America in the mid-1990s. In his early twenties, Serin was working as a php script programmer but he decided to quit this job with the hope of flipping houses. Beginning in October 2005, Serin purchased eight houses in various U.S. states, and then began blogging about the process of facing foreclosure on several of the properties.
Despite overstating his actual income (not his income potential, his actual income) on various loan documents (he didn’t understand), claiming many if not all of the houses were owner occupied (everybody in California has several vacation homes), and receiving cash back at close without the bank’s knowledge (everybody was doing it), the world understands that Casey is a brilliant, talented financial mogul.
The cash-back money was spent on debt service, financing the lifestyle he deserved, and various real estate seminars to further his mogul status.
He started an Internet blog IamFacingForeclosure.com describing his battle against foreclosure and has received national press from said blog.
The readers of Casey’s blog routinely give him advice such as filing bankruptcy, talking to lenders about his situation, opening his mail or finding a source of steady income. Fortunately, Casey is secure enough in his brilliance that he has largely ignored all advice. Living with his in-laws and having the postman scout sweet deals is his path to financial freedom and he knows it.
Serin is widely revered at various real estate and personal finance seminars. Casey is able to pass on his wisdom to others and to allow them to follow in his path to financial freedom. Basic principles of his plan include:
• “All work and no play makes Casey a dull boy”
• “Living with inlaws”
• “How to do just enough to avoid getting kicked out”
• “Why open your mail if it’s bad news anyway” and a related principle “Why talk to people about negative things, it will only bring you down”
• “Getting postmen, DHL guys, and the UPS man to find you sweet deals”
March 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
College also teaches you proper grammar and spelling…or at least how to use a spell-checker.
Have you ever thought about writing your blog in Word and then cut-and-pasting?
Also, I noticed a trend in your write up. When the ideas and situations didn’t work out, you stopped doing them. Yet, you are still brainwashed that real estate is what you know the most about and can be successful at. You are not knowledgable about real estate. Maybe if you went to college and took macroeconomics, you would have been able to think things through and realize that real estate was topping out. I still feel that you have no concept of the idea of ‘time-value of money’. The interest rates that you were willing to accept could in no way possible match the appreciation of the investments that you made.
You should come up with a more modest plan for your future: get a real job and then buy one property. See if you can make money on it. The concept that real estate management is going to be your job for the next couple years and will pay your bills is a pipe dream.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
JUST LIKE THE GURUS TAUGHT YOU!!!! Now that you have summed it up, show me 1 single success story that is not in the guru handbook. I know plenty of Casey’s that believe this stuff, but have yet to meet a success story. I guess I need to go to a Carlton Sheets seminar or Robert Kiyosaki wealth class to meet a success story. Go figure!
March 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Casey,
I have 8 years of college, and a few degrees under my belt. I have a very steady job, at a very high salary (much, much higher than your 30K, or 50K. Because I enjoy my work, I can work alot and not be stressed out, and I save about 20% of my gross.
This is called “hard-earned seed money” I am going to start a business before I turn 35.
In the meantime, I have established credentials and a reputation, which opens up quite a bit of avenues.
Keep in mind, that I hold several advanced degrees in mathematics, statistics, and economics. If that doesn’ teach you how to invest your money, then I don’t know what will.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
“If you want to be financially free someday you need to start learning how to invest, buy assets and build multiple streams of passive income. Do this on the side while working your job.”
I’m pretty sure that by doing the exact opposite, I’ll be set for life. Thanks for your help, Casey!
March 15th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Oh… to drink from the Kool-Aid firehose.
Consider the following: Kiyosaki never claims that what he is saying is a fool proof method to gaining money, only that he is encouraging people to think more about money and how to wisely invest/harbor/spend it. He never gives concrete advice on how to invest/harbor/spend the money in productive ways. he always dances around little subject. At one point, 20/20 gave three investors $1,000 and had them use Kiyosaki as their exclusive advisor for the period of the study. Results: mediocre. The test investors complained that Kiyosaki never gave any real advice on what to do with the money beyond “All he [Kiyosaki] does is, I guess, open your mind to the possibility. He doesn’t tell you how to do it”
As a related note: there is no documentation on Kiyosaki actually doing any property investing himself, just telling other people how to do it.
What college gives you is the following: A concrete set of analytical tools so you can analyze a problem and then decide how you want to attack it. Be it engineering, business, sciences, medical professions, accounting. Each of these disciplines requires years of training in the basics. Failure to understand the basics will prevent you from advancing any further. A bicycle analogy works quite well here:
You start riding a bike with the training wheels on, and set very low. Full helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, etc.
Next you raise the training wheels half an inch off the ground and see if you can maintain balance. If you hit the training wheels, no problem-you’re still upright.
Once you are comfortable with that, raise the trainers again, wash-rinse-repeat.
Eventually the trainers are so high that they never get close to the ground. So you add other options to the bike, multiple speeds (front and rear), Cargo carriers, toe clips, etc.
After that it is practice practice practice. Full crash stops, track stands, rapid dismount, how to fall off the bike with minimum injury, rapid decent, proper climbing, endurance training on a trainer in the winter, the list goes on.
One does not get onto a 27 speed bicycle first time and expect to ride in the Tour De France never having ridden a bike before. Most people will go 20-30 feet and fall over. Those that manage to stay on in their first ride will not have the endurance to keep up with the pack, let alone finish.
In a business sense, you are attempting to compete with people who had a chance to ride around in the kiddy park for a while with the training wheels on before going out on the road. You just decided to go out on the road first time and try for full power. You’ve fallen down several times at this point with your various pursuits. This time you appear to have gotten badly hurt (ie-150k in unsecured debt+mortgages). Most people would suggest that maybe time in the trainer park to work out the kinks. Instead you are refusing EMS, and trying to get back on the bike injured as you are, and continue riding down the road. Then you wonder about the people are zipping past you making it look easy. Simple: practice practice practice. Some of that practice was done in a safe environment where they didn’t get injured (no one else would either) before trying to really take off.
Are Kiyosaki’s classes evaluating your riding style, posture, tempo, bike fit, and giving you direct feedback on what you need to do in order to ride better. Or…. is he just giving some speeches “You need to tuck in! On the down hills to push your butt out to control your weight! Is your seat grinding on you, try this instead”. Most of those things that were in that speech you can get from from the internet for free.
Remember when you fall forward off of your bike: if you are lucky you just break your collar bone instead of your neck.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:03 am
“Plus I crashed my car a few months prior and I didn’t have insurance (forgot to send it the paperwork on time) and I had some bills to pay”
Why is it that you can’t grasp how the US mail system works. All you have to do is put the piece of mail in the little box outside and the birddoging mailman takes it away. Is VDubs insured now?
And who is this Gary guy?
March 15th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Casey,
It’s really a shame that you have some very stubborn, misguided ideals because you seem to be a rather intelligent person otherwise.
Casey: “I chose to skip college right after high school because I was offered a $30,000/yr salaried position at a startup company (Sevant.com) with benefits and stock options (year 2000). I was already working for the company part-time as a computer service technician and I was being promoted to a “Super Sevant”, as they called it, a lead tech / trainer / field manager.”
Did you actually think a $30,000/yr job as a “lead tech / trainer/ field manager” was something you couldn’t pass up? Most people, including myself, make twice that amount right out of college and go up quickly from there.
Casey: “Most people who have read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad with an open mind would agree with this statement. In the book Robert explains how traditional schools are NOT designed to teach you business ownership and investing skills. No wonder the majority of people are stuck in the rat race.”
I read Rich Dad Poor Dad years ago, and if I remember correctly Robert Kiyosaki recommends that everyone go to college right after high school as he did. Based on the path you have taken in your life, I respect “people stuck in the rat race” far more than you and expect that their lifes are better than yours.
Casey: “What can I say? I’m an entrepreneur at heart and I must keep trying until I succeed. And I’m still trying to build a passive-income generating business, that’s why I got into real estate flipping, which is actually a job too - you must trade time for money. But it’s a highly paid job that would build up some cash for me which I can in turn invest into rental property, apartments, commercial real estate and other passive-income business.”
What makes you an “entrepreneur at heart”? Nothing I have read about you would lead anyone to believe that. Why do you think your an entrepreneur? Because you say so? Everything post you have ever made does not seem like the writings of a entrepreneur. There is a BIG difference between an entrepreneur and someone who is trying to find easy money, moving from get-rich-quick schemes to get-rich-quick scheme under the pretense of being a businessman.
Casey: “If you want to be financially free someday you need to start learning how to invest, buy assets and build multiple streams of passive income. Do this on the side while working your job.
Once your passive income exceeds your earned income then you can retire early (if you want) with true financial security. You will not be dependent on your employer or the government to take care of you. That is a good thing!”
Do you read what you write. I believe in this statement 100%. You just said “Do this on the side while working your job.” But you don’t have a job. Instead of doing this on the side, you chose to quit your job? You also said “Once your passive income exceeds your earned income then you can retire early (if you want) with true financial security.” I believe that to be correct as well. So, Casey, why did you retire (quit your job) at age 23 with NO passive income?
Like I said earlier, It’s really a shame. I think you have the potential to do great things, but never will because of your twisted mindset and your endless goal of trying to get something for nothing.
Mark
March 15th, 2007 at 9:05 am
So, you consider yourself an expert on financial security? Get back to us when you’re actually paying back you debts. This post was a nice back-pedal on your previous post about how college only teaches you to be a good employee. I hope you realize that you can learn about investments and running a business in college. Just because some guy trying to sell you his books and seminars says otherwise, it doesn’t make it true. See, if you got yourself an education, you would be able to see that Rich Dad makes his money off of uneducated people who buy into his BS. If it was so easy making money in real estate, why does Rich Dad sell books and seminars? That’s right, because it’s not that easy making money in real estate, it’s easier to sell pipe dreams to suckers.
Since you know nothing about higher education, you only make yourself look like a fool. This is why you have so many “haters,” you pretend that you are an expert, when you are nothing but a 24 year old idiot with no decent education, decent job, or any sort of real income. About you statement “I have even thought of going to a 4 year college eventually just for the education, not because I need it for a job,” how would you pay for it? Oh that’s right, you’re broke. Get back to us when you are a productive member of society.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:19 am
College among other things provides you with valuable contacts/friends/peers. This group of like minded individuals will be the basis of your future “network” for sweet deals. Picture Ocean’s Eleven but with college degrees.
These contacts arn’t the ones you’ll find in front of the grocery stores posting bills stating how you can make 40K from home, but real contacts. Basically college is a club of sorts where good grades and money buys you in.
It’s never too late to go back. PS I wouldnt do night school.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:21 am
My God, Casey.
Would you please shut the f*** up about your thoughts on the world? Nobody cares what you think about the benefits of a college education. You’ve never had one, so you’re in no position to debate the merits.
How about you do something to start paying your bills?
March 15th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I was on Jeopardy once. I picked Stupidity for a thousand and the clue was “I had an accident without insurance” and the answer was “What is the telltale sign of a complete jackass?”
You’re lucky that you didn’t do something to get sued for millions. We’ll have to add driving without insurance to the list of Casey Serin criminal acts. Who is keeping track?
March 15th, 2007 at 9:25 am
re: “…that’s why I got into real estate flipping, which is actually a job too - you must trade time for money. But it’s a highly paid job that would build up some cash..”
————————————————————–
So….how much $$$$$ has that highly paid job given you so far?
March 15th, 2007 at 9:31 am
With every post you keep putting your foot in mouth. I hope your shoes aren’t leather, that wouldn’t be vegan of you.
It’s obvious and well established that you’re pretty much ignorant and clueless. In fact numerous studies prove that the more ignorant one is, the more confident they are of their abilities and like all the other stupid people this has been your undoing. The sooner you realize life is far more complex than you imagine and you really don’t have any answers the sooner you can try analyzing your situation and getting ahead.
That’s about the only silver lining in your future. The fact that America is so great that even a complete loser/failure/dimwit like you can declare BK, start over with a clean slate and give yourself another chance. This time around using hard work and education as the stepping stones to success.
And the best part… this is all that’s left! The financial system won’t give you another shot at “free” money until several years have passed and you’ve proven yourself. You will have nothing to do in the meantime except go to school or resort to increasingly criminal scams to continue your credit spree.
You’re already on shaky ground if you find yourself in a court of law so any further scams will only seal your fate. OTOH, getting yourself in school and attempting to tie your loose ends down would do wonders when you’re explaining your actions to the judge as honest mistakes.
Sober up or leave the country bro. This is not going to end good otherwise.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:35 am
OK,
Before you haters™ dogpile on to™ much, I’ll explain the car thing.
I was going through that dot bomb phase of my life and I was pretty down (for me at least because I am generally an optimistic person™). I had heard of a seminar being promoted by a local guru™ that was about making an empire in real estate with no money down. It sounded interesting too™ me because of my natural entrepreneurial™ personality.
Since I was between jobs, the no money down part sounded perfect. The seminar™ by the local guru™ was to be out by Raley field in Old Sac. I was living near Natomas at the time so it was going to be about a 30 minute drive.
I accidentally overslept™ becasue I had been out at a late business meeting™ Friday. That made me hurry to get out door and I was driving a little to™ fast for the rainy streets. I was going to™ fast on the onramp to the freeway and slid sideways into a tree. My 1993 Kia was totalled. As for the insurance payment, I intended to pay it™ I event mailed the insurance company a note explaining my unemployed circumstance and promised that I would pay them every penny™ I owed.
