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Internet drags girl for unrelatable student loan hack

BAD

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,569
USA
Disclaimer: This story is from 2017 but it made me laugh in 2020

www.businessinsider.com

How one 31-year-old paid off $220,000 in student loans in 3 years

By making sacrifices and finding creative ways to generate side income, Ebony Horton was able to put $10,000 a month toward her student loans.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
Back home in Joliet, Illinois, Horton took a job as an operations manager at the nonprofit her mother runs.
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Horton and her boyfriend tied the knot soon after the move. Horton's mother gave the couple a condo that she had purchased at an auction for $13,000 as a wedding gift.
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Horton and her husband lived in the condo for three months, but then they decided to move in with her grandparents down the street and started renting out the condo to bring in extra income.
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Horton's husband had the idea of buying another rental unit to increase their cash flow even more. Though Horton was reluctant at first, she eventually agreed. They ponied up all the cash they could muster for a $42,000 two-unit condo to rent out, allowing Horton to rake in more money to put toward her loans.
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The strategy worked so well that the couple ended up purchasing another $55,000 unit shortly thereafter
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All told, Horton said she and her husband were putting 95% of their combined income toward Horton's student loans, making payments of roughly $10,000 a month.
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"I just want them to feel empowered that they can pay if off. If I can do it, anybody can."
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Rich people really will do anything to convince themselves they worked for it. Even people like Bezos and Bill Gates with their parents' loans.

JmuPnr4.gif
 

reKon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,889
Yes, privleged people still live in a bubble without realizing it.

I'm more interested on those condo prices. I'm in Chicago and I did not know it was that cheap out there....
 
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Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,623
You know, there are a lot of these videos from business sites showing Millennials/Zoomers doing well financially in life, and breakdowns of where their money goes and things. A lot of the time (and the reality) is that they also mentioned stuff like eBay/Amazon side-hustles and things like sharing a place with like 5 roommates. But when I think about it, I can't think of ANYONE I know personally that has bootstrapped all by themselves. Pretty much EVERYONE got their head-start from their parents, especially ones that come off from well-off families, could be able to afford the pricier universities and/or get jobs their parents work or connections of their parents. It's just... how things are right now. I can't think of any self-made people that I know myself. Sure, they do exist, but without parents helping their kids up into their 30s or so now, it can be impossible for many to get by with zero help.
 

reKon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,889
Curler said:
You know, there are a lot of these videos from business sites showing Millennials/Zoomers doing well financially in life, and breakdowns of where their money goes and things. A lot of the time (and the reality) is that they also mentioned stuff like eBay/Amazon side-hustles and things like sharing a place with like 5 roommates. But when I think about it, I can't think of ANYONE I know personally that has bootstrapped all by themselves. Pretty much EVERYONE got their head-start from their parents, especially ones that come off from well-off families, could be able to afford the pricier universities and/or get jobs their parents work or connections of their parents. It's just... how things are right now. I can't think of any self-made people that I know myself. Sure, they do exist, but without parents helping their kids up into their 30s or so now, it can be impossible for many to get by with zero help.
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I've met some self-made people who didn't have much growing up, but did well in high school in order to earn a scholarship to places like DePaul University and then moved on to get further opportunities from there. It's rare, but if you end up working for companies where the group is more diverse, you're more likely to see this (i.e. big 4 CPA firms).
 
CupOfDoom

CupOfDoom

Member
Dec 17, 2017
3,249
Curler said:
You know, there are a lot of these videos from business sites showing Millennials/Zoomers doing well financially in life, and breakdowns of where their money goes and things. A lot of the time (and the reality) is that they also mentioned stuff like eBay/Amazon side-hustles and things like sharing a place with like 5 roommates. But when I think about it, I can't think of ANYONE I know personally that has bootstrapped all by themselves. Pretty much EVERYONE got their head-start from their parents, especially ones that come off from well-off families, could be able to afford the pricier universities and/or get jobs their parents work or connections of their parents. It's just... how things are right now. I can't think of any self-made people that I know myself. Sure, they do exist, but without parents helping their kids up into their 30s or so now, it can be impossible for many to get by with zero help.
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Well that's true, its extremely patronizing when people from well off families say "if I did it anyone can". When the "thing" they did was have rich parents.
 
ElephantShell

ElephantShell

10,000,000
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,947
Hey if I can own 3 rental properties after being gifted my first one by my parents who also gave me a job right after graduation, anyone can.
 
Terra Firma

Terra Firma

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,235
User Banned (permenant): Inflammatory commentary; History of bigoted rheotric
So she and her husband became blood sucking subhumans to pay off her loans and went into even more debt to become even more subhuman?
 
