The Ant and the Grasshopper

"The Ant is working his butt off at his job. He is putting his money in his 401K, but if he read his company's 10k report, he would know it will never payoff. But he is a good employee, shows up on time, does his 40 hours per week and thinks he is an "investor"because of his 401k. He takes vacations in the summer with his kids and puts it all on his credit card. He has the newest SUV for which he has a loan, he is STILL paying off his student loans, but hey, he has a degree which makes him a more valuable employee. He has a home mortgage and really thinks that this is an investment. His salesman at the car lot called his car an investment too. His wife, Mrs. Ant, does volunteer work for the community. But she is thinking about quitting because she may need to take a job to save for the little Ant children's college education. They need to be prepared to get a good job. They spend years and years being diligent...Then there's the Grasshopper. The Grasshopper disdains having a job. He wants to be an entrepreneur. His neighbors, the Ants, think he is a lazy bum and that the word "entrepreneur" just means he doesn't have a job. He tries to explain to his neighbor, the Ant, about leveraging money, leveraging credit, and collateralized enhancement. The Ant thinks theGrasshopper is crazy. The Grasshopper goes to his Real Estate Investors meetings, seeks out mentors for more information about entrepreneurship, and learns aboutpaper assets. He buys a duplex with a downpayment tha the borrowed from a family member, and it doesn't appear on his credit report. It appreciates in value. His tenants are making the payments. He takes cashout, gets another duplex. Finally, he has four duplexes. He uses a 1031 tax exchange to get anapartment building. He learns more about paper assets as well, and becomes a member of a corporation set up by one of the Grasshopper relatives. His portolio grows and grows. He continues to leverage his money,but likewise his debt grows. His neighbor, the Ant, thinks this is too scary because the Grasshopper is thousands of dollars in debt even though he is now a millionaire and moves to a better side of town.FINALLY... One winter, the Ant learns that his 401K has crashed because of mismanagement by his fund manager, his job got outsourced overseas, and his home is in foreclosure. It was bought by the Ladybug whotook a real estate course taught by....You guessed it!..... The Grasshopper. The Ant and his wife are now homeless and thinking about getting a job flipping burgers. The kids decided not to go to college, andjust want to party with their friends. They see theirparent's advice was not too good, but don't know what else to do, and they are also convinced that theGrasshopper is nuts...The Grasshopper is attending a banquet where he is getting the Award for Insect of the Year from his community. All his friends are there to toast his hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and the good he has done for his community. The Grassphopper wipes away a tear as the crowd cheers and acknowledges him. He's actually remembering the "lean years" and what it took to get here. He lifts his Champagne glass as he looks over the banquet table ladened with food and sees the smiling faces all around. He thinks, for a moment, about his old friend the Ant and wonders where he is today...."