I eventually paid the premium in 2005 with some of the cash back™ on one of my sweet deals™. I included a request that since I was paying my premium, would they be kind enough to reimburse me for the $3,225 in damage from the 2000 accident.
Someone at the insurance company must have been an early hater™ because they sent my check back uncashed (along with a note saying that since my policy had been cancelled for non-payment over 5 years ago there was no balance due).
So that should take care of explaining it.
On a positive note, I have been exchanging emails with my potential new business partner™ regarding the possible venture in the Simi Valley area. I will update as this progresses.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Dude,
Did you read Mr. Kiyosaki’s whole book or just the parts about getting rich??
He went to college and had a JOB. He worked. You do not work or have a JOB and don’t want to go to college. Most people that don’t go to college go to work.
You need to go to work or get a JOB or go to college. Your other option would to to return to your third world country.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Guffaw. Who cares what an abject failure like you thinks about anything? Your opinions work in opposites now - “I wasn’t sure about college, but Casey said he thinks it’s a waste of time - so it MUST be worthwhile!”
You still don’t seem to understand that you are a cautionary tale in life.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:38 am
“I chose not to go to California Statue University of Sacramento which I have been accepted to.”
Considering the above sentence contains a severe misspelling and two glaring construction errors, I’m not surprised this is the kind of place that would accept you.
Your readers appreciate your not looking down on them for electing to go to college. Lord knows we’re here for your approval.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Now that is good “hater baiting”. Never forget that your site is entertainment! When you try to offer real advice, nobody comes to read it - after all, who wants advice from a failure?
These entertainment posts are great, even if we know you’re doing only to bring in the hits. I particularly like:
I wanted to get the college experience…
Thinking of a half semester, one unit seminar at a jr. college “the college experience” is fantastic. Keep it up!
We all know your 15 minutes are almost up and that it’s tough to recycle the same stuff time and again and keep it interesting. I think this new direction of trying to defend yourself is brilliant - bait the haters, pump out the uninformed opinions - your hits will continue to climb.
The financial avalance that’s coming down on you will take time. In the mean time, posts like this will let you feed your narcasisim and will allow you to be “busy” with “important deals”. Everyone has their own self delusions. This site is important to yours. These entertainment posts will keep it going.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:41 am
You’re like the preacher telling his congregation to follow the rules of the bible only to go home to smoke some crack and bang a hooker. Or you are like the real estate seminar giant touting no money down and easy millions only to be in debt up to his eyeballs with a negative net worth; oh wait, that is you.
Taking education and college advice from you is tantamount to asking my neighborhood drug dealer about his views on foreign policy.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Really?
You’ve lost, what, $2 million in 2 years?
That’s something like a monthly paycheck of negative $19,000.
Negative $19,000 a month is not “highly paid”.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Trying hard to resist, but it just keeps pulling me back..
Casey, man, look. People here aren’t annoyed because you didn’t go to college. Sometimes that isn’t in the cards, especially right out of high school. Plenty of folks don’t go back to school until their thirties or forties. There’s a long list of perfectly valid reasons why someone might not have a four year degree.
And, truth is, it is very possible to succeed in America without one. If you work damned hard and roll with the punches. If you keep growing intellectually. If you study and learn and stay open to opportunities around you. If you hedge your risks and not leave yourself exposed to market downturns. Most of all, if you know enough to surround yourself with good people and secure good alliances. Success this way happens every day.
The problem here is that you’ve demonstrated, over and over, that you’re entirely inept at or even completely adverse to mastering these skills.
You’re not self-employed, Casey. Self-employment means to maintain your standard of living based on income you earn independently. You haven’t earned a thing - you’ve been going around borrowing, borrowing, and then borrowing some more. You don’t have the slightest idea what self-employment is. You’ve been living large at society’s t** while other people pay for your “normal life” of Jamba Juice and Macaroni Grill.
And then you come on and denigrate those people who actually did work their way through college, who actually are making honest livings. What you’re obviously looking for is a way to keep your ego boosted up, a way to short-circuit the system and prove that you’re smarter than all those employees-in-training dumb enough to go to college. And worse yet, you feel you deserve it.
That’s what annoys people.
Casey, you’re scum. I’m counting the days now before the final collapse. But what I simply find amazing is that you seem to honestly think that you have supporters, when you’re just pissing off more people every day. Another few weeks of this, and you really will have to leave the country to find someone who doesn’t know who you are.
Another few months, and even that won’t work anymore.
Good going. Excellent job on the road to riches.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Casey:
You have missed the most important fact about achieving financial freedom. In order to be Financially Independent (FI), you MUST live within your means, whatever they are at the time. You haven’t been able to do this, as you’ve fallen into the trap that you “deserve” to live like a “normal” person. This thinking, in and of itself, will prevent you from achieving any of your dreams.
I will be able to be FI myself at some point in the not-too-distant future, and it’s not because I’m a risk-taking investor. It’s because I have a good job and I live well below my means. I’ve reduced my expenditures to only that which really brings me satisfaction, which is much less than I would have guessed (Hint: There’s no Starbucks or Jamba Juice in this equation.) So if I don’t need very much money to be happy, then I can retire early off my secure investment income.
I advised you long ago to read a copy of “Your Money Or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. Get it out of the library. It may change your whole perspective on money, and actually bring some peace and satisfaction into your world.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:49 am
I’ve graduated both college and law school, and firmly believe that the most important thing to be gained from both is not the education you actually receive while there.
It’s more the firshand knowledge that I have of exactly what was taught there (and exactly what was not taught). It’s hard for one lawyer to bullsh*t another one, relatively easy to bullsh*t everybody else, because they’re never quite sure what magic knowledge we lawyers have.
Plus never underestimate the value of credentials.
Casey, You think everybody’s a “hater”. I believe most of the comments have been constructive and most folks have shown amazing restraint.
You need an intervention. Let me help get it started:
You think of yourself as having boundless energy and enthusiam, but you’re really lazy, self-absorbed, somewhat delusional and a short-cut artist. This stuff can be tolerated for a while in a young man, but dude, you’re getting older with every passing day. Change your ways, or else your in for a really lousy life.
By the way, your current problems need not be the end of the world, but you do need some jail time: I’m guessing 9 months to a year. Yes, many people probably did the same thing you did, except they didn’t start a blog to brag about it.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Casey:
Your story has to be terrible PR for Robert Kiyosaki. You keep quoting him out of context to try to justify what you do. I have read his books and you in no way emulate his teachings. As your story gets bigger and more widespread, it’ll only be a matter of time before Robert Kiyosaki himself comes out and publicly denounces everything you have done.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:05 am
There once was a man from Uzbekistan
With a “sweet deals” real estate plan
So he bought eight homes
But didn’t pay on the loans
And will probably be sent to the can.
Casey, I’m afraid you’re going down. Probably on your newest roommate “Bubba”
But I too, think your web site and blog is highly entertaining and I would miss it so should you be sent up the river. Perhaps I could get some fellow haters to pool in with me and post bail when this happens? Who’s with me?
And if not, well then, good luck. Hope you like the taste of pillows!
March 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
What’s your view on the 2008 Presidential Election?
March 15th, 2007 at 10:08 am
“No wonder the majority of people are stuck in the rat race.”
Casey, do you really believe that a civilization can survive when the majority of its population sits on its a** collecting passive income?
March 15th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Casey said
What can I say? I’m an entrepreneur at heart and I must keep trying until I succeed
Reminds me of the old saying:
Anyone can be a bomb disposal technican
-ONCE
March 15th, 2007 at 10:12 am
fun diversion. do us a favor though. could you please post a lst of the questions you won’t answer so that we can stop asking?
who is gary?
how mant cashcall loans outstanding?
missing utah payment?
nigel involved in the wrap?
2006 tax liability?
$35k or $50k?
long list.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
OK, you sweet little child - you have an opinion on what college doesn’t teach.
Umm…not to be rude or anything..but how would you know? How could you have ANY idea about what a student can or cannot get from college? How could your little brain-washed mind have any idea what skills, talents, abilities and education one developed/attains during the course of a college education?
At least know what you’re talking about before you offer an opinion. That’s called having an informed opinion, as opposed to spouting off what someone else told you.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Hey Casey! I know that I’ve repeatedly said a college education isn’t important, but I just remembered that I graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York in 1969. Sorry.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:17 am
“The college experience also teach you critical thinking skills, research skills, team work, time management, etc.”
THIS IS THE EXACT SET OF SKILLS THAT YOU LACK WHICH IS ACTIVELY CAUSING YOUR DEMISE.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:18 am
You really need to save this crud you write so that you can read it 20 years from now and amaze yourself with how naive and stupid you were in your youth.
It never ceases to amaze me how young inexperienced people such as yourself come off sounding like they have mastered all knowledge of the world. You actually believe you know something the rest of the world doesn’t, but the reality is what you don’t know about life is what is killing you right now.
Repeat after me, “CASEY SERIN IS NOT AN ENTREPRENEUR”
That’s right, you are not. You think you are, but you don’t really know what the hell that word means.
You talk about passive income like such a thing exists. You are a fool. There is no such thing as passive income unless daddy is paying you an allowance. Making money is work, making lots of money is hard work. It takes diligence, dedication, a willingness to put in endless hours, and most importantly the one thing you refuse to do…SACRIFICE.
I have told you this before, I know more true entrepreneurs than you will ever meet in your lifetime. My mentor was Chong-Moon Lee (founder of Diamond Multimedia), I sat on several boards of startup companies alongside people like Bill Miller (president Stanford Research Institute) and Bill Joy (founder and Chief Scientist of Sun Microsystems), I have held executive positions at multiple startups that were profitably liquidated (Ejasent acquired by Veritas, and Meiosys acquired by IBM).
You calling yourself an entrepreneur and referring to your gross and disgusting actions as “failing forward” exepriences to learn from is a monumental insult to every single one of us that has dared to take the risk and put in the hard work to succeed. What you did was analagous to buying $2.4M worth of lottery tickets with someone else’s money, hardly the actions of a true entrepreneur.
What you did was illegal, immoral, and reprehensible. It was not entrepreneurial in any way. You are unrepentant and indignant, you refuse to acknowledge what you did was wrong, and you continue to search for the magic money tree that will somehow appear to solve all your problems.
You deserve to go to jail.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Casey, are you mentally challenged? This is a serious question. If you are, then most of the haters would understand and back off. For a mentally challenged person, you’ve accomplished a lot, but you should temper some of that enthusiasm a bit.
If you’re not… did you ever ask yourself why do you keep self-sabatoging your life? I read a book by Dr. Robert Glover called No More Mr. Nice Guy. I think it describes you perfectly. You should visit the page at http://nomoremrniceguy.com/ngs.php and ask yourself if that describes you.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Casey:
We are in a different phase of the RE mkt now and you will need a new skill set to succeed.
I’m coming out with a new course you should consider.
I’m thinking of calling it “Poor Dad, Poor Dad.”
Catchy, huh!
March 15th, 2007 at 10:40 am
So I guess Casey is presenting his stellar record as a “Real Estate Invester” as proof that college isn’t necessary to make money? bwhahahahahha
Go to school kid, you might learn something.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Do you know what else they teach you at university? They teach you to hold your liquor and to appreciate the weak side safety making tackles down the sideline on the strong side.
I went to college so I guess that makes me a sucker(I did learn the SWEET difference between there, their, and they’re!). I do appreciate the free Johnny Walker on the frequent 1 hour flights between NYC and BOS, though.
I also forgot to send in my car insurance paperwork but that is because I also forgot to buy the car in the first place. Does that make me un-American Casey? I don’t think you forgot to send in the paperwork for your car insurance. I think you just didn’t have the money.
ASW: letsdoit!
March 15th, 2007 at 10:46 am
You mean circumstances like the fact that you are too lazy to lift a finger other than to scam people?
Only an imbecile would take advice from a 24-year old delusional failure fraud king that is millions in debt with three foreclosures on his investment record. Other than that, great blog entry, Casey!
Don’t forget, after March 28th it’ll be FIVE foreclosures! Enjoy only having three on your record while you can!
March 15th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Casey,
Good post.
You are my hero. don’t listen to the “haters” because they are jealous of you.
They work and toil at their W-2 jobs while you wake up late, do your juicing and sponge off your in laws like every “would be” real estate mogul in training.
stay positive so when you go to jail you won’t become Positive from your cell mate.
All you Haters out there….leave the man child alone!
March 15th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Good post Casey!
I new it would get all the “I have a degree “snot noses in a fit.
I have a college degree and agree with you 100%.Things did’t go your way in real estate , but you are correct about College in general. If all the “I have a degree” snots were honest with themselves, or as bright as they claim to be(most of them are educated out of there common sense)they would admit alot of the time and money they spent on College was a waste and did not teach them how to be a independent entrepreneur.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Go get a regular job Casey and work your way out of this thing!! Come on man!! What are you wating for?? It’s all there for you!! Our society has great system in place for everyone!! Just go to jamba juice everyday, come home and stick your head in the sand and pretend everythings A OK!!
You should have been like me casey. I and went to colllege for 8 years and landed a decent paying job at 35!!!!!!! BRILLIANT!! (lmao of that poster)
Wasn’t it Honest Abe that filed bankruptcy 3 times, had 3 nervous breakdowns and 2 failed businesses?
Hang in there Casey. You still have the passion and don’t let these morons talk you into getting a rinky dink job. It will most certainly not help your financial situation and will slowly rob you of your soul, passion and talent. The haters most likely lack these things. These are some things you can’t buy at your ivey league schools. I can’t wait until you put up your success blog. It will surely come if you don’t give up. I don’t understand how the haters here have so much time on their hands seeing as how the “man” is very demanding and likes his booty when he wants it. I guess they can lubing and typing at the same time isn’t entirely out of question.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Well Casey, we didn’t go to college either and look at us…
Trailer Park Boys!!!!!