Thunder11

Thunder11

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,951
Such a mindboggiling and stupid article, I'd legit be embarrassed if I were her and had this piece about me put out there and framed in this way
 
VariantX

VariantX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,933
Columbia, SC
Yeah. That is a textbook case of someone not realizing that they're living in a bubble. Some people start at the starting line, some people start halfway through the race, some start at the podium and most have to start the race outside of the stadium
 
Rendering...

Rendering...

Member
Oct 30, 2017
19,089
Everything else aside, it's messed up that people can get into that much debt for higher education. The issue of this lady's enormous privilege would be moot if she lived in a country that didn't put a crushing financial burden on students who want to improve themselves and acquire training.
 
Particle Physicist

Particle Physicist

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,774
$220,000 in loans paid off in 3 years is >$73,000 a year not even taking into account interest. The article says that her yearly salary was around $38k. In the middle of all that she purchased multiple properties to rent out. I'm assuming she had loans/mortgages on some of the properties? I know the initial one was super cheap and her mom bought it but it sounds like they purchased the other properties themselves. The numbers don't seem to add up.

I bet the husbands/boyfriends salary was pretty good too, which the article doesn't mention at all.
 
sfedai0

sfedai0

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,050
What the hell are these condo prices? Im in the tristate area and there is no way these are the purchase price. Probably the downpayment but even then, I dont see how they can even break even renting, let alone make a profit.
 
Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,623
kess said:
ERA goals: becoming a rentier to further expand wealth inequality
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To be fair I DO know people that invested in rental properties and some returns start low at first (since the profits can be low after paying for overhead, maintenance, etc.), but mannnn do they get high over the years and can make people rich >_> Many years back, stuff would've been cheap to buy if you could save up for the down payments. Trying to get ANY property now (let alone second+ properties) is not exactly easy.
 
badatorigami

badatorigami

Member
Dec 5, 2019
493
My main takeaway here is, where the HECK are they living that one can buy a condo for 13-55K? It's all at least 400K where I'm at in CA lmao (laughter to hide the tears)

Edit: nvm, seeing above that it's in Chicago
 
Salty_Josh

Salty_Josh

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,942
One simple trick of using your parent's money and well-paying job and grandparents' housing to buy property and become a landlord. Fuck why didn't I think of that
 
Trace

Trace

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,695
Canada
Ahh yes, the simple plan of having no expenses because someone else pays for you to live and having unlimited capital with no interest.

Where can I sign up?
 
Balphon

Balphon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,632
Might have been simpler to have her parents pay some of the tuition up front and avoid the interest.
 
Teapot Jeffries

Teapot Jeffries

Member
Nov 2, 2019
960
My strategy? Defer and forebearance until my Federal loans are forgiven. Haven't paid a penny since graduating in 2013. Fuck 'em. One day I'll get loan forgiveness *I hope!*
 
NetMapel

NetMapel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,479
Let me try to understand this whole thing in bullet points if I'm getting this right.
- The couple got a $13,000 towards a condo as a wedding gift. I don't know the full price of the condo.
- The couple lived in said condo for a few months but moved back to live with one of their grandparents, which led to probably some significant savings.
- They rent out that original $13,000 place for rental income.
- They then put $42,000 towards buying a second place. Also renting it out for rental income.
- Lastly, they put another $55,000 towards a third place which they also rented out for rental income.
- All the rental incomes plus their jobs led to them putting significant amount of money towards paying off their student loans.

Am I getting the full picture here correct?
 
Richietto

Richietto

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,131
North Carolina
NetMapel said:
Let me try to understand this whole thing in bullet points if I'm getting this right.
- The couple got a $13,000 towards a condo as a wedding gift. I don't know the full price of the condo.
- The couple lived in said condo for a few months but moved back to live with one of their grandparents, which led to probably some significant savings.
- They rent out that original $13,000 place for rental income.
- They then put $42,000 towards buying a second place. Also renting it out for rental income.
- Lastly, they put another $55,000 towards a third place which they also rented out for rental income.
- All the rental incomes plus their jobs led to them putting significant amount of money towards paying off their student loans.

