After 12 years of reading about personal finance, it never
ceases to amaze me all the things you can learn. I not only learn about money,
but I also get a history lesson in the process.
Did you know that credit cards have only been in widespread
use since the 1950’s?
Before 1950, credit was rare.
Most places did not offer much in the way of credit. They
wanted cold, hard cash.
Stores may have provided familiar faces and those in the community
with a store credit, but you better believe it was not a $25,000 limit!
I decided to have some fun last summer and see if I could
get approved for $5,000 on some random credit card. Well, guess what? I got
approved for over $20,000 in credit limits!
However, that pales in comparison to some offers that some
people have claimed their pets have received in the mail. You read that right,
pets!
I have read numerous books and articles where people have
received credit card offers for their pets.
Come on, America!
If the pet’s owner cannot afford a $400 emergency, as the
media claims, then how is an unemployed Yorkie going to payback over $50,000.
And yes, that is a limit I read one couple stated their dog received. And that
was only one offer. They also received others with one being $100,000!
However, there are some pets who earn their keep and make millions for their owners.
This post, for now, will focus on how Fido is able to write
checks for his own bone and chew toys that his puppy paws can cash.
Let’s take this a step further shall we and discuss real life ones!
It was recently reported that celebrity designer to the stars Karl Lagerfeld has passed away last month. He leaves behind an estimated $100 million-dollar fortune. The media was speculating that his cat may inherit a chunk of that money. Holy cow! Or should I say, MEOW!!!
In addition, Real Estate heiress Leona Helmsley left her pet dog $12 Million in 2007. The will was contested and the pet received death threats, which caused money to be diverted for security! Unbelievable! Any who, the pet ended up receiving a mere $2 million after the case was settled. That sure buys a heck of a lot of Puppy Chow!
Can you believe that?! A pet that literally has their own
access to a line of credit to pay bills including for their own security guards!
Once credit cards started being more the norm, it exploded!
Once you turn 18, it used to be time to go down to the MVA and sign up to vote. Now, it’s when credit card offers come in the mail.
I remember when I got my very first credit card for $250! I
even had a secure credit card for $500. That’s a far cry from the $20k, I was
approved for last year.
After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, credit dried up faster than nail polish. They were slashing limits faster than prices at Wal-Mart! Then it slowly started creeping back up. As it stands, credit card debt is now higher than it was in 2009! It stands now at over $1 trillion! The current outstanding revolving debt in the U.S. is $1.05 trillion.
The average debt in America has increased 18.5 percent since
2013! In 2015, the average American was in $5,700 dollars of credit card debt.
As of the end of 2017, it is up to $6,354.
The laissez faire capitalism in America allows you to
actually have access to $100,000 of credit while only making less than half of
that.
Debt is crippling. It
can have long lasting consequences if not handled quickly. You have to pay off debt
ASAP.
A guideline I use is anything you have that is under 7%, you do not have to pay off right away if you have other higher interest debt to take care of. However, if that debt is higher than 7%, you need to attack that debt like your financial house is on fire. Your financial destiny is depending on you to get your financial house in order.
Once you have the debt paid off, then you can build your
financial foundation on solid financial footing. All the money going to
creditors will now stay in your bank account and can be invested.
“People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I
always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”― Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers was a comedic force to be reckoned with, but it
didn’t start out that way. She was born in 1933. Her parents were immigrants
and even though her father was a medical doctor, he was more frugal than her
upwardly mobile mother wanted.
Joan’s attitude toward money was shaped early. She saw that
men managed the finances and women were financially dependent on their
husbands. It would be many years later before Joan would learn that is a grave financial
mistake.
On my quest to study the self-made, I decided to look into
the life of Joan Rivers. I was not disappointed. You can also read some of my
other posts on celebrities and money.
Joan wound up in $37 Million dollars of debt at the age of 54. Her grueling and formidable work ethic is the only thing that saved her from poverty. At the time of her passing, at the age of 81, Joan Rivers was estimated to be worth $150 Million.
Here is her story.
EVERYONE LOVES A CLOWN
I succeeded by saying
what everyone else is thinking. –Joan Rivers
Joan was the vice president of her high school drama club. She graduated from Barnard College in 1954 in Literature. She worked numerous jobs to support herself. Joan was a writer, tour guide, and fashion consultant.
Joan was quick-witted, very sharp, and had a penetrating and original intelligence that was like none other. A female comic was a hard living, but that is the life she chose. Her gift of gab became her meal ticket.
Joan Rivers once said that she liked the comedy business and
being a comedienne. This job had nothing to do with race, wealth, privilege,
your background, religion, or gender. Either you have talent or you don’t.
For a decade, Joan couldn’t really catch much of a break. She did learn that comedy was her gift. Even without the support of her parents, she continued her grind and gift of gags. This work ethic finally paid off in 1965. After 3 years and 7 auditions, she booked the Johnny Carson show.
There was no stopping her now.
WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK
I hate housework! You
make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all
over again.
I wish I had a twin,
so I could know what I’d look like without plastic surgery.
Women should look good. Work on yourselves. Education? I spit on education. No man is ever going to put his hand up your dress looking for a library card.
From 1965-1986, all Joan did was WORK! She wrote jokes,
movie and television scripts, made guest appearances on television shows, did
stand-up comedy gigs, and directed film.
If the job came with a paycheck, Joan did it. She was fearless and took on every paying gig that came her way. She even won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in in 1983.
She hit the big time when, in 1986, Fox Television Network
gave her a late night talk show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, making
Rivers the first woman to have her own late-night talk show on a major network.
However, unbelievable tragedy struck. She and her husband
were fired from the show and following his death that same year, she learned
she was in debt to the tune of $37 Million!
Broke, alone, and jobless for once in her life, Joan was without words. However, she did what she knows best; she went back to work.
THE FASHIONABLY BROKE POLICE
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God’s gift, that’s why we call it the present.
I was a financial idiot.
Others may be smarter than you and know how to manage your money better, but you care more.
It was in 1989, The Joan Rivers Show, which ran for five
seasons, put Joan back on the map and in the driver’s seat of her financial
life.
Joan designed a jewelry line, clothing and beauty products and sold them on QVC. She said that she had bills to pay as to the reason to become a celebrity entrepreneur selling products on QVC. By the time of her death, sales of her products exceeded $1 billion!
During this time in the 1990’s, Joan wrote best-selling
books, hosted television shows and won an Emmy!
Joan had charted her own path to success and financial
security.
Don’t follow any
advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you
think in your mind that the counsel is wise.
One of my favorite stand-up comedians is Chris Rock. I once saw an interview where he said Joan was an underrated comic.
On another interview, this is what Chris Rock said:
You think she’s better than Robin Williams?
Yeah, well, put it this way, she could definitely follow
him. That’s it. You as a reporter might go one way or the other. But put a
bunch of comedians in a room and go, “Okay, who’s going to have a good set?”