At least I have a roof over my head, plus some “farming” income to pay for the lot fees, rum and smokes. The dating trailer was shut down last week by the Health Dept. due to some kind of STD issue. I think this is why Homey has gone AWOL.
After a good bleach wash down things should get back to normal and the cash flow should start again!!!
Julian-The Original Trailer Park Boy
Trailer Flippin Guru
President of the “Casey Hater’s Club-Canada”
ps. My Anti-Spam Word of the day is “sweet”…Lucy used to be “sweet”, but she hooked up with Ricky and now she is always “sour”…
March 15th, 2007 at 11:33 am
31-SWEET
To expand on what you said.
Today’s Theme Is: Negative Passive Income
If you just want to look at his (Carey’s) unsecured debt (credit cards, cash call etc), it had a value of 174,000 at the end of January. Assuming (and I am being generous here) a 30% interest rate for ALL debt.
So his burn rate (interest only) is $143.00/day. The interest will compound and increase the burn rate at a rate of 0.12/day. So after a month his burn rate will be around $147/day. By the end of March it will hit $150/day.
Assuming you are working an 40 hour a week job you have to be making over $20/hour to cover that kind of debt, assuming that someone else is paying the house/food/etc.
So every day that goes by costs Carey $150. This is what is called a Negative Passive Income. Not counting late fees/overcharged/etc (which would also compound).
Carey: The way to consider it at this point is this: breathing is costing you $150/day. What are you doing to contain that? Working would be a good start. Sweet deals in the future are not helping your immediate problem. If you can work to contain the immediate problem and then have the time to work on some sort of extra curricular activity (deals, pursuit of fortune, house flipping, etc) then more power to you.
Before you go spending money on anything ask: Have I covered my debts for the day? If no, then that twenty dollar bill that is burning a hole in your pocket should go to covering one of your debts. If yes, then spend it as you please. Just think about what you want to spend it on first.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Does anyone have kids about to graduate and are having second thoughts about going to college? Then waste no time in getting them to Casey’s site.
If your child has two brain cells, the thought of ending up $2 million in debt and spending the rest of their lives being the b**** of the IRS, CashCall, credit card companies and various other creditors should be enough to keep them in college for at least four years. Even a slow 17 year old will know they’re better off doing the opposite of everything young Casey has done. For example…
“Once your passive income exceeds your earned income then you can retire early (if you want) with true financial security.”
Yes folks, a poorly-educated 24 year old who has failed in every financial deal he’s been involved with and ruined his life for the next couple of decades is telling US when we can retire.
I suppose your guru instructors didn’t mention that since the economy is constantly in flux, “passive income” is not necessarily secure income for any amount of time. Oh, yes, economics is one of those hogwash classes they frighten you with in college to make you a passive subservient worker.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:36 am
chimpCasey, even if you find the sweetest deals they will be just outside your grasp or fall through your fingers until you can learn to pay attention to deadlines.
You are a classic procrastinator.
The Requiem for a Dream comparison becomes relevant again, each time the smart talkented junkies think they have found a way out it never works out.
The grandest plans won’t save you from your failure at the “mundane”.
Please don’t write about your opinions on anything not RE related anymore.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Plus I crashed my car a few months prior and I didn’t have insurance (forgot to send it the paperwork on time) and I had some bills to pay
What you did not complete something, that is not possible?
In the book Robert explains how traditional schools are NOT designed to teach you business ownership and investing skills.
Yea they waste your time teaching how to follow through something you will never understand.
Another reason college sucks is you have to read many books for each class not just one! And this makes it hard to quote when you have some many books to quote from.
nice purse…
March 15th, 2007 at 11:48 am
The problem here is that you’ve demonstrated, over and over, that you’re entirely inept at or even completely adverse to mastering these skills.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:48 am
The problem here is that you’ve demonstrated, over and over, that you’re entirely inept at or even completely adverse to mastering these skills.
i hope if I send it to a few times you might read it?
The problem here is that you’ve demonstrated, over and over, that you’re entirely inept at or even completely adverse to mastering these skills.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:53 am
College taught me how to track down missing payments.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Casey,
I am only compelled to write this not to dispute your uneducated, unconvincing ramblings (others do that) but so that if by chance anyone happens to read this and faces the question of whether to go to college, that they don’t make the same dumb decision you did.
College is *not* designed to make you a good employee. Anyone who told you that is an idiot. High school is designed to make you a good employee. College is designed to make you a good boss. Sure, you learn plenty of cocktail party friendly conversation. And you’ll probably learn lots of things you won’t need to know in business, whether as an employee, employer or entrepreneur.
The most important thing you get from college is real experience with critical thinking and evaluation. Casey pays lip service to this but don’t underestimate its importance. College teaches you to question assumptions and evaluate lots of evidence. In life you will be told certainties by hundreds and thousands of people. Every one will be sure that they are correct. Many are not. You can only figure out which is which if you have the arsenal of knowledge and critical thinking skills that you get from a higher education.
Do you need to go to college to be a successful entrepreneur? Well, not if you’re Bill Gates, but most of us aren’t Bill Gates. If you’re a mere mortal, college provides you with absolutely essential life skills that you shouldn’t live without.
And my own 2 cents… worry less about being “financially free” and more about just being happy. You can be happy in a job if you like the job. Your chances of being in a job you like are immeasurably higher if you get that college degree.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Saying college doesn’t teach entrepreneurial skills just shows how naive you are.
I am starting college next year, and in one of the colleges I was looking into you are required to start a business as part of your graduation requirement (large o small… one person started an in-dorm coffee shop, another started a multi-million dollar robotics business). Especially in the tech field, colleges are starting to include entrepreneurship, if you know where to look. In general, any tech school with a business school affiliated will offer some sort of entrepreneurship classes.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:58 am
And by the way, Casey, you should probably re-evaluate the buzzwords you use (which I’m sure you learned from your expensive gurus)… like “rat race”.
Since September, this college-educated rat racer has made $98,000 in salary and a sweet $55,000 bonus. You have actually lost tens of thousands of dollars in interest owed to banks and you haven’t earned jack. Am I less “financially free” because I go to work every day while you sleep and spin profitless circles on your rodent-wheel of investment dreams?
Who’s the rat racer, Casey?
Oh, and FYI, you can usually just set up and pay for auto insurance over the phone.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
“If you want to be financially free someday you need to start learning how to invest, buy assets and build multiple streams of passive income. Do this on the side while working your job.”
How’s that financial freedom workin’ out for you?
March 15th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Casey….did you make sure you swallowed when you were under RK’s desk?
I cannot believe you are still falling for his “ejumakashun=bad” garbage. School is great for learning and making connections to things that relate to each other. YOu can get some great ideas on business to start and also the CRITICAL THINKING, which you are obviously incapable of, to solve problems and think logically.
I used to have the same mentality at age 24. I realized at age 30 that this get-rich-quick thing is complete bogus and takes time to make money. I have since gone back to school to learn and appreciate it much more than when I tried to go at 20.
I was an insurance agent for a while, and my largest client was a company that held 250 rental homes. I have seen every single one, saw their new purchases, saw how the business was set up and how long it took the owner to do it. Took him 16 years, but he was smart and calculated.
I learned more from that than all these guru losers.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I could give you some advice but it would be ignored or mitigated by your positive thinking skills. So what would the point be. You still think that real estate speculating is a high paying job. Oh the irony…
March 15th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Stick with speaking about what you know Casey. One semester in community college doesn’t qualify you as an expert in this arena and it’s insulting to the people who did go to school for four years or more.
Let us know about the unaccounted for Utah payment and possible short sales on your two remaining properties.
Nigel
March 15th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
The sub prime meltdown is just beginning.
No more no-doc, no-down, iffy credit, stated income.
You have to show some income to buy houses now, so you better get an income producing job.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
#41 “Rob Dawg”
nigel involved in the wrap?
Rob Dawg my dear, mortgage brokers don’t do wraps as there is no new institutional lender involved. Only real estate agents use wraps since they get paid their commissions. Only a title company/property attorney can actually execute a wrap.
Just like you, I did not know Casey until I ran across his blog. Until last week, I had never even met him.
Your question is a red herring meant only to cast doubt on me. You know the truth. Here is my answer for this board to see.
Nigel
March 15th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
“itsallgood”
You know those things they had in the movie Men in Black? You know, the ones that erase people’s memories? You need one of those. You would need to set it to “Kiyosaki” and then flash yourself repeatedly.
You need to forget everything that Robert Kiyosaki has ever said. Sure, he tells interesting stories. They sound like little fairy tales. In fact, that’s what they are.
Kiyosaki is far removed from the real world. He’s gotten rich by telling stories. And he’s ruined people like you in the process. You’re far too trusting of these people that somehow convince you that they want YOU to be rich. They don’t give a flying monkey turd if you’re rich! THEY DON’T! All they care about is removing those dirty pennies from your pocket and depositing them into their accounts. You’re insane to think otherwise…
Seriously, what good has Keeyosucky or any of his cohorts done for you, ever?
Oh, and by reading his book “with an open mind”, do you mean completely clearing your head of any common sense prior to cracking the cover? I hate it when people say that they’re open minded, because no one really is. Everyone has their beliefs, their agendas and their preconceptions and anyone that claims to be open minded ultimately closes their mind at the first sign of resistance to their core values.
Get real, Serin. Grow up, get a job and hope that the worst that happens is that you spend the next 12-15 years working off your mistakes.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Excellent. Now we know you helped fail another business and have a propensity to crash your car. Time for a wikiupdate!
ASW: sweet
March 15th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Casey,
I had a lady call me once at my mortgage job. She had tried to be an investor although I don’t know the exact circumstances. I think she was not fraudulent like you but was naive and believed everything her ‘partners’ told her. Basically she got screwed by them and ended up with multiple foreclosures on her credit report. Her score was around 450. There was NOTHING I could do for her. She was toast BUT she was working TWO jobs and trying to keep all her other debts current. That says a lot about character.
I do like the occasional Starbucks. Most of the time I brew it at home, but sometimes if I’m in the car (my car runs and has gas) I will drop in and treat myself.
Your friend
Cotton Swaby
Award Winning Commenter
P.S. Don’t forget to clean your ears.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
You are right Casey, you did avoid the rat race. You don’t even have the competency to enter it yet.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Nigel,
Since you are answering questions on this board, why didn’t you let some posts go through on your blog that pointed out errors in your 1st time homebuyer post? They were not hater posts or personal attacks. It seems when you are wrong about something and someone calls you on it in a factual way, you don’t let it through.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Why are you spending time on this? Seriously, what do people care what you think of college? This would be akin to me walking around saying “Hawaii is an awful place to go on vacation” - I’ve never been to Hawaii.
You’ve never been to college. You should try it — it’s fun, educational, and full of interesting people.
Again, I still think you should focus more of your energy on turning your life around. Think about movies like “The Pursuit of Happyness” with Will Smith. I read an article about the guy who the movie was based on, and he was amazing. People like stories like that. Really. Not a Deus ex machina, but a true story of a person who was down and fought their way back up.
All you’d have to do is:
deal with the houses you still have to deal with - Utah comes to mind
get a job
get another job
declare bankruptcy
pay off your taxes
and buy a house with a legal loan
March 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Um, anyone seen my blue ball™? It’s missing.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Wow, you’re not really following Kiyosaki closely if you think he’s bullish on real estate. That “Rich Man, Poor Man” book was written in 1997, and he’s not in love with any asset class (real estate).
Here’s a letter he wrote in Aug 2005 which declared that real estate was a bubble about to deflate, advising investors to pull out:
http://www.twbookmark.com/auth.....21754.html
http://www.richdad.com/pages/a.....crisis.asp
The first thing any would-be financial guru SHOULD understand is that timing is EVERYTHING. Casey caught the tail-end of the dotcom bust, and now the real estate collapse. He’s the perfect example of stupid money chasing the smart money, seduced by his initial success…
If nothing else useful, here’s a little concept that I learned about in my general education Business 101 class called “asset bubbles”. You should spend a bit of time learning about the Tulip bubble, the Florida real estate bubble, the Nikkei Stock and Real Estate bubble in Japan in the 1990’s, the dotcom bubble, etc:
http://www.stock-market-crash.net/southsea.htm
Don’t feel so bad: like you, Isaac Newton was initially pulled into the infamous South Seas investment bubble (where he was flush with his initial success, sold out after pocketing 1,000 pounds, but then jumped back in deeper), but ultimately lost 20,000 pounds in the scam. As a result of this loss, he stated, “I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people”.
I’d agree with his statement, if he had used the word “greed” instead of “madness”.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Is that the real Nigel telling Casey to be quiet? Or that imposter Nigel?
March 15th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I am flabbergasted that someone with your innate business acumen has no college degree. It looks crystal clear to me that your documented successes show you are a natural in the ways and wiles of business that are a mystery to most of us 9-5 slugs out there who are content _ if not smug _ about our miserable 4.5 percent saving account interest rates in the midst of Wall Street turmoil, housing market collapse, and economic turmoil.
Obviously, the fates have not treated you well in the last six months, in spite of all the hard work you put into improving these properties to make them more marketable. But, who knows if you get to make another roll of the dice what future you might have in RE?
March 15th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
What’s the problem, Nigel, not getting enough attention lately?