Am I getting the full picture here correct?
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Yeh. Her mom gave her a cushy job and a condo and they just rented them out while paying nothing at their grandmas.
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,265
Curler said:
You know, there are a lot of these videos from business sites showing Millennials/Zoomers doing well financially in life, and breakdowns of where their money goes and things. A lot of the time (and the reality) is that they also mentioned stuff like eBay/Amazon side-hustles and things like sharing a place with like 5 roommates. But when I think about it, I can't think of ANYONE I know personally that has bootstrapped all by themselves. Pretty much EVERYONE got their head-start from their parents, especially ones that come off from well-off families, could be able to afford the pricier universities and/or get jobs their parents work or connections of their parents. It's just... how things are right now. I can't think of any self-made people that I know myself. Sure, they do exist, but without parents helping their kids up into their 30s or so now, it can be impossible for many to get by with zero help.
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Born and raised in rural Puerto Rico. My parents never made more than $25k at any point in their lives. Despite that, I'm doing very well for myself nowadays. My social circle mostly consists of people from my graduating class, and almost all of us fit this category: we're doing very well for ourselves despite little in the way of financial support from our parents. In fact, most of us are in the process of single-handedly pulling our entire families out of poverty. Upwards social mobility has been very real for us, and we have our education to thank for it.

Not to discount other people's experiences, but we do exist, and I remain a strong advocate for education as anyone's best bet (but by no means a guarantee) for achieving social mobility.
 
catpurrcat

catpurrcat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,801
Curler said:
You know, there are a lot of these videos from business sites showing Millennials/Zoomers doing well financially in life, and breakdowns of where their money goes and things. A lot of the time (and the reality) is that they also mentioned stuff like eBay/Amazon side-hustles and things like sharing a place with like 5 roommates. But when I think about it, I can't think of ANYONE I know personally that has bootstrapped all by themselves. Pretty much EVERYONE got their head-start from their parents, especially ones that come off from well-off families, could be able to afford the pricier universities and/or get jobs their parents work or connections of their parents. It's just... how things are right now. I can't think of any self-made people that I know myself. Sure, they do exist, but without parents helping their kids up into their 30s or so now, it can be impossible for many to get by with zero help.
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This. Same as you, 100% of homeowner millennial friends got some sort of parental support. It's not even a taboo topic.

Most common one is grandparent died and left a downpayment on a home for them.

Next most common is living 100% rent and expenses free through college/university and the first year or two of their career. Parents pay for almost everything, car to get around town, tuition fees, the works.

The parents always give them some sort of privileged reason to allow it, like "you'll have to buy your own cellphone" or "you'll have to pay for your own car insurance." Lol.

I was at a home buying and financial advice session years ago where people were talking about all these hustles, and bootstrap life hacks, and then one guy just blurted out "you're all delusional, nobody is buying a home without parental help. End of discussion." Silence...and agreement
 
NetMapel

NetMapel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,479
Green Slime King said:
Yeh. Her mom gave her a cushy job and a condo and they just rented them out while paying nothing at their grandmas.
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I kind of want to know if there's a follow up on them now with these three rental properties. How are they doing now during this pandemic and a bad rental market. They certainly have leveraged themselves to a degree that I wouldn't personally be comfortable with. It is precisely because of the possibility of a huge market downturn for whatever reason that usually hits people like them. It is the same as all the more aggressive AirBnB owners who own multiple units who make good money when the time are good. But they get hit incredibly hard during bad time like now.
 
Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,623
GYODX said:
Born and raised in rural Puerto Rico. My parents never made more than $25k at any point in their lives. Despite that, I'm doing very well for myself nowadays. My social circle mostly consists of people from my graduating class, and almost all of us fit this category: we're doing very well for ourselves despite little in the way of financial support from our parents. In fact, most of us are in the process of single-handedly pulling our entire families out of poverty. Upwards social mobility has been very real for us, and we have our education to thank for it.

Not to discount other people's experiences, but we do exist, and I remain a strong advocate for education as anyone's best bet (but by no means a guarantee) for achieving social mobility.
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To be honest, I don't know much about PR life, but how is the living expense and job life? I'm not sure how similar/different they are from the mainland, but even with education comes things like unpaid internships before getting a job, or simple service jobs required, just to get by while going to school. With education being bare minimal, a lot of it can still be challenging (and very expensive/poor-paying) after the fact.


catpurrcat said:
This. Same as you, 100% of homeowner millennial friends got some sort of parental support. It's not even a taboo topic.

Most common one is grandparent died and left a downpayment on a home for them.

Next most common is living 100% rent and expenses free through college/university and the first year or two of their career. Parents pay for almost everything, car to get around town, tuition fees, the works.

The parents always give them some sort of privileged reason to allow it, like "you'll have to buy your own cellphone" or "you'll have to pay for your own car insurance." Lol.

I was at a home buying and financial advice session years ago where people were talking about all these hustles, and bootstrap life hacks, and then one guy just blurted out "you're all delusional, nobody is buying a home without parental help. End of discussion." Silence...and agreement
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Yup, I know I needed help from 2 sets of parents and still don't have it easy (and none of us are by any means wealthy). But yeah all of the above apply to everyone I know.
 
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