Who could Joan Rivers NOT follow? You’re not going to come up with anybody’s
name. There’s literally no one in the world Joan Rivers couldn’t follow and
blow off the stage.
It’s problematic to
label her a female comedian?
You know, she did do a lot for women, but she did a lot for
comedy. Please! A lot of my style is Joan Rivers. A lot! But, you know, nobody
would ever say that because we don’t look alike. She’s one of the greatest to
ever live!
What do you mean a
lot of your style is Joan Rivers?
I mean, just watch me on any awards show telling jokes about
celebrities. Who started that shit? Joan Rivers! [Laughs.]
Joan continued her grueling work schedule in the 2000’s.
The comedian hosted E!’s “Live from the Red Carpet” from 1996 to 2004 and later became a co-host on E!’s “Fashion Police,” which premiered in 2002. She did this with her daughter Melissa Rivers.
Joan was hilarious on this show. Remember that one time she tried to give Kelly Osbourne dating advice. You don’t? No problem. I found someone on Twitter who stays well-informed on all things fashion.
Joan insisted she date an older man.
Kelly Osbourne: “I don’t want old balls, Joan.”
Joan: “Old balls roll to Tiffany’s.” 😂
In 2009, she won “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Then starred in “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?” and constantly toured doing comedy gigs and guest starring on television shows.
THE LAST LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
And JOAN GOT PAID!!!!
Some of Joan’s best jokes were about money. She made a mint
off of telling jokes about wealth. Smart lady!
I don’t exercise. If
God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor.
The first time I see a
jogger smiling, I’ll consider it.
Every woman in this room tonight: Think like a second wife. You grab and you take. You grab and you take. And when you die, whatever you got out of him you have buried on you. If the next bitch wants it, make her dig for it. 😂
I’ll write for Hitler
for $500
“Elle says she and
Dakota are ‘normal sisters’ who just go to school and play together…In their
six-hundred-room mansion on the island they own.”
Joan even joked about marriage and divorce. Nothing was off
limits!
“Half of all marriages end in divorce—and then there are the really unhappy ones.”
“I would never get married again. Never, absolutely not – but for 10 carats, maybe.” 😁😂
That reminds me of a hilarious joke I remember from the late Robin Williams.
He said: Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it “all the money”, but they changed it to “alimony”. It’s ripping your heart out through your wallet.
She wrote 13 best-selling books. Her work calendar was FULL!
She had gigs lined up for months.
Joan said that for her a calendar full of gigs equals happiness.
I saw in one television documentary about her that she would write all her jokes down and put them in a large file cabinet with toms of tiny draws to house her wit. She said at her age, people forget things, and that includes jokes so she writes them down.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Her biggest money-maker was her QVC royalties. At the time
of her passing, it was reported that she was earning as much as $50 million per
year!
She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. She has a Penthouse in
Manhattan reportedly worth $35 million, antique furniture, rare books and other
assets of valuable such as diamond jewelry and artwork.
When asked why she works so much as she can retire rich, she
replied that she wanted to live lavish and opulently. She did not want to cut
back. She wanted to enjoy creature comforts, spend her wealth, and help and
support others with it. Working allowed her to do that.
Not bad for a woman who nobody though would make it. Underestimated,
underrated, undervalued, and unappreciated in every way. But in the end, the
duckling turned into a beautiful swan.
A very rich one.
So, cheers to you Ms. Joan Rivers. Joan may be gone but she’s
still getting applause.
And when it comes to finances, from me she is getting a standing ovation.
“No. I can survive well enough on my own— if given the proper reading material.” ― Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass
Where do I begin?
Let’s start here. The cost of college.
College is expensive. According to the College Board, the average cost of a 4-year in-state public university hovers around $9,970, at private colleges $34,740, and $25,620 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.
Many folks don’t just have $10,000-$30,000 sitting around in their bank accounts.
According to numerous reports, many Americans do not even have $400 for an emergency. How the heck are they going to come up with 10 times that amount or more for college?
I, myself, had to become an extremely massive saver in order to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck.
This required me to become very frugal and find ways to earn more, cut spending, or both from my household budget.
Most of my problem was the revolving credit card debt I had. So, I had to come up with a plan to get it paid off. Every time I paid off one debt, I started saving that money.
What I really noticed about college besides just the price was that many of the things we’re learning came from equally expensive textbooks. Couldn’t I have saved tons of money by just skipping college and reading the textbook instead? Literally, all I would have needed is the syllabus of the course.
I went on Amazon to see books about the cost of college being worth it. It is right? Well, maybe.
The point I am trying to make with this article is to examine the following:
Challenge the conventional wisdom that college will solve all your problems
Going to college will make you rich
Prestige is to be pursued at all and any cost
THE COST OF COLLEGE
It has been well-documented that college is coasting more and more every year.
The amount of student loan debt in the United States alone stands a $1.5 trillion.
I cannot even wrap my head around that number. Basically, it means that many people are either going to be paying back their loans for a long time or will not ever be able to repay them. That is a sad fact indeed.
We are mortgaging our young people’s future.
Many are unable to buy homes, start families, get married, and put down roots.
The cost of college is especially hard to manage for those that are of low-income. The issues of poverty do not stop with a college acceptance letter.
We are starting to create a reality in where the poor inherit their parents’ poverty while the rich hoard opportunities for their kids.
That glass floor is real. When poor kids are getting 1200 to 1600 SAT scores and pulling hard A’s but still unable to graduate, while trust fund babies are barely pulling soft C’s is just ridiculous. That means, a rich kid can get a college degree simply because their parents have wealth, income, and resources.
I have heard stories of low-income college students dropping out for owing less than $1,000 to get their degree. Frankly, this saddens and alarms me.
And I am not buying avocado toast at $10, according to one politician, who will remain nameless.
The cost of a Bachelor’s (BA/BS) degree is just too darn expensive. The worst part is that an education is not an equalizer. Just because you went to Harvard doesn’t mean you are going to get the corner office. That fancy C-Suite is the carrot being dangled in front of all those Ivy League hopefuls.
Many do not make it there.
Don’t believe me.
Check this out.
When I looked up books on colleges, admissions, and the Ivy League online, I found the following titles:
Excellent Sheep
Nudge
No Sucker Left Behind
Where you go is not who’ll you be
The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton
The Price of Privilege
Paying for the party
Pedigree Elite: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs
The Blessing of the B Minus
Academically Adrift
Winners Take All
Generation Debt: How Our Future Was Sold Out for Student Loans, Bad Jobs, No Benefits, and Tax Cuts for Rich Geezers–And How to Fight Back
Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education
How to Raise an Adult
iGen: Today’s super connected kids are growing up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – And completely unprepared for Adulthood
I have read a few of the books listed above. Many are eye-opening recounts of their experiences with elitism, the Ivy League, college admissions, debt, student loans, finances, etc. Paying high prices, as much as $100 an hour for instruction, for college, taking on tons of debt and then receiving low starting salaries.