March 15th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Good first step and I sense sour grapes. Your choice of 30k/year over a college degree is questionable, but I am sure they made pie in the sky promises like a lot of startups do. I for one never trust them and often the data backs up my skepticism. So there’s more to your story, you probably planned to retire by 35 a millionaire from the stock options.
Moving on…well it’s not too late to go back and get a computer science degree and later in life start a consulting business.
One last point, the modern world would not exist if everyone was an entrepreneur. Modern world needs the rat race, after all who can do research from home or any sort of production from home? Large capital investments are needed to make our world work. Few in between can work from home with minimum capital investments, but that is not the rule, rather the exception. RK sells a dream and you bought into it…nothing more.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
You need to get a REAL JOB!!
March 15th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
As an individual who spent nine years at university I agree with Casey.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Casey. I’ve went from a guy that just wanted to help, to a hater, to a loather, and now to a guy that just wants see this through to the conclusion. Your latest post is just amazing. Do you know how hard it is to have the self-discipline to get through 120+ hours of college? Anyone that has done it knows it. And they are not only the good employees; they are the good managers, company officers, and owners. I’ve been busting my tail for three decades at a job while investing in real estate on the side. Passive income is an oxymoron. There is no magic pill.
You can’t seem to get out of that denial phase on most of your posts. And as one of your biggest supporters just said, it’s insulting. Look at the folks that have tried to help you? Not all of them have been bad people. Have you stopped to ask yourself, “what am I doing that makes everyone eventually give up on me?” Go back to early in your blog. You had some real support. All of those people gave up and left or turned into haters like me. And believe me, I would have been better off leaving as well.
And as mean as the haters have been, I’d be willing to bet that if you were honest with yourself and on your blog, you’d get some good feedback again.
Try moving out of whatever phase you are in and get into the “I’m ready to tackle this thing head on” phase. And to repeat what almost every person has said, it starts with a
J O B.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Free tuition in California - such a waste Casey.
If you want in on a business plan - have a great start up Voip project - just needs exposure - something you have plenty of?
Are you close to any Universities?
March 15th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Hey Casey, in the wiki photo the dude in the center looks like your dad.
The expression on his face is priceless.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
College is a drag, I hate every second of it.
I get good grades but to me the entire system is full of it.
What it does do is teaches you how to think in new ways IF you have some very good professors.
If you get to the point where you a natural skeptic and you question things deeply, and you have the skills to do some research to answer those questions, then that’s probably what 75% of what college is for.
The other 25% is for social networking and banging women. I don’t mind networking but putting a lot of effort into banging Hot Chix is a pathological waste of time for me.
There ya go.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
“my opinion a traditional college does NOT teach you any wealth building skills or how to be an entrepreneur” - then why does Trump have an MBA, why are there a ton of successful entrepreneurs from my MBA class of 93 who credit the learnings about finance, marketing, operations, etc. in their MBA class as critical in helping them not just start a little one man band, but create quite large companies, several of which are international already.
College doesn’t teach you about real estate investing, unless you take business course with a real estate focus - and they are out there and would teach you much more legit info than those McScamiversities you went to. Almost any college degree teaches critical thinking, which is probably why we grads are likely to ask more questions before handing over tens of thousands for illegitimate and just plain wrong real estate investment “school.”
Re. real estate flipping being a job - it is, IF you are doing hands on renovation. For anyone who’s not a full time contractor, it’s a part time, out of hours activity. I earned my millions of real estate investments while holding a full time 60+ hrs a week MBA management position - and I did much of the renovation myself in the first few properties.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
You wanted “the college experience”, so you attended a 1-unit half-semester class at ARC? Do you really think that is what the college experience is all about? A single class at a community college?
The college experience is different for everybody, but generally when somebody talks about “the college experience”, it conjures the image of a full-time student living in the dorms, attending classes, and learning a whole lot both inside and outside the classroom about life in general.
The shortcomings of your notion of “the college experience” closely parallel the shortcomings of your notion of “real estate investing”.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
That’s nice so many of you have gone to college to learn “critical thinking skills” -whatever that is. But the fact that so many of you feel the need to brag to a bunch of complete strangers about your mediocre successes shows many of you didn’t bother with “spiritual skills” along the way. Casey, in all his anti-glory seems less of a desperate tool than many of the posters on this site.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Kiyosaki is basically correct. Passive income is much better than working for a living (duh). The problem is everyone wants passive income but 99% of people are not smart enough or lucky enough to generate enough passive income to live on.
Think about it - if everyone in the U.S. who wanted to live off passive income could live off passive income, who would be left to do the real work that the economy requires like driving the garbage truck, cleaning the toilets and fixing the computers.
So far you have not done anything to suggest that you are in the elite
March 15th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
“in my opinion a traditional college does NOT teach you any wealth building skills or how to be an entrepreneur. It teaches you general education and how to be an employee.”
I did not read Robert’s book, but I could not agree more with that statement. Also I go even further and say it is a complete waste of time and money unless you are trying for that slave job.
J = Just
O = Over
B = Broke
I find college is nothing more than a way to indoctrinate youth to thinking shallow and one way.
50% of the richest people in the world do not have a college degree or college level education.
I find your only mistake Casey is thinking in passive income. There is no such thing. You want to make lots of money you either have to labor over it manually (General Contractor, Home Builder, Etc) or labor over it by creative thinking. Either way a lot of time, aggravation, and pain is put into it. There is no escaping it. The more money you make the less time you have for pleasures. If you don’t believe it just look at the wealthiest peoples daily activity schedule.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
I’m looking for an analogy here.
How about:
Thurman Munson’s Guide to Becoming an Ace Pilot
or
How to win a Guerilla War by George Bush.
Casey, bro. Stop writing your own book here. It’s clear that the last few blog entries are your early draft for your own ‘Rich Dad’ type book.
Dude - those guys hit it big because nobody new their past and they could claim whatever they want. YOU, on the other hand, have publicized your own spectacular flame out and outlined piece by piece how far removed you actually are from your own philosophies of becoming a wealthy, self-made business icon.
Dude - no offense, but - you SUCK at business. Seriously, bro.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I feel stupid now for having gone to college instead of just having a highschool education and creating “passive debt”.
Casey, have you tried Amway?
March 15th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
#69. “jt”
“No more no-doc, no-down, iffy credit, stated income.”
Where did you hear this from? Pandora’s box is open and the last thing any politician wants to do is try and close something that could be political suicide.
Because of these sub-prime loans home ownership is at a all time high at 69%. Most of the loans your referring to helped get a lot of minorities that otherwise could not obtain home ownership into there own homes. Although there is a bubble bursting now with some of these loans. It is pretty well contained and the investors and bankers know how to keep it from getting out of control. We will break another record in foreclosures this year and the problem is not going to disappear over night but to say we just began in this problem is a pretty bold statement. All my research shows otherwise.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Looks like you started unable to take care of the necessary things. Like getting insurane for your car taken care of. Until you learn to open envelopes and manage things that must be managed you will continue to fail. If you do not take control something will unexpectedly come up and get you.
If you want to be the self money manager you must learn to manage yourself and your responsibilities. Without manageing it you leave your self open to problems.
Example: Current state:
Failure to make payments->foreclosure of properties->(near future: open opportunity for lenders to show up and demand money/force payment options)
I don’t know how you can hope to move forward successfully without the disipline required to manage your obligations. This is needed to be a success.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Do have any citations for any of your claims other than Kiyosaki?
Because you know, just because one person says it, and writes it in a book, and it sounds really, like, cool dude, doesn’t mean it’s true.
Statistic after statistic shows that a college education is the way to higher SES. Kiyosaki can make whatever claims he wants about it until he’s blue in the face, but it doesn’t make him right.
If Robert Kiyosaki told you that Lilies of the Valley made *great* juice, better than wheatgrass, but everyone on this blog said “No, Casey! That’s poison! It will kill you!” — would he be right? Even if he wrote it in a book? Even if he wrote it in a book with big words and said that drinking it would make you rich?
I’m betting you’d drink the damn juice and die in agony.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Can you please update your Google spreadsheet?
March 15th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
“Plus I crashed my car a few months prior and I didn’t have insurance (forgot to send it the paperwork on time)”
Imagine that…
March 15th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
How stupid of me to attend college and earn 6 figure salary after graduation by working hard and putting some money on the side to invest and create a moderate passive income…
How stupid of me.
I should’ve been like you Casey.
Graduate high school, make some sweet deals and wait for passive income of NEGATIVE HUNDREDS/MONTH.
Sweeeeeeet
March 15th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I have a real tough time taking advice on college from someone who didn’t go to college.
Just like I have a hard time taking advice about business, investing and success from someone who’s never acheived any of those things.
Nobody cares what you have to say on these topics Casey.
What’s going on with;
That allegedly missing Utah payment?
The $50k note you were supposed to start paying on last month?
The expenditure ledger for 2006 you said you’d post here so we could see how you spent $200k last year?
Your other creditors you’ve been stiffing?
The remaining houses?
You and G’s refusal to get jobs?
Many of the other important questions posted here that you continually ignore?
March 15th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Casey: In 1907 it was OK if you did not go to college. In 2007 it is not OK not to go to college. College is the new High School and Grad School is the new college. What would you think of a 13 year old who said that he did not need to go to college and was going to make a living trading baseball cards? That’s what we all think of you…
March 15th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I do admire the risks taken. I think few people realize how much you would have succeeded had this all worked. Sure you took risks, and you’re paying rather mildly for them. Perhaps that’s what upsets everyone so much. It’s like betting two million on red in vegas. Only in this case, you could either lose, or just take a credit beating. You’ve escaped so far without bankruptcy. How many other people take that kind of risk, or are intelligent enough to realize just how safe your bet was. You could have been a millionaire.
March 15th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
On Kiyosaki’s letter, you said:
“Here’s a letter he wrote in Aug 2005 which declared that real estate was a bubble about to deflate, advising investors to pull out..”
The bubble had already burst at that point. Go do a graph of any of the lender stocks or housing stocks.
Take LEND for example. Dropped from 50 to around 30 before he wrote that.
Take LEN for example. It went from 60 to 40.. getting pounded into August.
Then Kiyosaki writes the letter…
when it is too late to sell.
You know houses don’t sell in a minute. They take months.
And so, if you try to sell after the crash has begun…
you are screwed.
Kiyosaki screwed the proverbial pooch. Isn’t the first time.
And I have no doubt that he himself got caught up in the mess just as much as everyone else.
Sitting on lots of properties that are now losing value every day.
Goodnight funnyman Robert.
Time to write some more books.
March 15th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Casey Says:
“in my opinion a traditional college does NOT teach you any wealth building skills or how to be an entrepreneur. It teaches you general education and how to be an employee.”
- 100% agree with every word. If only it did.
When you spend $50,000 and 4 years on an education you need to justify it to yourself. I know becuase I did and I know EXACTLY how it feels. People get defensive and are reluctant to admit the truth. Anyone today can see the educational system is grossly behind the times.
There are so many alternative careers that pay just as much if not MORE than what the average college graduate makes!
Anyone that wants to see the truth about college can visit this website:
http://www.blurofinsanity.com/collegewaste.html
Warning: Truth ahead. 100% Agree with every word on this website. Read at your own risk!
March 15th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Most people … with an open mind would agree … [that] traditional schools are NOT designed to teach you business ownership and investing skills. No wonder the majority of people are stuck in the rat race.
“Traditional schools” are only designed to “be useful” for those motivated “bird doggers” who are inspired by their schools.
In general, I didn’t particularly like the schools that I went too and I was miserable as a student at the University of Minnesota but, at the end of the day, I knew that there where many different ways to find and leverage those “sweet deals” in my mind!
As a substitute for college, I like reading the WallStreet Journal and reading books on history, economics, math and engineering.
“Rich Dad” knows that wealth comes from a “Rich Mind,” so make sure you find a way to leverage yours!
March 15th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Casey,
I agree that college is for smucks. You hear about people getting $150K in debt with student loans, and for what??? I have a friend that got a psychology degree and he still can’t get a job! College is for people who know there losers to start with!
March 15th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Your view on College? How about my view on you: You’re a retard.
Let’s recap: You tried to enter a business in which you had no competitive advantage, at a time when speculators were competing fiercely with each other and profit margins were negative for most newcomers to the market at that time.
Pure Genius.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Not to worry, once you find yourself divorced and kicked out of the house, a 4 year vacation via student loans will look like a pretty sweet deal all of a sudden.
Oh wait, living on other people’s money, doing no work, going to lunch whenever, and screwing around on the computer instead of doing anything productive?
You’re already having the college experience. The only downside is you’re not going to have a degree that can help you find a job at the end of your 4 years of goofing off, and you’re going to be a lot deeper in debt than if you’d spent all that time at an expensive private school.
Doh!
March 15th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
One important lesson our little Casie-poo hasn’t yet learned is the difference between sucess and failure.
Sure, lots and lots of sucessful people had failures before they suceeded - sometimes spactacular failures.
But they were never so deluded as to mistake the failure as a sucess.
And ever so stupid as to LOOK for failures as a part of their sucess plan.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
@94. Lostsite:
“50% of the richest people in the world do not have a college degree or college level education.”
Care to provide a credible source for this claim? Or are you just pulling numbers out of your a**?
