It's been a while since I wrote for Free Money Finance with the shenanigans of last spring, I spent more time focusing on preparing for what is happening today than trying to show people what we were heading towards. The following is another guest post from Free Money Finance reader Rod Ferguson. I'll be giving away a game or two via email over the next few weeks. If you're interested in winning a free game (hey, it's a $100 value!), sign up for my newsletter. The key audience for this is someone who wants to learn more about real estate investing, not someone looking for a fun time (though I'm sure it could be fun for those learning.) It's closer to an investment in a seminar or class than it is buying a game, so looked at that way, maybe $100 isn't that bad. So there you have it - something you could have probably guessed about a $100 game: it's more of a teaching tool than a game played for fun/enjoyment. From what they could tell (they're not real estate investors), the game did a great job of simulating many of the decisions that go into real estate investing as well as the general trials and tribulations of life (some would call this luck) that can bounce you one way or the other. It's certainly not a fun sit-down-with-the-wife-and-kids-for-a-fun-evening sort of game (FYI, our favorite games currently are Apples to Apples, Go to the Head of the Class, and Uno.) As we all sat down soon thereafter, I got their thoughts on the game. She somehow coerced my wife into this effort while my son and I quickly disappeared to pursue a more brainless activity.Īfter about an hour and a half (during which time my son and I crushed much of the Premier League with our now dominating Manager Mode team), I heard the cry of "uncle" from the other room.
My daughter (the smarty pants) wanted to play the game and I told her that if she read the rules and learned how to play, then I'd play. More accurately, my wife and daughter tried it out while my son and I thrashed Liverpool (we play Man United) in FIFA 09. So a week or so after I wrote about the real estate "game" Mogul, we decided to try it out. Too bad someone close to them wasn't around to give them solid financial advice. Seems like a regular occurrence these days. I'm not really surprised anymore by the actors, musicians, sports figures, lottery winners, artists, and the like who think they have an endless supply of money, spend it all, and end up broke.
Make a ba-zillion dollars and spend more than a ba-zillion dollars, and you're going backwards. It's really simple math: make a ba-zillion dollars and spend less than that, and you're moving your net worth in a positive direction. If there were excesses, Henry said, they involved his immediate family, like picking up travel expenses to games during his seven-year career, highlighted by three 1,200-yard-plus seasons. Nevertheless, he was hoping to pawn some jewelry to pay off one of many debts and gain freedom. He contended that he owned no more than three vehicles at once and figured he had spent $250,000 on jewelry. Henry argued that, within the context of richly paid athletes, he was not out of line. “On the other hand, when you take those kind of actions, there are consequences. “I feel sorry for the guy, trust me,” Wellon said. Some mothers and their lawyers will have none of that, saying he has squandered a small fortune on luxuries like cars and jewelry. Henry is seeking to modify child-support obligations. Cut last year by the team, which cited injuries and off-the-field commotion, he received only $6.7 million. The Denver Broncos gave Henry a five-year, $25 million contract in 2007. “I’ve lost everything in this mess I’ve gotten myself into,” Henry said. “I love all my kids,” he said in the interview, but asserted he could not afford the designated amounts, estimated at $170,000 a year by Randy Kessler, his Atlanta lawyer. But we'll let this one (about former football star Travis Henry) serve as our representative for all of the others today. This one almost seems unfair since there are probably a million or so sports figures that fall into this category. Adding yet another person to my list of people who made a bundle of money and yet are broke.