Stagnant wages and student loans are a dangerous cocktail.
The one book that still haunts me is No Sucker Left Behind. In this book, he describes college as a rip-off as he feels that colleges are involved in price-gauging schemes. Colleges, in his opinion, have become profit-obsessed businesses with an approach that is more reserved for used car salesman.
There are some Ivy Leaguer’s that become Corporate America rock stars. However, the majority go on to careers in the same type of jobs that those that do not go to top tier colleges.
COLLEGE EARNINGS
You think the Ivy League is the only way to go. Well, think again.
You hear all the time that a college degree means higher earnings, like $1 million more in income over a working lifetime. What you do not hear are the tales of people paying $100,000 for that sheepskin and then getting a $35,000 starting salary right out of college.
He looked up profiles of people that went to Elite Schools.
Mostly more of the same from elites: people chasing money.
Surprise, surprise many end up in investment banking and consulting. If places like Harvard are the playgrounds of the rich, then places like investment banks are close behind. The Elite School graduate sandlots.
I have come to believe that you should pursue what is in your heart and your God given talent. Whatever that may be. God does not give anyone anything he doesn’t want them to use. Sacrificing doing any less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. Figure out what you are good at and then pursue that! The money tends to follow.
Some studies have followed, like the one above, people who attended Ivy League schools and others accepted to those schools but who chose lower ranked schools instead. The result: There wasn’t a difference in lifetime earnings. In other words, Ivy League caliber people don’t need an Ivy League education to have high earnings.
WHY FOUR YEARS OF COLLEGE?
Remember that $100 an hour for instruction that I previously stated? Due to that, the real cost of college is costing some students $100,000 a year, according to the book No Sucker Left Behind. So, that is what part of the reasoning behind four years is. Collecting the tuition and fees.
The BA/BS degree takes no less than 120 credits to complete.
Why is this?
Should we not question this? I get it. You do not want a doctor that is immature performing surgery on you. However, I value work ethic and experience over age.
Why not have a degree take 48 credits to complete?
How we would do this is to cut out all the unnecessary courses one needs to graduate. Forget the gen eds and endless electives. Stick to what we need to graduate.
A college degree should be done as quickly as possible so that people can get out there and work. Most families do not have 4 years to let junior go off and explore. They need him out there working and bringing home the bacon today!
I read an online forum called college confidential where it asked why is college in America so long. Great question. Here are some of the responses. This is how it went down.
Why is it that it takes so long to get a professional degree in the US?
In order to study Optometry or Medicine or Dentistry etc you need to do 4 years in college first, not even 1 or 2 years but 4 years whereas in the UK the 16-18 education is enough to prepare you for it.
People may want to start/support a family and at the same time pursue their passion but the length of study is off putting.
Answers were the following:
Gen eds.
The US is looking for mature people to be their doctors and lawyers, not a 21 year old whose frontal lobe is not yet fully developed.
If you have many AP/IB credits, you can get your degree in 3 years, too.
I would not want my doctor/dentist to have had only 1 year of formal education.
It’s a business. The more classes one is required to take, the more money the school makes.
What I suggest is that colleges get straight to teaching you all you need to know in your field. This would cut down on the time and expense of school.
And as for those who say people need to mature. Sure, I’m all for that, but how many people know 30 year-olds that are still wet behind the ears? Lots.
If you want people to mature, put them to work. Nothing makes people grow up faster than responsibility and accountability.
If maturity is really an issue, then have people start in at the bottom.
Nothing beats entitlement out of you like taking orders, scrubbing toilets, and fetching coffee.
Make people work their way up. After college, they could apprentice and work while learning their jobs. Get paid to train and work instead of paying for more training. It is just that simple.
I think college should allow student s to do an intensive 8 months and 48 credits
You would take 4 three-credit classes every 8 weeks. This would mean doing 4 eight-week semesters instead of 8 three-month ones. You would earn 12 credits every 2 months.
A college schedule could be like this:
Year One. English, Economics, major, major.
Year Two. Economics, Science, major, major.
Year Three. History, Math, major, major.
Year Four. Economics, major, major, major.
You see what I did there. I focused on the major and getting people out of college. That should be the point of college, right?
Why the focus on finance? Other than the fact Greenbacks Magnet is a financial blog, it just makes sense to teach people about money as they have to manage it for their whole lives.
After 8 months, you earn 48 credits and graduate. That took less than one year. It also saves you heaps of money. If four years costs you $40,000, then 8 months should run you $6,667. That is huge savings!
I was gobsmacked to hear of doctors owing $300,000 to $1 million in student loan debt. Do you know what type of interest you pay on that kind of debt? It’s immoral.
Interest of 5% on $1,000,000 is $50k a year. That means after income taxes you have to pay $50,000 just to pay the interest on this debt. To service this type of debt, you would have to pay more than $50,000 a year just to touch the principal.
I remember reading one lawyer say that he expected to have that student loan bill tacked to his coffin.
Just utterly insane!
PRESTIGE AND CLASS
I read a book called Class Matters by the New York Times and Bill Keller. The book discusses how people chase money and prestige. Class determines everything about you: where you live, who you marry, what you do to earn a living, where you shop, and who your friends are.
The zip code you grow up in can ultimately make or break you.
In the book, it discusses how Americans have long thought of themselves as unburdened by class distinctions. There is no hereditary aristocracy or landed gentry, and even the poorest among us feel that they can become rich through education, hard work, or sheer gumption. And yet social class remains a powerful force in American life.
Class―defined as a combination of income, education, wealth, and occupation―influences destiny in a society that likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity.
What was jaw-dropping was this part of the book: And we see how class disparities manifest themselves at the doctor’s office and at the marriage altar.
For anyone concerned about the future of the American dream, Class Matters is truly essential reading. I agree with that assessment given to the book.
THE CREDENTIAL RACE
Grades are important. Sort of. Those getting straight A’s have to conform. Visionaries are not conformists. A New York Times (NYT) article quoted Dr. Karen Arnold as saying, “Valedictorians aren’t likely to be the future’s visionaries.”
The NYT article also noted the following:
This might explain why Steve Jobs finished high school with a 2.65 G.P.A., J.K. Rowling graduated from the University of Exeter with roughly a C average, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. got only one A in his four years at Morehouse.
THE REAL GRADUATION RATE
Did you know that the average graduation rate is 6 years?
Roughly 57% of students graduate in 6 years. Only 20% of American students graduate in 4 years.
Most students are not even graduating in the already exceedingly long period of 4 years’ time.