March 15th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
very well written, casey.
just thought i’d say that you seem like a highly intelligent person. and that i enjoy reading your blog.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Update: I must not be making myself very clear because everybody seems to focus on the negative. I’ll say again… I have nothing against going to college! It’s just one way to learn and has it’s own pros and cons as compared to other ways to learn - like seminars, on the job / mentors, internet / self study, etc. General education aspect is also a good thing and the social aspect - networking, making connections - is a great thing. Based on my friend’s experiences in college I will even say that I have very much respect for those who are disciplined enough to get a 4-year degree or higher. Many people drop out so the ones that graduate are going to be overall more successful they have learned/demonstrated determination to stay the course. On the other hand I’m not going to judge you if you never went to college but still find a way to reach your goals. In the end, it’s all good!
March 15th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
This post is for everyone who actually went to college and still agrees with Casey’s inanity–
Here’s a case study to inspire you to make the most of your education:
- 9 years of college (at a net cost to me of $0; I actually made money through huge scholarships and fellowships)
- At the ripe old age of 30, I own a tech business with revenues of $90k/month that I started with an initial investment of $10,000 LAST YEAR. The business is growing by leaps and bounds every day.
Therein lies that value of INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL.
So, while I will be wealthy by 35, those of you who either WON’T or CAN’T start a PROFITABLE business, will still be working 9-5 and COMPLAINING about your miserable lot in life!!
March 15th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
By he way… check out the video of my talk at a well-known university in California, if you haven’t already. It sort of fits here.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
“…that’s why I got into real estate flipping, which is actually a job too - you must trade time for money. But it’s a highly paid job that would build up some cash..”
What you do is not called “real estate flipping”. The correct name is “bank robbery”. And you will eventually have a sweet meeting with the good folks of law enforcement who will explain the difference to you. Ever heard the phrase “the long arm of the law”? You’ll know what it means when it taps you on the shoulder one day.
It’s all good.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Something new has to happen soon. The hatred and the defense is getting boring. Americans have a way of beating someone badly when they are down. I guess it makes many of us feel good. I dont feel good about Caseys plight no matter how little attention he pays to details, whether he has a job or not, or whether he saves any other deals. The problem is this kid has gotten into trouble and now everyone is spewing hatred and making sure he feels like crap.
Congrats all .. youve done a great job.
We have become rather pathetic if this is what we deem as entertainment.
Shame on the most of you. What you are doing here is not very sweet. Not very sweet at all.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Well, you don’t want to get a higher education to learn how to function better in life. You also don’t want to work an 8-5. You aren’t functioning as an entrepreneur, so it looks like all that’s left is for you to live with your in-laws and scrounge for food and rent. How inspirational! It’s all good!
March 15th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
@110. King Stub.
Wow! You’re definitely lacking an education. Check out your pathetic grammar, IF you can even figure out what’s wrong. Scary!!!!
March 15th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Casey,
Seems like you are going stir crazy these last few days? Are the officials after you at this point?
March 15th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I really don’t read your posts anymore but
I hate to not leave a reply
antispam “millions” (in debt?)
March 15th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
115. The Realist asks 94. Lostsite:
who said “50% of the richest people in the world do not have a college degree or college level education.”
“Care to provide a credible source for this claim? Or are you just pulling numbers out of your a**?”
I think about 50% of the richest people in the world are royalty. My guess is that the Sultan of Bruni or the King of Samoa didn’t take the time to get a degree.
Even though Casey is the “King of the Flippers” and the “Prince of the Blue Ball” he should still go to college (and not American River Continuation High School or Slack State)…
March 15th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Casey, that was not a ‘well-known university’. That was a community college. If you had spent some time in school you might have learned there is a difference.
More importantly, you state that colleges do not teach you any wealth building skills. I’m not sure what skills you might be talking about, but studies have shown that a 4 year ‘college education’ is worth approximately $200,000 more over the course of one’s life when compared against someone without that education.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Casey,
I’m going to buy a condo in Houston. Just $20,000 but the cash flow is about $270 / month or about 34% per year with 50% down.
I know I say never buy condos, but this was just a simple, quick purchase with good cash flow, I couldn’t resist. Think of it like a $20,000/unit (cheap!) apartment complex, but we are only buying one unit.
When I finish residency in 1.5 years, an apartment complex will be more up my alley.
I truly wish you had contacted us first before purchasing any real estate on your own. I think you would have learned everything you need to know without spending $30,000 on RE gurus.
Anyways, this plus cheap foreclosed houses are what you can find here in the Houston market as an example.
Regards,
Phillip
retirein6years.gcproperties1.com
ASW: cashback
March 15th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
You know as much about college and what it offers you as you know about real estate and making money.
College doesn’t need you, you’d be cheating your way to a 4 year degree anyway!!
March 15th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
RE: Jim
“…So, while I will be wealthy by 35, those of you who either WON’T or CAN’T start a PROFITABLE business, will still be working 9-5 and COMPLAINING about your miserable lot in life!! ”
$90,000.00/ month revenue is a meaningless number
without the other side of the income statement.
Also, is this a “business” or “self-employment,” which are
not always interchangeable terms.
And just what is meant by “tech?”
You might also be as in debt as Casey by 35- few
small businesses survive past 5 years and you
have only lasted one year so far.
I remember guys in “tech” businesses selling 8-foot-
diameter sat. dishes in the ’80s who thought THEY
were on the “high-tech” fast-track to wealth. Don’t know where they are now but doubt it is 90240
I also remember people in the “beeper” business who
never saw what hit them when cell phones came
along.
Good luck to you but don’t belittle those who
choose a different route to their concept of
“success.”
They might not be complaining as
much as you think they are.
I am certainly not.
I have seen too many “high-flyers” crash & burn.
antispam “equity”
March 15th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
“It’s just one way to learn and has it’s own pros and cons as compared to other ways to learn”
The possessive pronoun ITS has no apostrophe, you uneducated turd.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Casey,
When I try to go to IAFF, I get a screen response with a message “HOST WILL BE AVAILABLE IN 10 MINUTES” What’s going on? This has been happening for several days, since your host change.
But I can get on the site by using a saved link to your site index.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
What cracks me up is that one of “Rich Dads” rules is to make sure you have enough insurance in anything you do - Car, Life, Home, Contents……Stock Options against stock you own…etc etc etc……..YOU HAVE BLOW EVERY ONE OF THESE RULES!!!!
March 15th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
The most important thing I learned, besides all the stuff I use daily, is the “time value of money” formula. I think is you learned even that you would be worlds ahead. It would help you make decisions like “Is it a good idea to borrow money at 30%”?
Oh, then there was sex with foreign girls, and indigenous girls too.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Why did you edit out half my post - the JUICY half at that?
March 15th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
For me, college was about exploring the diverse world we live in, having fun, and becoming a knowledgeable expert in something that I cared too passionately to “sell-out” by working in the field. I fell in love with the small town that is home to my alma mater, and still live here.
Unlike the rest of the college graduates bragging about their six-figure salaries, I make $22k a year. Working part-time. It’s more than enough to be happy on, and I have incredible “job liquidity” and more leisure than I can sometimes stand.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Ah Casey, spoken like a true high school graduate!
March 15th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
What’s wrong snowflake..afraid to show my posts … you are pathetic.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Casey is just a man of our times. Crashing and burning a dubious get rich scheme, he reminds us of our fearless leader / oil well huckster, George W. Bush. Pay close attention haters, you might even see yourself in some of Casey’s actions.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I teach courses in introductory economics and managerial economics at a good university. Both courses are full of business examples and ways to think about investments. We even have an entrepreneurship program here at our business school (I’m in the regular economics department outside the business school). So you can go to college and study business, finance, accounting, and all these things. Most people are not and these arn’t required in liberals arts majors. Maybe a couple of business, economics, and finance courses should be required. That I think is what Kiyosaki is saying. After all he went to college himself!
March 15th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
College is a preparing and vetting ground. It is intentionally challenging to make sure not everyone succeeds at it. That way emplyeers understand that people who graduate from college have some thing beyond the ability to do calculus/physics/accounting sums/shakespearean sonnets/cost-return ratios. That person also has the tenacity to complete a four year degree. Employeers are willing to pay for that.
Something you seem to forget is that there are a lot of people out that competing for that same speculative dollar as you. If you do not position yourself as to be more attractive to other people or chase them down and prove your tenacity (see that word again?) then why should we give your our business?
As a customer I will ask you: Why should I give you my money instead of the guy down the street? If you can’t answer that question clearly and concisely then the guy down the street as just a good a chance of getting my money as you do.
As a potential employeer or business partner I would ask the following question when evaluating you for any type of business partnership:What do you bring to the table?
This is what I would be interested in (say yes to the ones you have):
- College degree(s), preferably in related fields.
- Relevant work experience.
- A solid history of success. Please document thoroughly and include references.
- A solid and well researched business plan. Must state the objective, potential risks and rewards, clearly and objectively.
- A boat load of money. If you bring money to the table, I’ll listen since its your nickel. I’m talking hard currency-not money through financing.
- A clean credit record. Then you can finance loans for the venture.
- Willingness to get the job done, even if that means getting dirty, pulling a twenty hour day, pulling the load where needed, no matter what the task at hand is.
This is what I don’t care about (may be useful but not necessary):
-Special contacts you may have met. Once you introduce that person to me, I’ll go to that person directly and cut you out of the loop if you are acting as an interference.
-Enthusiasm. Great wonderful, your enthusiastic! If that’s all you have to offer then get out of the deep end.
-Shiny resume lines that have no value beyond filling resume lines.
This is what will put up red flags for me and tell me to back off quickly:
- Lack of attention to detail.
- Lack of follow through.
- Lack of time management skills.
- Unable to breakdown/organize goals into clear concrete tasks (directly relates to time management).
- Bad credit, history of credit issues.
- Lack of critical thought or forethought in regards to problems at hand. I would use the term credulous here. Proper research of the topic at hand also falls into this category.
College and being a 9-5 drone helps train people in the skills needed to be successful, first at their obs and then at larger and more difficult tasks. You decided to take on a very large task and then try to figure out the skills needed inorder to succeed.
In order to flip houses I would assume you need the following skills:
General carpentry
Plumbing (sweating copper and replacing fixtures)
Electrical (wiring boxes and replacing fixtures, anything more requires an electrician)
General construction estimating (a MEANS manual would do just fine)
Construction time management
Budgeting
Ability to read real estate ads (and read between the lines)
The list goes on.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
I just started to read the comments on this website. even though some of the comments are the truth and should be said.MOST of the comments are just a bunch of people with nothing better to do but to joke and critisize this guy abbout his mistakes. Yes he does do alot of foolish stuff that he should of never even tried. Instead of trying to hurt his feelings why dont you try to help him figure out how to get out of this mess ( and for all you people who are out there talking about him getting a job should stop talking and start paying attention, most of the shows that he is going on and all the places that he is talking at PAY HIM FOR IT! that is were he is getting most of his money from and the other little things that he is doing on the side ie. website hosting) So stay their at YOUR JOB and snikker at him when deep down you know that you are stuck at that spot and cannot get ahead, while the only place this guy can go is up. And I admit that it is funny and stupid what he did, and possibly illegal. So if you cannot help shut up and laugh to you self and post a comment that shows you have some pride in your self. And if you can help then post a comment telling him and every one else who is reading the how he can correct his mistake. Because that IS why he started this website to stop people from making his mistakes.
thank you
March 15th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
IN DEFENSE OF KIYOSAKI
OK, here’s a new topic for everyone.
Casey, and many of the posters, misunderstand the point of Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
He does NOT say to skip college! He does NOT say to not have a job!
His book is NOT a get-rich-quick book! It is not even primarily a get-wealthy-with-real estate book!!
His book has two main points:
1. It is a searing indictment of the PUBLIC SCHOOL system, which at the high school DOES INDEED teach students to be passive employee-types. There are a variety of reasons for this, some of them political, but the primary reason is that the public school management employees are not entrepreneurs, but hack bureaucrats who envy and even despise capitalism.
The best example of this, running throughout the book, is Kiyosaki’s own father, a well-intentioned but hapless public school bureaucrat who was perpetually poor, constantly complained about being poor, but who did nothing about it. These examples will hit home with many readers, which is one of the reasons the book is a best-seller.
2. His second point is that the qualities and virtues of being an entrepreneur and investor, so vital to our economy and to the success desired by so many, are VIRTUALLY IGNORED by the public school system–and that they SHOULD BE TAUGHT by the school system, in order to promote prosperity and social harmony thoughout the United States, and the West.
Kiyosaki learned the basics of how to be a businessman, an entrepreneur, and an investor from his best friend’s father, aka “Rich Dad.” He then took off from there, into real estate, start-ups, taking a company public, etc.
The book’s goal is to teach the basic mind-set and basic qualities of the self-made individual, the capitalist who creates wealth.
I am a seasoned investor, and have read all the silly stuff from the gurus. I read Kiyosaki’s book with pleasure. It is not a technical manual, but a book designed to give the basics of being a capitalist. It is well-written and inspirational.
And, Kiyosaki is concerned that if the disastrous public-school system continues to churn out dumbbells, demagogic politicians will exploit their ignorance and turn the United States away from being a capitalist country, and towards socialism.
Kiysoaki is absolutely correct with all these points!
Yes, he had mad a franchise out of it, and many of the later books are repetitive. So what? So is Starbucks!
ONE FINAL POINT, IN CAPITALS SO THERE IS NO MISCOMMUNICATION. THIS IS NOT, IN ANY WAY, A DEFENSE OF CASEY!!!!!
CASEY UNDERSTANDS ONE SMALL PART OF THE BOOK–ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PASSIVE INCOME.
