Ryan Byrd’s Ramblings

A few days ago I blogged about the 400 richest Americans. Perhaps while reading that entry, you said to yourself, “I wouldn’t mind being rich!” Perhaps you envisioned, if only for a moment, how your life would change if your life was free from financial worries. Maybe you imagined the consequent big houses, or the luxury cars, or the fabulous vacations you might take. It’s not unlikely that in this daydream you saw yourself throwing outrageous parties where you mingled with crowds of the beautiful, the famous, the influential, and the decision makers of the world. And then, if my reader demographics are correct, you realized not only that you’re poor, but that it was time for fifth period physics class. Hello High School Students of Seattle Washington!

For some people (the Walton widow and the four Walton children), wealth came as a result of Daddy passing it along. For the rest of us, careful planning and work is required. It goes almost without saying that it is easier to make a million dollars once you already have a million, still, for us non-millionaires, there is hope. The big secret to financial success: you must make money while you sleep (Rich Dad/Poor Dad); that is, your money must work to make you more money. But how do you do that? How do you put your money to work? Here following are your options. Not all are created equal.

• 1. Savings account
• 2. CDs
• 3. Bonds
• 4. Stocks
• 5. Mutual funds
• 6. Start a business
• 7. Buy/sell real estate
• 8. License creative works (write a book (like “the Entrepreneur Story“), compose/play music, code software)
• 9. Rental properties

You should know that rich people have more opportunities: (because they are Accredited Investors)

• 1. Everything poor people can do PLUS:
• 2. Invest in companies and high return (and risk) ventures

Secrets to staying poor:

• 1. Join an MLM
• 2. Carry a balance on a credit card
• 3. Borrow money to buy something
• 4. Day trade
• 5. Gamble
• 6. Buy things on impulse
• 7. Have a negative savings rate
• 8. Buy new cars
• 9. Bad investments: baseball cards, diamonds, stamps, coins, other collectibles
• 10. Convince yourself that because “money can’t buy happiness”, that you’re better off without it.
• 11. Ask for donations on your website.

Further Reading

• The very rich in America: “The kind of money you cannot comprehend”
• The World’s Billionaires
• Almanac of American Wealth

How are you making money tonight while you sleep?

Those of you who know me, know that I struggled with which career path to take once I graduated from high school. As an award winning athlete, I was pulled by the prospect of playing for the NFL, NBA or NHL. But another part of me knew I was more than just rock hard abs, 24″ biceps and nimble coordination; I felt I could make a difference in industry. I decided then, that a consultant’s life was the one for me. For that, I needed an MBA. Looking back, I wonder if I made the correct decision, at least financially speaking. CNN.com recently ran an article which showed MBA graduate pay expectations; they showed these numbers:

Salaries for MBA (males) in 2006:
First job after graduation: $94,710
5 years after graduation: $191,541

On the other hand, the average NBA salary is $4.9 million. In 2007, for the NBA, the team salary cap is $53.135 million, with a per player salary cap of about 9 million (increases with each year of play.)

There are thirty NBA teams (5 teams in each in of the 3 divisions of the 2 conferences), and each team has 14 or 15 players. That makes about 435 NBA players.

For comparison, there are about 1,500 MBA programs in the United States, producing about 120,000 graduates each year.

So… Did I make the right decision?!?