According to Complete College America, for a non-flagship public university, only 19% of students graduate on time and even at flagship research public universities, the on-time graduation rate is only 36%. Only 50 of the more than 580 public four-year institutions have graduation rates above 50%.
According to 2013 data from the University of Texas at Austin, students who graduate on time will spend 40% less than those who graduate in six years.
That means more time out of the work force and more debt.
According to Forbes, staying out of debt and saving are the best ways to build wealth.
WHY SHOULD COLLEGE BE 8 MONTHS?
Why can’t you do your 10-year plan in 6 months? – Peter Thiel, angel investor of Facebook
I whittle it down to this one reason: No student loans or a lesser amount of them.
Building wealth requires you staying away from and out of debt.
They say student loans are good debt.
I say that all debt is debt. You must repay it. Not having to pay back $20,000 or more of debt with interest is life changing.
If you want to be wealthy, stay away from debt. Save every penny. Learn to turn every dollar into two.
“There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
For many people out there I am sure you have heard of shows like Flip this or Sell that house. Many of them are broadcast on A&E. One of these gems was a show called Flipping Vegas.
The show starred real estate investor Scott Yancey and his
interior designer wife, Amie Yancey. What made this show stand out was the
outrageous personality of its star, Scott Yancey. He could regularly be seen
losing his mind over the tiniest of overages to his immensely short time table
he gave to flip any house. It made for great television. I felt it was the
funniest of all the house flipping shows out there.
Scott would regularly drive around in his Porsche (he loves
cars) and go from house to house that he had invested in to inspect properties.
His wife, Amie, could usually be found at places like Walker Zanger to purchase
materials for all of the homes they were flipping. The couple were constantly
bickering about house design, location, and finances. They were a riot.
What I remember most is that Scott was always very concerned
about the budget as where Aime was not. She believed that a well-designed home
sold itself. However, Scott did not always agree. He would regularly have a fit
if she spent extra money or over-improved a house. It was hilarious.
“When you have a
foreclosure sign on the house, it’s saying, ‘Vandals, homeless: Welcome. Please
strip it,’ ” Scott told The Las Vegas Review-Journal of the properties he
purchases. “We’re in a race to get it done and get it sold.”
So, without further ado, I give you what it’s like to flip
Vegas.
WHAT IS FLIPPING VEGAS?
“The houses that are the worst to buy are the ones we save for TV because we know there’s a great storyline with it.” – Scott Yancey
Flipping Vegas was an American reality television series that aired in the United States on the A&E network for 5 seasons from June 18, 2011 – September 27, 2014. Featuring the husband and wife team, Scott and Aime Yancey. The couple would fix and flip homes in Las Vegas, Nevada. It aired on Saturdays. And ran for 41 episodes.
Meet the real estate players
Scott and Aime
Vegas was hit hard by the housing crash of 2007-2009. Where
most saw disaster, Scott saw opportunity. He would buy low-priced and
dilapidated homes in Vegas, fix and flip them quick for a profit.
Setting a quick timetable of about 4 weeks and even shorter budgets of approximately $10,000. A quick fix schedule and low budget is called flipping. Spend less money equals more or maximum profit. His opposite is Aime, who buys high-end finishes that are not in the budget, without telling Scott. Let the fights over the checkbook begin.
Here is some of the banter on this show.
Real estate agent: Can you all this done in a week? It’s a
lot to do?
Scott: I turn and burn these suckers!
Aime: Scott, you’re so cheap.
Scott: Once again you are unconcerned with deadlines and bottom
lines.
Aime: Give the house a great design.
Scott: This house is an ugly girl. Put lipstick on her, we’re
not giving it plastic surgery.
That’s Scott, always keeping it classy. He works hard and
lives his life fast. He likes quick wins and flips. I’ll give him this, at
least he always kept it real.
In an interview with the Vegas
Sun, Aime said, “I mean, I feel like I’m giving birth to each of them. I
know Scott has timelines to turn them around fast, and we butt heads. He sees
the bottom line, and I fall in love with the transformation. I can’t stop
myself; I really need rehab for designers.”
They generally work with the same contractors and real estate agents to sell their houses. In addition, will also have multiple trades working on one house at the same time to keep up with Scott’s insane open house schedule (think buying a home, renovating it, and putting it on the market in 7 days). And yes, there was an episode that he tried to do this.
The show got is start from a conversation Scott had with some show business friends where he recounted how he had to pull out his Glock (he’s licensed to carry) on some homeless people that came at him with needles in a boarded up house. They recorded some footage of him (Scott paid for their expenses) at work and it got into the hands of someone at Lionsgate. That is how his reality show career got started.
Finance Lesson 101: You have to spend money to make money.
ALWAYS EXPAND
Expand. Never contract. – Grant Cardone
One of the best times to start a business is during a
downturn. Scott is a businessman who owns a real estate brokerage called
Goliath Company. He invests sells, and flips houses. In addition, Scott also
was an executive producer of the show and an author. Reality television star is
also one of his many titles.
When asked what it was like doing the show Scott stated, “It’s reality TV for a reason, but try working with your wife for 12-14 hours a day. [The producers] know our fans. They love it when I break shit, and that’s my favorite part. If I could take a bulldozer and knock out a shed, that’s great. Take a chainsaw to a wall, that’s great. Demolition is No. 1; drama is No. 2. And then education.”
The best episode I saw and my favorite was the Season 2 Episode
10 show entitled, “Yancey’s Eleven” which aired on February 16, 2013. Scott
purchases 11 unfinished villas at Lake Las Vegas for a total of $380,000 and
takes on the gargantuan task of getting them all fixed up at the same time.
A&E episode description(www.aetv.com): Scott takes on
the biggest flip of his life having purchased 11 unfinished villas in upscale
Lake Las Vegas with hopes of flipping all 11 in less than 45 days! It’s a risky
gamble that could have a huge payoff…if Scott can manage to bulldoze through
some unexpected and high-priced construction roadblocks.
Show me the money honey.
The couple then began doing seminars. A no-strings attached
sort of deal. It started out for free with a preview, but then morphs into a sales
pitch. Over three-hours attendees are enticed to pay a $2,000 fee for a second,
more intensive three-day seminar. Those who paid and made the investment in the
three-day event received yet another pitch to invest in the next level that
costs a whopping $30,000.
I, personally, can confirm the first part. I was invited to a Yancey seminar. I went and it was basically someone coaxing and goading you to spend money (not the Yancey’s as they were not there). Basically, it was a high-pressure sales pitch. The free part was just to get butts in the seats. The free meal was a cold sandwich, chips, and a stale cookie. Although, it sounded good, and everyone acted professional. I refused to spend money going to yet-another seminar. After that experience, I swore off all seminars for good.
They said most people did not complete the problem because there was work involved. So, they quit. Customers cry foul. That they were not properly trained. Scam???