BUT CASEY’S GROSS IGNORANCE, LAZINESS, IRRESPONSBILITY, ARROGANCE, AND DENIAL ALL OVERWHELM ANY GOOD THIS KNOWLEDGE MAY DO!
IN FACT, THE MORE HE POSTS, THE MORE I AM CONVINCED HE WILL NEVER BE A SUCCESS AT ANYTHING.
AT 24, HE ALREADY HAD A TRACK RECORD OF FAILURE GOING BACK SEVERAL YEARS. NOT JUST THE REAL ESTATE-LOOK AT HIS JOB HISTORY, HIS ATTEMPTS AT STARTUPS, HIS TEENAGE INTERNET CHAIN LETTER SCAM.
EVERYTHING HE TOUCHES TURNS TO ASHES!
But don’t confuse his absurdity with Kiyosaki’s book.
‘Nuff said!
March 15th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
What makes me you think you are in a position to give advice?
I’d rather take financial / life / career / ANYTHING advice from a crazy, smelly, toothless homeless person than you.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
@123 review
People like you make me wanna puke. As if to say your grammer will determine your suceess in life? Please tell me sir, what is your profession? I’m almost certain it you don’t own a succesful business.
My uncle is a multi-millionaire. He sold a chain of dollar stores across the south to a well known guy named ‘FRED’. He had a
7th grade education from a hole in the wall school. He didn’t have much to start with. He certainly didn’t have the best grammar skills. What he did have was tremendous balls, passion and natural talent. Maybe one day your ivey league schools will supply you with those skills. Until then the local library has much the same education for a couple bucks a week. The other things you will never be able to learn from any book you purchase.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
1) guilty as charged, on all counts.
2) ignorance of the law does not make the law any less strict.
3) may require evaluation to determine appropriate facility. unwilling and unable to change his ways, reform on his own.
4) shows no sign of remorse, continues to seek a way of manipulating the system, has what they call a “criminal mind”.
5) needs to be made example of, to help curb mortgage fraud.
maximum sentence recommended.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
My college had an ethics requirement for all students and it was a state school. You also don’t realize the networking oppurtunies you have in four or more years. You are a toolbox.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Casey,
you are being hated on because, as usual, you weren’t clear. You tend to write in a stream of conciousness style that appears to be spur of the moment and ill-conceived.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
I think there’s no reason to apologize for your views of college. Just like work, college takes time out of your life. Unlike work, it costs money instead of rewarding you for it. If you go to a private school like I did, college costs upwards of $50k/year when you include tuition, books, housing, food, transportation and entertainment. If you’re lucky, you don’t have crippling debt right out of college.
You can go to school for a lot less, but realistically the poverty line is $12k. So you need $12k/year for spending, $3k for tuition, perhaps $2k for books and you’re up to $17,000/year. So maybe one needs a “job” to make that $17,000 and go to school at the same time. At that point, the value of an education is quite low because it’s extremely difficult to take challenging classes, graduate in 4 years, and do the job thing simultaneously.
Is college for the rich?
A piece of paper/graduation certificate certainly helps get in the door at a lot of places. But a lot of white-collar jobs these days pay very little. Even $50k doesn’t really buy you a house in this market, not in California, not without very disadvantageous loans that leave you in debt for basically forever. The economy for workers is simply not very good. Unless you’re seriously stuck with nobody willing to consider you (which was not Casey’s case), there’s little benefit to a college degree although the experience, at the right age, is quite fun.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
casey…..you could go to college and get a bachelors degree in business.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
EVERYTHING DONALD TRUMP TOUCHES TURN INTO GOLD~
EVERYTHING CASEY S. TOUCHES TURN INTO SHIIIT~~~~
YES, THAT’S CORRECT
March 15th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
@James Marks: “Just think about it. Had you gone to college, you could be earning as much as $100,000 a year.”
LOL. Knowing what you know, would you pay Casey $100,000 a year if he went to college?
Going to college is hardly a guarantee of a $100,000/year job. I know of quite a few business/director types in mid-sized companies who have very impressive college credentials, are in their 50s, and making just over $100,000/year.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Casey,
You are hopeless. You’re an idiot. You have learned nothing. Abandon hope.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
#108. Michael Cooke
Good post and that website is well put. I have been saying the same thing for years. The only difference is after I got out of high school I did the whole student loan debt and got nothing out of any of it. So I did not have the other side knowledge at the time. Everyone I went to school with is doing something other then what they majored in and not making the money they thought they would. As a friend of mine who went all the way through to get his PHD said, “you start off with your BS degree which is the BullS**t degree. Then you continue on to achieve your MS degree which is the More S**t degree. Then when all is said and done you finish with your PHD which is the Piled Higher and Deeper Degree. The only time I will agree that college should actually be mandatory is when you are going into the medical field.
#115. The Realist
To answer your question there is a magazine you might not of herd of called Forbes. This magazine publishes the wealthiest people list in the world once a year. If you actually read each profile they will give you the educational experience of each person. Sometimes they may just summarize it at the beginning of the article. I hope this gives you some light to your question.
#126. Sac Realtor
To more than answer your question half of all the richest have inherited there wealth. Most of the ones that did inherit there wealth went to college and got a degree (parents got sick of child and could afford to get them out of there house for 4 years. This is just a guess but I would not be surprised if it is true). The other half are self made.
#118. Jim
I am not sure if I am understanding your post correctly. Are you saying that the only reason you are as successful as you are is because of your college education?
March 15th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
i have to agree with Ricks post#45 , i hate people that call themselves enterprenuers because it usually means they arent but rather just mouthpeices of common analogies etc..the only road to success is hard hard work and lots of it…and a passion that sometimes overrides eating sleeping and doing anything else until a goal is reached - Casey your just lazy and delusional -get a job
March 15th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Doug please, employers are willing to pay for a four year degree because that person had the tenacity to sit around for 4 yrs. spending mom and dad’s money? Maybe everyone is not interested in your 9 to 5er. Maybe everyone is not interested in being an entrepreneur either. Just because you would like to hire people that need had holding until their 29-30 doesn’t mean it’s the law of the land. I know alot of successful people that do not have a college degree. It’s the safe route for some people who need hand holding or afraid to risk it. The others it’s to do delay work and have fun. Either way the small percentage that actually graduate carry with them a few basic skills to the workforce and then the real education begins. You’re willingness to choose this over life experience/education points to the dwindling american character whos scared shitless of any uncertainy in life. Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. Trial and error comes with the territory. If you can’t handle that stick to your plastic water guns. You have no business here.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
To be financially successful you also have to work your tail off. And not just work hard, but work harder than the next guy.
A four year degree shows you have the determination and work ethic to get a four year degree. That is something that is very important to employers — including self-employers — and so a four year degree is a good indicator that you will be successful.
Casey, all evidence I have seen on your blog is that you are NOT a hard worker. I think that is why your sponsor split with you.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
@realist it is actually true but what has been overlooked is the over 50% which are college educated - there is no hard and fast rule for business sucess…except of course dedication commitment , hard work lots of times with little money ..beleif when its sems almost impossible to believe ….and most important critical honesty to oneself
March 15th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
To be fair to Casey, when I worked in the film industry as a producer I tended to favour people with four years hands-on experience and a proven track record over people with four years of theory at school.
But Casey’s tragedy is that he has no experience or track record either - or at least nothing that makes him remotely employable (or likely to be independently successful).
Casey, if you’re serious about remaining in this business, you need a few years working alongside people who really do know what they’re doing, coupled with the humility to actually learn by your mistakes. As someone pointed out earlier, trying to run before you can crawl is a certain formula for a whole series of bloody noses.
(Of course, the most sensible thing would be to get out of RE altogether - you have no discernible talent, and the market is tough enough for even highly experienced professionals to find it hard going. But since you’ve boxed yourself into a corner, what alternative do you have? And do you now see why a college degree might have been a good idea?)
March 15th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
brian T is gay…..if he went to public school we’d jump him.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Doug,
good post. That explained it thoroughly. I doubt Casey reads it though as he does not like to see that he has not done one thing right nor possesses one iota of skill or expertise to be a RE investor or flipper(loved the show).
March 16th, 2007 at 1:08 am
It’s pretty hard to put a large plane in the sky if you don’t have studied aeronautics at a university.
C’mon, education is important. You learn to think critically, self-discipline, teamwork and commitment and that piece of paper shows it. It’s too bad than Americans can’t suffer through a science degree at the moment. We have to rely on other countries to push us forward in technology.
Some people aren’t cut out for college…still some people just can’t hang anyways.
March 16th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Casey has a perfectly valid point. College is not for everyone and is certainly no guarentee of good salary later on in life.
March 16th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Wow, #155, Lostsite (or did you mean Lostsight?) Your spelling, grammar, and thought presentation really backs up your opinions. A few typos or other mistakes are one thing, but to pack a post full of them while writing against higher education makes for a different and very interesting story.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:33 am
You were driving without insurance???
March 16th, 2007 at 4:48 am
@ 142. Doug
This post is a worthy guide. Perhaps people will worship you in the future.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:03 am
Dear Sick and Tired (post #143.)
He’s a criminal. He lied to get loans. He stole thousands of dollars in real estate. He got caught lying, cheating, and stealing. The only mistake he made is he is a crappy criminal.
Help him? What a joke. If this whole thing is not a hoax he needs to be prosecuted. Do you know why? Because guys like him that get away with financial crimes continue to commit finacial crimes.
He’s not destitute. Look at him. He’s eating, sleeping,
blogging, dressing, (ace the scarf) just fine.
Damn! It’s people like you that fall for those e-mail lottery scams and think you’ve won millions. Then wire your “tax” money to some thief like him in Houston who picks it up at some Western Union office in Toronto. Then you calll the police and whine about how you’ve been had.
Jeez! When I see people defending him and thinking he’s just a misguided youth it makes me want to slap them in the face and say “Hey!, are you F’in blind? He’s a thief.”
You wanna help him? Lend him some cash. hahahahahahaha.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:10 am
Ref. #143
And another thing…It’s not funny what he did. It’s a crime and it effected other people. He didn’t statr this site to help others. He started it because he’s thumbing his nose at the system.
Psssssst…. Casey you gotta find out who worte message #143. I’m sure you can borrow cash from them and not pay it back.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:25 am
iI will even say that I have very much respect for those who are disciplined enough to get a 4-year degree or higher.
If you’re not disciplined enough to get a 4-year degree, how are you discplined enough to spend long days actually working on houses, making phone calls the instant you need to, opening mail and answering it right away, and following up on necessary action items at once.
DOn’t you get that the path you chose required discpline as well? Discipline that you didn’t have and apparently have no desire to acquire! What do you do with your time, Casey? Don’t you get that even “passive income” requires WORK?
March 16th, 2007 at 5:34 am
I had a summer job before I started college and kept it when my freshman year began. I kind of liked having a little flash money to buy beer and such. The very first week, I went to class in the morning and early afternoon and then went to work from 5 pm to midnight. Almost 40 hours after going to school! This was a bit much and being accustomed to making A’s, I figured out I was not going to be able to keep up if I was working 35+ hours a week so I asked my boss to cut me back to 20 or so, which I continued throughout my 4 years. I managed to make mostly A’s and squeezed in a good bit of partying as well. Point being, people do it all the time.
Sure, the core classes like history and calculus may have nothing to do with your eventual career choice but they give you a well rounded education and force you to commit to things and show an ability to follow through and accomplish your tasks. The nappers and loafers and such typically flunk out after a semester or two. I suspect if Casey went to college, he would sleep in, miss class, get behind, and basically not follow through on anything until he got kicked out. He would probably then continue to leave the house everyday, messing around at Jamba Juice while cashing the tuition checks his parents gave him and all the while telling them he was in school.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:47 am
@118 John,
Just curious, what kind of business did you start? 90k month is some sweeeeeeet revenue to build up in a year. Casey is kind of a techie guy so he might be interested in partnering with you.
Seriously though, can you give a little more info on what kind of business it is?
March 16th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Gud thing I werent goin to colludge right away, me almost makin bacon, er millionz.
Casey, I left college but at least the year I spent there was used taking courses like English, History, Math and Health. You can say you took those courses in high school but if you had gone to college for one minute you would know the difference between someone who is educated and someone who had just graduated from high school. I’ll also say that a lot of these millionaires you mentioned that became rich without college learned certain things in the field from professionals or educated friends, not from osmossis.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:51 am
#94, Just because Bill Gates dropped out does not mean since you dropped out you will be rich as well. He was incredibly smart and enrolled in Harvard. He left but continued in specialized learning, IE; He was creating new technology therefore school would have only hindered his success.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:57 am
Casey, thanks for sharing your views on having a college education.
Please explain YOUR successes to us. Try to do it in 300 words or less.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:57 am
@143 - he won’t listen or use any advice that anyone gives him - now or EVER.
Your Friend
Cotton Swaby
Award Winning Commener
P.S. Don’t forget to clean your ears
March 16th, 2007 at 5:59 am
@110.: “I have a friend that got a psychology degree and he still can’t get a job!”
Well that was kinda foolish getting a psychology degree. Don’t get me wrong; there is call for that kind of thing, and some people really enjoy it. The problem is when they think a bachelor’s degree in that will get them a good job — or any job. Counselors really ought to let kids know aout this, rather than let them follow their passions when they are 18.
“College is for people who know there losers to start with!”
At least most colleges, if you are diligent, will teach you how to spell. How to spell and use complicated words like “they’re”. And for those who think spelling and grammar are useless, I can assure you that in a corporate environment, we pay attention to that. If you want to work your way up out of your cubicle, writing reports and giving presentation full of bad spelling and grammar will doom you. People wonder “he can’t even spell, what else does he not know that’s not showing?”.
