Elite Formal Education is Overrated
There is a huge myth that going to a great school and getting a great job will help you build wealth. In reality, its more likely to bury you in so much debt that youll be close to retirement by the time youre debt free. When I graduated from college (we wont say exactly how long ago that was!), I had friends that had already accumulated about U.S. $80,000 in debt. And for some of those friends that went to med school or law school at my alma mater, they tacked on another $100,000 of debt, for a total burden of close to $200,000.
In todays dollars, that debt would perhaps be more than $325,000. So in the first year after completing their formal education, some of my friends already had a minimum $2,000 to $5,000 monthly payment that came off the top of every paycheck. Anyway you slice it, this is an enormous abyss with which to start your journey of life.
I know that many people will have a difficult time believing my next statement, but an examination of history will support my next assertion. The great expense tied to elite institutions serves two purposes. (1) To provide a network/structure by which the moneyed elites...