Finance Lesson 102: If you are going to expand and ask people for money, then you better bring you’re A-game and deliver. Better to write a book and sell it for a reasonable price, that provide the details of how you became successful then give people false hope and empty promises. A book is at least tangible.
A GOLIATH OF A TASK
“The main thing is that in TV land, they speed everything up. They [the viewers] think, ‘Oh, wow, it’s a breeze. They come in, and it’s done.’ It takes a long time to put them together, to pick out the fit and finish and work on the quality. They only see a glimpse of it.” – Amie Yancey
Scott started in real estate at a young age. He got advice
from a friend to invest his $30,000 settlement from a car crash into real
estate as his family was doing. Scott took the advice.
Forgoing finishing college he still found a way to make a
million dollars. Even though he almost quit real estate after the downturn,
overhearing a conversation between patrons made him change his mind. When he
heard how little people were paying for properties in Las Vegas only to start
renting them out to tenants, Scott saw a golden opportunity to profit. Why not
buy at the bottom?
“At the next table, the discussion revolved around the Las Vegas real estate market and the fact that there were homes available to buy for as little as $36,000 that would rent out for $900/month. Just hearing those two numbers put Scott’s real estate brain into gear. Two things came to mind immediately, ‘You make your money on the buy in Real Estate’ and ‘fortunes are made in bad economies.'” – Scott Yancey
His task was to buy real estate at the bottom. Things have to hit rock bottom become they come back up. You can capitalize on that. It was risky and things were rough. Like me, quotes were in Scott’s mind: “Nothing great is easy” and “Debt equals drive.” Those helped him. He had this epiphany and ran with it.
Similar to the money epiphany I had in 2017. Once I figured out a way to save more, I began to do so massively. Start where I was at and work my way up. I started by saving $50 a month and then slowing increased my savings every day or month. Now, I save over $13,000 a year and increase that number every year.
Finance Lesson 103: Best time to start a business is in an economic downturn as fortunes are made in bad economies. For instance, when the stock market crashes, that is the time to buy.
COLLEGE DROPOUT TURNED MULTI-MILLIONAIRE REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
“I’m not a college graduate.” Scott told Vegas
Seven. “I went to probably five colleges, and I dropped out of them all. I
have ADD. I didn’t come from money. But you don’t need money to be a real
estate investor, and that’s what I teach people. I did my first land deal on my
own without any of my own money, and I netted $2.3 million. I can relate to
most of the people who write to me and say, ‘I’d love to do what you’re doing.
I don’t like my job, but I don’t have any money.’ Great, you don’t have to.
You’re right where I started.”
Scott was hired as a real estate runner for a real estate
attorney named Walther (Walt) J. Plumb III. His salary at that time was
$5/hour. Walt ultimately became Scott’s mentor. He also convinced Scott to get
his real estate license as his last 3 runners had all become millionaires. He
ended taking his advice and making so much money in real estate, that he left
college. He was making hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is a lot of
money for a guy in his 20s.
He was making so much money for Walt that he decided to
strike out on his own.
The $2.3-million-dollar deal allowed him to pay off all his
credit cards and buy the care of his dreams, the Porsche. And put a million in
the bank. He used his big payday to pay off debt. This is similar to what John
Legend did.
You can also regularly hear Scott complain about amateurs on
his show.
In an interview with the Vegas
Sun, Scott said, “but I think there are a lot of amateur-type flippers who
have gotten in in the last little while, and they have short fuses because
they’ve borrowed money to their properties. Scott usually pays all cash.
This is what Warren Buffet says about borrowing: “I’ve
seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage – leverage being borrowed
money.”
He says, “if you don’t know what you’re doing, leave it to
the professionals.” He stills relies on
him and asks his mentor for advice. Looking up the couple net worth online
yields results of $5 million each.
Finance Lesson 104: You can be successful without college. However, you need to decide early and when you are young what vocation you are going to do to try and make a living.
THINGS WILL AND ALWAYS DO CHANGE SO PREPARE
“Flipping is great at first to generate capital, but as an investor, the goal is to take your capital and invest it in rental properties. The rental properties pay you every month. Flipping, you make one payday; you’ll make $100,000 on a good flip. [Investing] that in a rental property [can} make you $5,000 a month. … It’s a lot less work to collect a rent check than to renovate a house.” – Scott Yancey
At one point, in an interview with Vegas Seven, Scott thought that the real estate market would change as it always did. In addition, that there is a false send of high-fiving.
Most purchases are all cash deals being done by investors.
Lots of flippers have left and are out of the flipping market. People are
buying and holding, which should be the real estate investor’s endgame. As far
as renters for his homes go, he wants good tenants that resign every year and
he only takes cash as payment. He also buys near hospitals so many of his
renters are ER doctors and nurses. Basically, those with steady reliable
incomes and paychecks.
I hear that.
I also read a real estate investing book that said a great place
to buy was near college campuses. Get those college rentals going. Not bad
advice. Pretty similar to what Scott has done.
I recently read that the government shutdown has closed up
shop 4 times within the last 10 years. That is a huge problem for RE owners.
Especially, if this trend keeps up and considering that furloughed contractors
don’t get back pay when the government reopens.
Not surprising. A home is only an asset if it can or does
feed you. You can only get access to the equity when it’s sold. The only other
way to make money is to rent it out. Either by the unit, home, or room. If you
want to start a profitable real estate business and become a landlord, then you
better have the funds to handle downturns, bad tenants, vacancies, and repairs.
Finance Lesson 105: All businesses need capital.
You can take that piece of advice all the way to the bank.
Worry is the interest paid to those who borrow trouble. –
George Washington
Finance it! That should be slapped on bumper stickers across
the country.
There are now loans for just about anything you can think
of. Whatever your heart desires, you can finance. Almost.
My father would say that people need to learn discipline as
they want to do every whimsical little thing that comes to mind and this can
cause trouble in your life.
I learned at a young age that trying to get your little
hands on everything you crave is a gateway to higher levels of debt and
spending.
It starts with one video game and then balloons to buying
the console, accessories, new games every other week, and monthly subscriptions
to gaming magazines. That quickly escalates to $1,000 iPhones, $2,000 MacBook’s
and flying first class everywhere. Even if it is drivable and only a few states
away.
How is all this lifestyle creep paid for?
With plastic.
After working at a federal credit union, I got the inside
peek behind the financial curtain into many strangers lives.
Some people are clinging to their middle-class status like
the ones they had in their childhood upbringing, while others are dangling over
the financial edge and many more have fallen over the financial precipice
completely.
Financial institutions knowing this fact, as wages have been
stagnating since about 1979, are all too eager to fill that gap in earnings
with loans.
Let’s find out what type of debt is out there awaiting
consumers that are not financially savvy enough to avoid them or are left with
few alternatives to avoid them in the first place.