And if you’re an entrepreneur and want to sell *us* something, you better do the same with your presentations. We buy lots of technical products. We don’t want to think the suppliers are slipshod. Grammar and spelling are, to some like us, one of the indicators of quality, and problems with that open the door for lots more negative comments during a product (or service) evaluation.
Again, this spelling slackness on Casey’s part is just another piece of his slipshod approach to life and business, another piece that fits perfectly into the ugly, messy puzzle.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:07 am
Hmm. Very interesting information about our beloved RK…
*”Rich Dad” is likely a fictional person. Or Ayn Rand. Either way? Not a real dude.
* RK totally misleads the reader regarding taxes on “passive income”
* RK outright says his broker provides him with illegal insider information
* RK encourages readers to commit tax fraud, all while misleading readers re. the “advantages” of filing as a corp. vs. filing as a single propr.
* RK misleads the reader re. his education (he didn’t get into the Naval Accad. but really doesn’t want you to know this…) and his military background
* RK was only able to sell his book AFTER aligning with Amway/Quixar, and his riches come from his snake-oilitry, not his “sweet” RE deals
Casey, read a real book. God, even pick up a few of Bob Villa’s ‘This Old House Books.’ Learn how to do the WORK needed to successfully flip a house. THEN wait, oh, 6 months to a year for the market to recover from the mortgage scandal caused by unscrupulous borrowers like you to get back in the market.
Provided you’re not it, you know, jail.
* RK encourages readers to commit tax fraud, all while misleading readers re. the “advantages” of filing as a corp. vs. filing as a single propr.
* RK misleads the reader re. his education (he didn’t get into the Naval Accad. but really doesn’t want you to know this…) and his military background
* RK was only able to sell his book AFTER alligning with Amway/Quixar, and his riches come from his snake-oilitry, not his “sweet” RE deals
Casey, read a real book. God, even pick up a few of Bob Villa’s ‘This Old House Books.’ Learn how to do the WORK needed to successfully flip a house. THEN wait, oh, 6 months to a year for the market to recover from the mortgage scandal caused by unscrupulous borrowers like you to get back in the market.
Provided you’re not it, you know, jail.
*
March 16th, 2007 at 6:16 am
158 leftonred
A lot of the basic skills taught in college employers don’t want to have to teach you. I have worked as an engineer, project manager and estimator.
I went to engineering school and you have to learn the basics before being allowed to practice at (2 years of calculus, physics, chemistry, structural mechanics. Followed by 2 years in your concentration).
Employers don’t want to have to train people in math and physics. Math and physics is needed as well. Plus if you want any certification or licensing in engineering then a BS in engineering (or 5-10 years approved work with recommendations) is needed to start the certification process. I’ve looked at it and it isn’t trivial-if you haven’t taken the four year degree you are going to be eight-balled very quickly trying to pass the qualifier.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:25 am
@176. Chris:
Gates was also the son of relatively well-off parents - his father was a prominent lawyer and his mother was a banking heir. Shock of shocks, both highly college educated. It sure didn’t hurt Microsoft at all that Gates had those resources to draw on.
Warren Buffett has a Masters of Economics from Columbia.
Sam Walton - degree in Economics from the University of Missouri.
.. and on and on ..
(antispam = “letsdoit”!)
March 16th, 2007 at 6:27 am
If the headlines about the subprime mortgage lenders crashing the equities markets are to believed, we are looking at a prolonged financial crisis because a lot of people like Casey were out there. Inflating the value of property, getting cashback(tm), and letting the properties slip into foreclosure is going to be getting a lot more scrutiny when these lenders start declaring BK.
Start considering exit plans Casey. When the whole RE investing thing starts taking the blame for a severe recession, “poster-boy” can become “scapegoat” in a hurry.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:29 am
#94 & #176
And Bill Gates was rich compared the rest of us before he even went to Harvard. had a $1M (in 1976 dollars) trust fund, his father was a founder in the biggest law firm in Seattle and his mother was on the national board of United Way along with the president of IBM. (A contact opportunity that very few startup entrepreneurs have.) So, there is no way Bill Gates should be compared to anybody.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:30 am
casey,
if making a buttload of money was my goal in life i would advise:
1. go to college.
2. double major in mathematics and business stats.
3. make “A”s
4. aplly to the top MBA schools.
5. make “A”s.
6. read everything you can about deriviatives in your spare time.
7. hope and pray you can get a job with one of the top investment banks in NY in their derivatives products group.
8. make a buttload of money.
unfortunately this would call for something casey abhores - really fracking hard work.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:34 am
To add a point on the benefits of college, it doesn’t just teach discipline, dedication, etc., but actually provides a person with a focused opportunity to learn what others have learned (gasp!) with the end goal of building on that information and providing new insights of their own. I mean, seriously, why try to get up to speed on everything all on your own when the knowledge is there for the taking, which you can then use to rise even higher?
Also, on Gates and all other successful people w/o a higher education, I’d bet they’re smart enough to know what they don’t know, and so study intensely on their own and/or surround themselves with people who ARE educated experts in whatever they need to aid them in reaching their goals.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:54 am
177 Chris writes: “Just because Bill Gates dropped out does not mean since you dropped out you will be rich as well. He was incredibly smart and enrolled in Harvard.” Are you trying to say that Casey is not as smart as Bill Gates? Did Bill Gates have a sucessful BLOG at 24? NO, Did Bill Gates travel around with “investors”? Yes (but they were only the guys from a little company called IBM that bought his OS). Did Bill Gates have a Blue Ball? NO… Looks like Casey wins two out of three…
March 16th, 2007 at 6:55 am
#143 argues that the only place Casey can go from here
is up. Oh no, there is a lot further left for Casey to fall.
The Cashcall guys can confiscate his car, his electronics,
hell, they are mean enough to take the clothes off
his back.
Casey could find himself living under a bridge, with
no family, foraging from dumpsters, prostituting himself
for cash.
Casey hasn’t been indicted, he could easily do 2-5 years
in the federal or state pen, and that’s no fun at all.
Casey is pretty, he will be popular in prison.
Casey shouldn’t be out birddogging deals, he should be
out birddogging bridges.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:02 am
Maybe a couple of business, economics, and finance courses should be required…moom
One of the reasons why I didn’t like going to the university is because too many people knew what was good for me.
As an engineer, I was forced to take over 21 credits a semester to make everyone happy and, as I look back, I forgot most of it and studies show that “quite a few” “A students” forget what they learned after just a year.
In general, I think that “graduation requirements” are often political because, by promoting “well rounded,” tuition payments go up and fund academic departments that would die otherwise.
While you might argue that “well rounded” is good, I think you also have to look at the “education studies” which suggest that “you remember 10% of what you hear and 90% of what you teach.”
Thus, since most universities teach through listening, they’re pretty ineffective unless you’re a self learner… I recently took a stoicastic processes course and scored 3 standard deviations above the class when I was tested on material that I taught myself and near the mean otherwise. This observation alone has been thrilling because I finally realized that my mind, not the university’s professors, is responsible for unlocking my human potentional.
Nowadays, I only care about improving my literacy… so I taught myself the piano and the guitar. My next door neighbor really thought that I had used a teacher and I said “no, the process of teaching yourself something is how you learn, etc…”
March 16th, 2007 at 7:18 am
144. Moe, Larry and…
ONE FINAL POINT, IN CAPITALS SO THERE IS NO MISCOMMUNICATION. THIS IS NOT, IN ANY WAY, A DEFENSE OF CASEY!!!!!
Hate to break it to you Moe, but it’s the actual words you write, not whether they’re capitalized that determines whether you’ve communicated clearly.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I’m with 173. College Rules
Casey would flunk out after the first semester thinking that college is for the birds but really knowing college is too much work and he can’t hang with the program.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:36 am
We all search to find the cause of Casey’s misfortune. Perhaps he can start off the monologue with “I was born…”
You can sell porn on the internet and make a lot of money. I am not sure that it takes a higher education to make money, but you can go to business school. People who major in other things have to learn the businesses aspects on the job — that is the best kind of training anyway. Apprentice situations are good if they happen.
I think that we are just talking about playing the odds. Real estate, investing, education — some can have all three and still lose money. What were Casey’s chances in Tashkent 24 years ago? He is not Bill Gates, with a million dollar trust fund and born into a prominent family who could pay for private school. (And the monopolistic empire has ruined the software industry.) I have a lot more best wishes for Casey for sure. We see athletes making the same choice often. Perhaps it is a good thing to choose greed over good?
March 16th, 2007 at 8:07 am
@144. Moe, Larry and…
Excellent, I finally found one person who read Rich Dad, Poor Dad from the same perspective as I. I totally agree, this book is primarily inspirational. This is why I feel Casey is an idiot continue to think RE is the only option. His mind is closed, and not thinking outside the box.
I will say this, university is not for everyone. I know people who made it and some who don’t. To me success is based on happiness and social responsibility. For example, I know a millionaire (inherit, and doing nothing all day) who’s constantly upset because he’s not a billionaire - I consider him a failure. I also know one person whose income is less than $30k, but she is one happy person and productive to the society - I consider her a success. Both went to the same Ivy league school.
To be financially successful, do you know what one great entrepreneur said once : “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”. Casey, do you know who said that? Do you understand the meaning behind this quote? Do you remember from RK’s book, the “Rich Dad”’s advice was to study/ read bio of successful people? Read the comments here again WITH AN OPEN MIND. Everyone here are financially stable (or they claim), assuming that is true, do you see one commonalities among them all? In case you don’t see it, it has something to do with “perspiration”.
I think you should stop selectively quoting RK’s book to justify your views. If you have followed even 5% of his recommendation in his book, you wouldn’t be such a failure financially and socially. Yes, you are a total failure to me, not because you are in such deep financial hole. To me, you are a failure because you are socially irresponsible, the shady methods you used to take out mortgage and CONTINUE to think of taking out even more loans/credit (ie corp shell). If you had stopped and actually attempted to say get a job, then I wouldn’t consider you a failure, but truly falling forward. Remember, even RK took a Xerox job while minding his RE biz.
Let’s review RK’s book on a few recommendations you should have followed if you have read RK’s book with an OPEN MIND:
- It took him 10 years (assuming that’s true) to go from living in a car to financially stable and “retired”.
- Learn to understand and speak in the “profession”’s language. For RE, I should see interest rate, NOI, proforma, rent schedule, income, rental, tenants, permits, zoning rules, ROI, LT debt, short term debt and many others. These should be the words that I should read more often here. I shouldn’t be seeing stupid words like “sweet”, “loose”, “jamba juice”, “itsallgood”. Make you sound like a total retard minus another 50 IQ points. Suggestions: change your sophomoric ASW words with more professional words (invest, asset, liabilities, notes, mortgage, income, profit…)
- Think to serve first before think of making money. You think of serving your self and money first (ie, cash back).
- Don’t quit job, start slowly to make sure you know what you are doing. Didn’t RK claimed he was with Xerox for a few years to make sure his RE biz is doing well enough THEN he quit? Suggestion: get a job, please with sugar on it.
- build a team of competent people. It seems either your team are made of morons or you’ve deceived them. My accountant would never advice me to buy so many properties at the same time wtihout any income. My lawyer wouldn’t allow all these “cash back” deal to happen. So either you didn’t tell them what you were doing or they are as slimy as you. Suggestions: anyone here, who know good lawyers, accountants in Sac, CA area, please email Casey.
- create multiple income streams. Are u so closed minded that you MUST stay with RE? He mentioned stock, bonds, building other biz. A little braggin here, my income streams are : a job, rental incomes from 2 props, interest, bond, dividends. Suggestion, think outside the box. YOu have a web biz, no? think how else you can expand that.
- do not do anything illegal - an example RK used , do not make counterfeit money. Basically, don’t involve in illegal activity. Suggestion, no more liar loan, no more shady biz.
- Acquire assets - anything that’s not generating income is a liability. Hmmmm, how many of “your” properties generated income? I don’t mean profit; a profit is the amount you achieved AFTER you sold something. Also, RK listed stock, bonds, notes, intellectual properties as assets. Sadly, your one possible “intellectual” (using it losely here) property you have is this blog, but you sign that away with those ladies. Suggestions: get a job first so you have income to start investing.
- Live within your mean. Ok, he didn’t say this, but did you read that his “rich dad” lived in a an avg neighborhood? He also said, no bad spending habit. Turn that into investing habit. This mean, don’t spend $5 on coffee if you can’t afford it. At the minimum, save that $5 in the bank and accrue interest (like a bond, a note).
- Avoid liabilities - he listed mortgage, credit card, loans to be liabilities which seems you accumulate credit cards at a very quick rate. You stubornly wanting to take out more loans. Suggestion, no more credits, no more loans for a while.
- No laziness
- Setting up Corporation - earn, spend, tax… do you know what that mean? So how many LLC, corporations have you established? Doesn’t sound like you have set any of this up with the property you purchased. I don’t think you can either if you claim your property as your primary residency. Suggestion: learn what a corporation is used for.
- learn to invest wisely and properly. Do you know what that mean? It means to grow your asset in a positive way.
- Work to Learn - that means learn well, and RK used the word “WORK”. Universities are a great place to learn, this is why most people don’t think it’s wrong to study there. This does not mean waste money on scaminars for gurus.