NO CASH, NO PROBLEM
Quick to borrow is
always slow to pay. – Proverb
How many times have you heard commercials that say your job
is your credit? Get real. Your credit is your credit.
Miss enough payments and that job means nothing. They will
repossess anything.
I saw this up close and personal at the credit union. I saw
cars getting repossessed, families stressed out and on the edge of a financial
cliff, and those with bad credit had it the worst of the lot.
Is your credit score too low or in the 500’s? Forget about
it. Either you will not be able to borrow or it will be at interest rates so
high you will be paying off that sweater you bought for your kid’s 3rd
birthday when your kid goes off to college.
Do not be fooled into thinking companies are being so nice
to give you this product for low monthly payments. That low monthly payment of
$42 over 24 months is still over $1,000!
If you must borrow, get those scores up. That way you pay
less interest.
IS IT FOR SALE?
Of course, it is! Everything is for sale. And its pricey
too.
“A business that makes
nothing but money is a poor business.” – Henry Ford
They will let you subscribe to just about anything, for a
fee. Much unlike this blog, which you can subscribe to for free, you have to
pay for anything you deem necessary or desired for your life.
Just because it is for sale does not mean you are not
shelling out big bucks for it. Case in point, if an item is on sale for 25%,
then you still have to pay 75% to take the item home with you.
I say skip the for sale signs and racks and focus on only
buying quality products that you need and truly want, but that you can actually
afford.
BUY NOW, PAY LATER
As an individual who
undertakes to live by borrowing, soon finds his original means devoured by
interest, and next to no one left to borrow from – so must it be with a
government. – Abraham Lincoln
This is what I feel is the old bait and switch. Sure, you
can finance it now and pay later, but later is going to be a long time and it’s
going to cost you…A lot.
I say avoid paying interest and forever and a day.
No one ever went broke
underestimating the taste of the American public. – H. L. Mencken
Over the years, I have started noticing more and more that
not only is everything for sale, but it is able to be financed.
What has been really glaring has been the new loans that
have crept up and put out in the main stream for the last 10-15 years.
What loans am I talking about?
Holiday Loans (for Christmas Presents)
Vacation Loans (finance that cruise)
Internship Loans (finance additional training
along with college tuition)
Summer Loans (for the gap between Fall and
Spring college semester)
Care Credit (healthcare financing)
Hurricane Loans (National Disaster Loans)
Government Assistance Loans (Government shutdown
loans)
That’s right. If you have never heard of some of these loans
listed above, that is because they are not often advertised except during
certain economic times or periods or places such as college campuses or certain
banks.
Do you really want to finance Christmas?
You take out a loan for $1200. You have 12 months to pay it
back with interest. The time you were supposed to be saving (the
previous 11 months) you were repaying this loan. That leaves you for no funds
for the following Christmas. You go to the bank and they say, “we have this
loan that could help you out.” Just skip it.
Better yet, have the family pull names out of a hat and just
buy a gift for that one person. Save a
fortune. Your bank account will thank you.
The ones that really get me steaming are the National Disaster and Government assistance loans. People are in a vulnerable position and you want them to go into debt! More debt! Really?!!
No one plans for national disasters. You can plan your
finances, but some things are not all foreseen.
For instance, some people lost their homes during the most recent
hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Texas. The insurance companies were saying they
had to pay a deductible to get their home rebuilt. This was to the tune of
$5,000! Most people don’t just have that type of money laying around.
Borrowing will only put you deeper into debt and unable to
save when an emergency like this happens.
The worst by far is government assistance loans for the
government shutdown. Folks would not need a loan if they could save. Now, you
want more of their money, which they don’t even have? What sense does that
make.
I say focus on building up the rainy day fund so you are not
caught out in the financial rain without a savings umbrella.
HOW MUCH IS THAT LEXUS IN THE WINDOW?
“A business that
tries to save money by not advertising, is like a man who tries to save time by
stopping his watch.” – Henry Ford
It’s all about advertising.
That’s why so many people are pulling up in Target parking
lots wearing Gucci boots, carrying a Louis Vuitton purse, all the while texting
on an iPhone on to buy $10 socks that are marked down and dare I say it On Sale.
I see more folks driving luxury vehicles now than I have
ever seen in my life.
What happened to just needing to get from Point A to B?
Please do not let the smell of new leather cause you to have
empty pockets. No car or gadget is worth going into debt over. Or worse yet,
going broke.
On one television show, I saw a mother of two young kids
trying to see if she could come up with the rationale to finance a $100,000
car! Do not do that. It is not worth it.
Sell to the masses, eat
with the classes. – Henry Ford
It has been often stated, if you sell to the classes, you’ll
dine with the masses. But if you’ll sell to the masses, you’ll dine with the
classes.
Another spin on this quote is this one here.
Sell to the masses, eat with the classes. Sell the classes,
go belly up!” – John F. Savage
It is said the majority of people rent this world from a
minority of people. That is how it goes. Unless you change the status quo.
Become an owner. Keep more of your money and always invest.
They make it all too easy for you to sign on the dotted line
and then have to fork over 25% of your paycheck just to pay for your items.
I want to pay for the item, get it handed to me, then
transaction over. Installments suck!
I say save for what you want.
Not sure where to start.
Just start small. Even saving $5 a week just to get in the
habit of saving is better than doing nothing and having no savings at all.
So, please do not sign on the dotted line. Do everything you
can to save. It will be your safety net should real disaster strike because
when it does it’s like lightning. It usually strikes fast and more than once.
Play good defense and save. Surround your financial house
with savings. Do not get tackled because you left your wallet open, figuratively
speaking.
Earn the spotlight on your own merits. You’ll feel better. – Serena
I was reading a book when I decided to take a walk down memory lane and watch Gossip Girl on Netflix.
For those of you that may not know or remember the show, Gossip Girl was a show about privileged American socialite teens at an elite and exclusive academic prep school in Manhattan’s Upper East Side (UES); whose every move was texted out through an eblast via tips to an anonymous site called Gossip Girl.
What is Gossip Girl and what it does?
What’s the difference between gossip and scandal? So glad you asked, UES Forever. Anyone can commit a minor indiscretion and generate a day’s worth of buzz. But in order for gossip to birth a true scandal, it requires the right person to be in the wrong place. – Gossip Girl
Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip. – Will Rogers (1879-1935)
The show was on the WB, then the CW, and aired from September 19, 2007 through December 17, 2012. The show was narrated by Kristen Bell (as Gossip Girl). Scandals, scoops, and hemlines run amuck. The show may have had a serious lack of ethics, but it did make for some interesting television.
Gossip Girl is based on a popular book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The adapted television series in 2007 came about from the book series she started in 2002.
Gossip Girl will always have a special place in my heart.
It was in 2007 that I heard this line from the show: You know, Dad, there’s this thing called MySpace where you can post all of this information online. Save some trees, have a blog. – Dan Humphrey
It peaked my interest in blogging. Then, I started this one, Greenbacks Magnet, 9 years later.
Some of the dialogue may be a bit harsh in its tone and delivery, but there was some truth behind some of their words.
Gossip Girl likes to keep things classy and somewhat true. – Serena van der Woodsen played by Blake Lively
Serena is so grateful because she likes to see the best in people. I like to see the truth. – Blair
So, let’s get right into it.
MEET THE MONEY PLAYERS
You got me thinking. If my class is so important to you maybe I ought to make it worth your while. So for the next seven weeks it’s fewer models and martinis, more flow charts and footnotes.– Colin Forrestor played by Sam Page
Last month, on Thanksgiving Day, I decided to watch some Thanksgiving themed movies and television episodes. And I settled on watching Gossip Girl.
The series follows Upper East Siders throughout their never ending drama filled lives that is often self-inflicted. It Girl Serena van der Woodsen is centered around it all and is the star of the show. Her friends and family make up the rest of the cast.
One of my favorite scenes is actually from the first episode of the series. It was a face-off that was incredible between two young women and it set the tone for the show.
The 4 top-billed (in my opinion) and main cast includes the following:
Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen AKA S
Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf AKA B
Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald AKA Golden Boy
Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass Always
If you pay close attention to their conversations, they are dropping some serious money gems.
These little nuggets of life and money wisdom, when interpreted and applied correctly, could transform lives and bank balances.
Let’s begin.
WORK FOR WHAT YOU WANT
Never in my 16,982 hours of schooling have I ever been sentenced to detention. – Blair
Throughout the show, the main cast is always discussing their futures and going to college.
It was almost incessant in the amount of pretentious ponderings of how to be sartorially correct while interviewing for a top spot as a Yalie. And yes, that is a quite accurate assessment of the character known as Blair on the show.
Blair would look and act so innocent and demure like she couldn’t melt butter, but her stare and looks were as cold as ice. Very entertaining.
Here she goes on one of her tirades.
I am so a better fit for Yale than that Rory. – Blair
Now, she’s belittling and disparaging the character of one of my favorite shows Gilmore Girls.
But enough of the $50 words. Let’s talk about the rest of the show.
They attend the fictitious Constance Billard School for Girls and St. Jude School for Boys. In addition, throughout the show you may hear them casually drop names of other schools.
In the Gossip Girl (book series) — it contains the line “two little Sacred Heart girls in their cute red and white checked pinafores were walking an enormous black Rottweiler” on page 86 in the first novel of the series.
Many of the parents are part of high-society and are on boards of prestigious organizations, own businesses, and live in penthouses. They go to great parties, opening nights to the ballet, and fashion week.
You get the impression that these kids know to base their lives around money and making sure to earn piles of it is a must.
They are tireless paragons of poshness. The parties are lavish, the lifestyle is glamorous, and the fashion is couture and expensive. Makes for a great show.
What I noticed was that everyone in one way or another was working hard at trying to make their own way in the world apart from their rich and or famous families.
They chased their dreams relentlessly. Like a boss.
And made huge sacrifices to get what they wanted.
Great leaders only need three hours of sleep! – Blair
They worked, started or interned at major businesses, magazines, for fashion designers, newspapers, literary writers, politicians, and fashion houses.
You’re not likely to get or keep those gigs for long if you are playing around.
“When and if we end up together, it has to be as equals.” – Blair
Yes, indeed. Be independent.
BET ON SELF
Here’s my advice: Have a little faith, and if that doesn’t work, have a lot of mimosas.– Blair in the Wild Brunch Season 1 Episode 2
My family is really into waffles. – Jenny Humphrey sister of Dan Humphrey played by Taylor Momsen
If you want something, go get it. Have some faith in yourself. And good food and conversation go together. I have learned a lot about people when having lunch with them. It’s a great way to build relationships. My favorite meal is brunch. I too love waffles!
Their membership is so restricted, it makes Soho House look like a halfway house. – Blair
They say of you want to increase membership to something then increase the selection criteria.
The Ivy League have made this an art form. As you see on this show, even the wealthy were concerned about their college admissions. There was even some talk of donations to a school to get in. In the end, you see deep down, we all have our insecurities. Accept it, and move on.
I have learned that I am no better than anybody else, but I am always just as good.
KNOW YOUR WORTH
You deserve someone who would move mountains for you if he had to. – Blair to Serena
Normal people don’t get an endless number of chances, no matter the situation. That’s just you. – Dan to Serena
I have heard people say that well-behaved women seldom make history. At least that is what Eleanor Roosevelt said. I guess you can take her word for it as her husband FDR made history.
“I have an idea for you: quit. Your boss is a bi*ch. Let’s go to lunch.”
I have actually done just that very thing. I quit a bad job. Got a better job. And never looked back.
“I’m not a stop along the way, I’m a destination.” – Blair
That line could be someone’s Bumble Bee bio. I call it sophisticated confidence.
“He ended up treating me like something he owned instead of something he earned.” -Blair
You’re worth more than a guest lecture fee, everyone knows that. – Dan to Serena
A man who own a tuxedo shows that he has the means and can afford to provide for his family – Blair in Belles Du Jour Season 4 Episode 1
One of my favorite lines from the show comes from none other than Nate Archibald while talking to Chuck Bass.
Excuse me? Where’s my boy? “Seal the deal.” “Tap that a$$.” “Money marries bigger money.”
Wow. Money marries bigger money. That’s kind of cold, but ok.
I could care less about his Bassets and probably he’s filtering his assets through some foreign government so I won’t know. – Blair on Chuck Bass.
S: So you hired escorts? B, you couldn’t just tell your mom you don’t have friends at NYU?
B: Prostitutes are people, too, and they have a lot of disposable income. – Serena and Blair
Yes, people are focused on income, A LOT.
Take a cue from them and subscribe to The Wall Street Journal, pick up Fortune, TIME, instead of a gossip magazine and follow financial experts on Twitter. Become a devoted student of money, and you can master the science of getting rich.
Jane Austen also so eloquently puts how much emphasis people put on income in two of her novels. And also how to treat others with or without money.
FOR THE LOVE OF HEADBANDS
I know you disapprove of me, but can’t you at least do so in a tuxedo?– Lily van der Woodsen played by Kelly Rutherford
This show loves their tuxedos. And themed parties. Masquerade. Kiss on the Lips. You name it.
It is often said when you look good, you feel good. Well, I concur. You feel more confident as well.
I remember going to a job interview where some folks didn’t take it seriously. I wore a nice dress and some of the men wore suits while others wore jeans.
After I got hired and when I later started the job, I noticed on my first day that all the people that got hired were the ones that were well-dressed.
If you know one thing about GG, you know it’s all about the fashion.
The well-heeled wear nice heels. Blair was known for her love of headbands. People were always giving her grief about it.