I can probably go on forever with this of your closed mindedness and shallowness. So Casey, if I were you, I’d read that book again. This time, OPEN YOUR OWN mind. You take 5% of the suggestions in the book and even here, you can make a comeback. Otherwise, you will continue to be an utter failure.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Casey, what’s your view on contraceptives being available in school?
March 16th, 2007 at 8:43 am
casey i hope everything goes well with you!! i am praying.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:28 am
“Casey could find himself living under a bridge, with
no family”
that combined with
“By he way… check out the video of my talk at a well-known university in California, if you haven’t already. It sort of fits here.”
Makes me think of Matt Foley. Casey, I think you should go into motivational speaking. Here’s how it could start:
“My name is Casey Serin and I live in a Jetta down by the river (but I’m hoping to use corporate credit to get a van)”
You’ll need to gain about 200 pounds to pull this off though. As I recall, Matt Foley was fond of falling into and breaking the coffee table at his clients homes.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:30 am
@130
Great point! Casey, if you focused on making this blog profitable, and using that to get out of the mess, you would surely be the hero. instead, you give us bullsh#t about what you are doing in a day (nothing), and stress how you want to save the houses, and never do anything to save them. Man, you are already becoming a household name, but not for the right reasons. What is the real point of this blog? You seem to be more concerned with what people write (wiki) about you than what you need to do to turn this situation around. i want to root for you, but you just refuse to do the little things necessary to make everything right. Man, the blog was an excellent idea, but unfortunately you didnt keep your end of the deal. You went from talking about repaying every dirty penny to not giving a sh#t. Damn that is terrible! I know you want to be famous, but dont become INFAMOUS!!!!!!
March 16th, 2007 at 9:36 am
#158. leftonred
Great post, true to the words.
#144. Moe, Larry and…
I never read any of Roberts books but very good points you made. Being self employed is very risky. Not everyone wants to take on such risk. Most business fail in the first five years (except restaurants which fail in the first 2 years). To be successful and self employed you need passion and love for what you do.
I am self employed and when I make a mistake I get to take the loss and still have to find ways to pay my employees who come first. When you are self employed you are responsible for a lot of people and then there is the other side of people that want that free ride. They see you being successful and despise it. So they file a bogus law suit against you in which you have to spend a lot of money defending. In the end I win but not before it costs me thousands. This is wasted time and money in which I can never recoup. So to that extent it is very true about the trouble of our educational system. It is filled with bureaucrats who envy and even despise capitalism (or what I like to refer to as socialist and communists). We know both socialism and communism work really well. All we have to do is look at the great success of the past (Russia, North Korea, Cuba, China, etc). A lot of companies are going and building factories in these countries because of the great educational system and high wage standards. North Korea for instance the average worker gets paid $27 per week. The point I am making is that more people need to think outside the box. This is a great country we live in and people like Casey can legally come here and have a life that would never be possible elsewhere. All Casey is trying to do is to live that dream. People should look at the whole picture with Casey not just the parts they want to assassinate. Here is a 24 year legal immigrant from a foreign land with not much hope in his home land. His family comes over here for a better life and all Casey tried to do was to take the bull by the horns. Sure he got trampled on and made several mistakes but at least later on in life he won’t be saying I should have done, I could have been or any other regrets. What he is going through now is not regret it is called education. Education you can not read in some book. Education you will never learn in any school. His education is more valuable then what anyone can pay for (although I think he could have done it without the over 2 million dollar price tag). So in closing I would only say that you may disagree with Casey and that is alright, but do not go and take personal attacks on those you don’t agree with like your grammar or spelling is horrible. For all those that do make a point of attacking one’s character all I can say is that the rest of us are human and we can not understand what the word perfect really means.
There is nothing wrong with trying to make it on your own. Taking chances on things you believe in to try and succeed. There is also nothing wrong with getting that 9 to 5 job if that is the road you want to take. I will say this working 9 to 5 may not make you wealthy but at least you have time for friends and family. A luxury I do not have being self employed.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:43 am
when will cash call take his only asset?
this blog.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Why is everyone on here so negative?
March 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am
May I state an unpopular opinion and recommend that Casey not get a job?
I mean doesn’t everyone have a “Casey” at work who has the productivity of negative-two employees? They blue-sky every deadline, never get anything done on time, blame unexpected (i.e. typical) circumstances for their lateness, make embarassing spelling errors in every other sentence (even in documentation), can’t get anything to work, act like their entitled to their continued employment yet they do everything they can do to get themselves fired?
We need to find a place for the Casey’s in the world where they can’t cause any harm.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Read the last paragraph here:
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070315.....;.pf=loans
Looks like Mr. Tax Man will be paying
a visit to Mr. & Mrs. Serin
antispam “itsallgood”
A big invoice from the IRS
aint “all good”, bub.
You are so screwed
March 16th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Casey,
I’ve been reading your blog with some interest for the last couple months. Your situation is dire, but certainly not hopeless.
Briefly, a bit about myself:
I am a fellow entrepreneurial-minded twenty-something. I did not attend college, I started work in the tech field straight out of high-school. But, I focused on professional certifications to offset that deficit, and it paid off for me. I am a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer, a Project Management Professional, and a member of Mensa.
I currently earn a six-figure salary through my W2 employer, and I own my home and a rental house. I bought both houses as HUD foreclosures and made a lot of mistakes along the way. But my rental has a positive Cashflow of $250/month and equity of $25k, and my home has equity of $35k. Equity on both houses was built-in.
A comment on Post #12 and #135
No one should invest in real estate unless he has a strong fundamental understanding of the time value of money. And further, a good understanding of economics.
But, college is not required for that. And, the guru’s don’t teach it.
Tom Henderson (www.hpnotes.com) is a brilliant investor with a great understanding of the time value of money and economics. I attended a class he put on for only a couple hundred bucks on the time value of money and it really opened my eyes.
Now, I don’t think that’s the right road for you right now, because I don’t think you should be buying houses to rehab or to hold right now.
My suggestion to you:
Stop listening to the gurus. They serve one person in the grand scheme, to get you interested in the idea of investing and get you plugged into a local investor network. For an annual membership of under $200, these clubs provided invaluable information and contacts.
Get out of the rehab business and stop looking outside your own city. When you have no income and no cash, you simply cannot rehab houses. You can’t afford the payments while you hold them, and you can’t afford rehab costs.
Stop living above your means. Live frugally.
I know someone who made over $800k in the matter of one year wholesaling properties (meaning… being a “birdogger”. She put houses under contract and assigned them to rehabbers). Most of these assignment fees ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 per deal. But they add up quickly.
This is ideal for your situation because you don’t need upfront cash or good credit or any income for that matter (all of which you are lacking). And, the income potential is almost limitless if you have some time on your hands (which you obviously do).
I’m not going to go into the details of how to wholesale. You ought to have a good idea already. Just get plugged into a real estate investor network. There are always rehabbers eager for good deals to pick up from wholesalers.
On another note, the Hard Money Lender for your Dallas property is a member of my local real estate network. I’ve spoken with me before and met him, but I don’t know him personally.
Good Luck!
P.S. Email me if you want to talk more offline.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Casey is marked for life. His wikipedia entry, multiple blogs, newpaper articles, radio interviews, etc., all humiliating indictments of his life, will exist in cyberspace forever. What will it be like to be an international laughing stock for the rest of your life? He might as well have “Looser” tattooed on his face. I know that his woes are of his own making, but his reputation’s going to do a life sentence because of it. Is that too much to bear?
March 16th, 2007 at 10:55 am
No need to give your point of view of college. Give us the facts and updates on your real estate troubles.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Casey, how are the short-sales of Modesto and Rio Rancho going? Are you going to be able to get it done in time?
March 16th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Casey,
First, I don’t think people know how to respond to you because you respond in a way that seems very care-free and even care-less. After your poor decision making, you’re going to have to do a lot, if you care, to change that opinion and no rationalizing with people on here is going to do that. You’ll have to prove it.
Secondly, I agree with some of your thoughts on College and strongly agree with Kiyosaki in this area. I’m not concerned or interested in arguing about it with anyone on here and don’t think you should be either. Rather, I want to educate myself as quickly and efficiently as possible and college was not doing that for me. There is nothing I want to do in investment real estate or real estate in general that requires a college education.
Perhaps the time in school would have given you the reasoning skills needed to avoid the trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, but it might not have either. Keep yourself around the people you seem to be connecting to and get real.
I think that’s what Kiyosaki has taught me most…get real with yourself by educating yourself further and further. Be honest with yourself and evaluate risk more effectively.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Casey,
Please buy more houses. Talking about the existing ones is getting old. There’s got to be plenty of houses for sale. Why aren’t you buying some of them?
-FSD
March 16th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
You use phrases from Rich Dad as if they were mantras to be meditated on. You should take a look at some Bhuddist mantras.
Work is that part of your life where you build value in the world. Many people get paid for doing it but it doesn’t stop being work if it is done for free. It should be part of your daily life. Once you are “out of the rat race”, unless you just lie on the beach all day, you will still continue to work in some way. Even retired people do work.
The point of an education is to help you pursue your work. Without one, and even disdaining one, it will be quite difficult for you to do any meaningful work. In fact, many people feel that education is a fundamental human right.
You speak as if creating wealth is the important part but it is really just to give you the freedom to do the work that is most important to you. It is the work that gives your life meaning, not the wealth.
You should ask yourself what work you want to do and then make it possible rather than trying to gather wealth and discovering that it is too late to do anything with it.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
@126
Easy enough to Google that the Sultan of Brunei attended Sandhurst, the British Royal Military Academy.
While it is not a degree-granting institution, it is definitely postsecondary educationw, and many enrollees actually come to it with a university degree already in hand.
A lot of the worlds royal families take extra care to educate their children well. If you *know* your child is going to become a world leader as well as the head of a very complicated family industry. Many of them traditionally send them to Europe for higher education, mostly to gain *experience* and *polish* and *connections*
March 16th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I’m an entrepreneur at heart to casey! I definitely agree with you on that aspect and how school teaches you how to be an employee…that is true
March 16th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
… I’m beside myself with rage.
There IS NO SUCH THING as “Passive Income”, Casey.
I don’t know of any millionaire, or billionaire who just sits on his a** and waits for the cash to come in… Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, Martha S****** , Oprah Winfrey. By all accounts, richer than God, absolutely financially independent and work like hell.
My boss, who happens to be a reasonably wealthy guy, has a Bachelor’s degree and has owned a successful software company for over 20 years. He doesn’t sit around and let the employees do the work for him, he gets involved and is constantly engaged in the business.
You just want a fleet of idiots to do your work for you and you’ll skim off the top, right? How are you any different from an Amway pyramid schemer? You don’t have a clue what you’re doing and could benefit from a Business Administration diploma.
That’s it, I’m done here. You’re either delusional or retarded. In any case, you deserve to either go to jail or live out of a dumpster.
I suppose I’m a hater now. Ok, I’ll own it.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
@206. Big D:
“meaning… being a “birdogger”….
This is ideal for your situation because you don’t need upfront cash or good credit or any income for that matter (all of which you are lacking).”
Meybe you haven’t been paying attention, but Casey is already bird-dogging the mailman (or is the mailman bird-dogging Casey? I get the two confused, but someone is definitely bird-dogging someone, and Casey is involved in it).
He even posted a picture of it some time ago.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
You paid over $30,000 in guru scaminars, and all they gave you was the sizzle, not the steak.
Check out this article in today’s yahoo finance entitled “How to Make Really ‘Big Money’” (not what you may think). You fell for the scams of those who get rich using method #8. And you went for #3, but were too stupid and lazy to make it work.
http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/bigmoney_1.html
March 16th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
now your saga spans two financial bubbles. you’re a regular Forrest Gump!
i have two passive-income businesses.
college taught me wealth-building skills more literally than you can comprehend. with these two hands, i build wealth… as smartly as i can, for myself (in my own businesses) and also for others (as employed labor). my sister has a master’s degree in international business, and now engages in international business very successfully. education was my first large investment, and most valuable one. it boggles my mind that you see education as separate from investment.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Re: 201
While you’ve been spending your time posting here, a big red dog has been digging in your back yard. It’s looks like it’s going to steal some of your hard earned cash and take it back to the evil empire. Better get out there and take care of that red menace before it sets up long range nuclear missiles in the flower pots.
I thought “Islamofascists” where what people like you were afraid of now? Old habits die hard?
March 16th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Casey I’ve been following this blog after my twin showed it to me about 4 months ago. I’m sure you will end up on top at the end. I suggest you stop and be dead honest with yourself and try to engrain some lessons into your head so you wont repeat them and compensate for them in your next business venture.
1. As for your view on college, my twin and I share the same views. Having gone through college and getting a BS and MS in electrical engineering, we look back on it and see that college and even high school is just to whip kids into docile, obedient, employees with no REAL education in finances. I do agree that college does test one’s character and getting through it is quite challenging. They also prepare people for a good profession that contributes to society. However, your education does not stop after college especially if you want to become rich one day. I sure as hell didn’t learn anything about assets, liabilities, or ways to generate passive income through those long years in school.
2. Robert Kiyosaki’s teachings DO WORK if the person reading it actually reads it with an open mind, increase their financial IQ, takes action, and stays hungry. Getting out of the rat race today is easier than ever. Heck we technically got out of it after working for a single year. There are countless “how-to’s” now and they change from time. Many people seek the easy how-to’s but if that person does not change the way he thinks then he will most likely fail and blame the method, the customers, business, etc - everyone except himself. Robert’s books empowers a person to actually become business owners and real investors - places where making money is desynced from a person’s physical efforts and time. Most employees work all their lives, minding others’ businesses, and e