Your era is over, and so is that headband. – Jenny
No headbands in college, okay? – Dan to Blair
Et tu, Dan?
SvdW was known for her fantastic sense of style.
And she had more loose interpretation of a school uniform than any person on the planet. The Tie Goddess. See for yourself.
EDUCATION IS PRICELESS AND THE PRICE OF INTELLECTUALISM
S:Wow, and I thought college would be different from high school.
B:Who would want that? – Serena and Blair
These kids were not just applying to any colleges, but the Ivy League. They wanted to be HYPsters (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) or the like. What Blair called the Holy Trinity of colleges. Which are all expensive colleges. We are talking $50,000 USD per year or more.
It was a constant stressor of theirs during the shows first four seasons. Case in point, here is a list of the schools they were trying to get into or that their parents attended.
For instance, Serena wanted to go to Brown and that college and Harvard are where her parents went. Blair wanted Yale and Nate was considering UCLA over Dartmouth like his father. There was also talk of Columbia, Georgetown, and NYU on the show.
It just goes to show you that getting an education is still mighty important.
Serena van der Woodsen or SvdW for short – Brown University, Columbia University
SvdW parents attended – Harvard University and Brown University
Fun show Fact: SvdW dropped out of Brown at the last minute because she wanted to find herself and she felt that moving away to another city wouldn’t help her achieve that. The classic one-year hiatus otherwise known as the infamous gap year before entering college.
This is what Blair had to say to her about going there.
Your deductive-reasoning skills are perfect for a place like Brown. An enclave of trustafarians and children of celebrities who major in drum circles and semiotics, whatever that is. I can’t wait for you to come home next Thanksgiving a militant veganista, anemic and proud. – Blair
It left me speechless.
Blair Waldorf – Yale University, Columbia University, New York University (NYU), NYU – Tisch School of the Arts
Nate Archibald – Columbia University, Dartmouth
Chuck Bass – Columbia University
Dan Humphrey AKA Lonely Boy played by Penn Badgley – NYU
Vanessa Abrams played by Jessica Szohr – NYU
Eric van der Woodsen played by Connor Paolo – Sarah Lawrence
Some character’s shots at the sheepskin, in my opinion, and other honorable college mentions include:
I’m telling you, I learned everything I know about women from Judy Blume’s Forever. – Dan
According to List Challenges, “Gossip Girl” (2007 – 2012) : here is a listing of some of the favorite authors and books of the characters or simply the ones mentioned by them and showed along these 6 seasons, books studied in university, etc.
Many characters also name dropped or were caught reading well-known books by famous authors.
I love the Snowflake Ball. It reminds me of Anna Karenina, only by Anna Wintour. – Serena
Maybe if we become famous writers one day, they’ll publish [our letters] after we die, like Sartre and de Beauvoir. – Vanessa
They also liked to travel extensively. Especially, in Europe such as Paris, France. In addition, they speak more than one language such as French while in Paris.
Elliott’s the perfect mix of smart and fun: He speaks three languages, but he has a subscription to People magazine. – Eric
List of titles includes:
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton – read by Juliet Sharp played by Katie Cassidy
The Lorax by Dr. Suess – Mentioned by Dan
Colette by Gigi – Blair read this on a bench in Paris
Jane Austen books – Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion
Charles Dickens novels – A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Les Grandes Espérances
C. S. Lewis books – The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
William Shakespeare – Othello, Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, Henry V, Hamlet, King Lear
A few other famous works, Rabbit Redux by John Updike, Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Crucible (Arthur Miller), Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Dr. Maya Angelou, The Art of War, The Crucible (Arthur Miller), Madame Bovary, The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway), The Beautiful and Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Cinderella (Charles Perrault),The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Faust, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Walden, The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), and Beloved by Toni Morrison.
There, I have just given you a reading list that every good high school student or Ivy League hopeful should have. Some of which I have read. My favorite author is Jane Austen. A close second is Louisa May Alcott, as I just love Little Women and the 1994 film starring Winona Ryder. But Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (1995) just amazes me every time. That along with Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Emma (1996).
The rich seem to be highly educated. They also tend to get ahead in life. Therefore, be well-read.
However, these trust fund babies did end up leaving college and higher education after a while to set out for their own fortunes in the real world.
For people like us a college degree is just an accessory. – Chuck
So, this too let’s you know that it is not always about what you know, but who you know.
You never know who you may run into at expensive coffee shops, libraries, restaurants, college, and hotels like the Palace in New York.
So, go build up those relationships.
MONEY AND RELATIONSHIPS
Just to clarify, I do think you deserve to be with someone who makes you happy. – Dan
True words indeed.
I read, like, five self-help blogs on how to turn friends into lovers. Yes, they used that word. – Dan
Come on, Cece’s heart pumps secrets and gin. – Dan
And there was lots of secrets on this show. Relationships and secrets were everywhere.
Sex is meaningful, like art. And you don’t rush art.– Dan
All great things are built or done slowly.
If you watched this show, then you may remember the season 3 episode with Lady Gaga. Here is her take on relationships that is so Blair Waldorf.
“Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” ― Lady Gaga
Marriage
Settling down means death. Less sex, more silence. – Blair on marriage
Blair also had some of the best lines on the show. EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE.
Case in point, check this out.
And she actually said this too.
That’s the thing. You need to be cold to be queen. Anne Boleyn thought only with her heart, and she got her head chopped off. So her daughter Elizabeth made a vow never to marry a man. She married a country. Forget boys. Keep your eye on the prize, Jenny Humphrey. You can’t make people love you, but you can make them fear you. For what it’s worth, you’re my queen. I choose you. – Blair
As, I am a history buff and studied up on Queen Elizabeth I of England, my mouth fell open when she said this.
Check it out here.
And I am not the only one who feels she should get some praise for her talented banter.
C: It’s a facility for the disturbed or addicted.
B: You must have your own wing.
C: You don’t get enough credit for your wit.
– Chuck and Blair
If you go back with an uncertain heart, there will be drama and disaster for all. – Blair
You better believe it. In life and relationships, to be successful, you have to commit.
LOVE
B:Love me?
C:Always.
– Blair and Chuck
They were the best characters on the show, in my humble opinion. The two of them together was gold. Take a look for yourself.
But ultimately, I have learned that love is what we are all looking for.
MONEY DOESN’T BUY HAPPINESS
Trouble is moving in, and it’s looking to make the Upper East Side it’s bi*ch.– Gossip Girl
You would think that folks in tuxedos and ball gowns are the happiest, but these people seemed so unhappy.
Happiness can’t be measured in things. It comes from having the things that really matter like people who love you for who you are.
Doing the right thing takes courage and strength. At least that’s what I’ve heard. – Blair
Well, I hope you had fun going down memory lane with me and I will bid you adieu in the best possible way to end this post.
