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Creating Wealth: Retire in Ten Years Using Allen's Seven Principles of Wealth!
With over two million copies of his books in print, Robert G. Allen has become a national phenomenon. His innovative investment strategies have helped thousands create their own wealth, and in this new and revised edition of Creating Wealth you'll discover the Allen way to financial success. Programmed to think that saving is good, debt and risk-taking bad, we disqualify ourselves from ever having a chance at big money. The first step in creating wealth is to stop thinking poor. Then you're ready to create your own version of the Allen plan, keyed to integrating real estate with other wealth-generating investments. These principles and others can start you on the path of financial * The Automatic Pilot Principle * Enormous Profits in Discounted Mortgages * the Secret of the Midas Touch * Liquid Money and Where to Pour It * Insulating Your Assets from Liability and Lawyers
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1983
69 people are currently reading
1713 people want to read
About the author
Robert G. Allen
100 books133 followersRobert G. Allen's first book, the colossal #1 New York Times bestseller, Nothing Down: How to Buy Real Estate with Little or No Money Down, is the largest selling real estate investment book in history, and established "Bob" as one of the most influential investment advisors of all time.
In his following bestsellers, Creating Wealth, The Challenge, and Multiple Streams of Income, he expanded on his highly profitable techniques and philosophy. Today there are thousands of millionaires who attribute their success to their contact with Bob.
He is a popular television and radio guest, appearing on hundreds of radio and television programs and podcasts. His books have over four million copies in print.
It is his purpose in life to help you achieve your dreams.
In his following bestsellers, Creating Wealth, The Challenge, and Multiple Streams of Income, he expanded on his highly profitable techniques and philosophy. Today there are thousands of millionaires who attribute their success to their contact with Bob.
He is a popular television and radio guest, appearing on hundreds of radio and television programs and podcasts. His books have over four million copies in print.
It is his purpose in life to help you achieve your dreams.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
May 8, 2018
An overall great read. I love this quote from p112 “The wealthy person cannot lose his wealth. His wealth is infinitely portable, for it resides in his head and his heart. Therein lies his only security.”
March 24, 2015
I haven't deducted stars, but I warn the reader that the information is dated and often outdated. This book was written in the 80s, in a time of high inflation. Lots of people were speculating in creative (and often loosey-goosey) financing ventures. For example, Mr. Allen cites statistics that show that a large percentage of home purchases are made with creative financing--like 40% or more, though I don't recall exactly. That is not the case today.
Based on the title and the first chapter (which I read in the library before checking the book out), I expected a more general treatment on how to build wealth. The book is mostly about real estate, which is okay, because I'm interested in real estate. But a lot of Allen's schemes won't work in 2015. For example, Allen states that FHA loans are fully-assumable for any investors who can afford the monthly payments and has a heartbeat. That statement became untrue on December 1, 1986, and now many of the schemes in this book will no longer work with FHA and VA loans.
Again, I did not deduct stars, because the information was true at the time it was published. However, the book is less useful now than it once was.
Based on the title and the first chapter (which I read in the library before checking the book out), I expected a more general treatment on how to build wealth. The book is mostly about real estate, which is okay, because I'm interested in real estate. But a lot of Allen's schemes won't work in 2015. For example, Allen states that FHA loans are fully-assumable for any investors who can afford the monthly payments and has a heartbeat. That statement became untrue on December 1, 1986, and now many of the schemes in this book will no longer work with FHA and VA loans.
Again, I did not deduct stars, because the information was true at the time it was published. However, the book is less useful now than it once was.
May 17, 2013
A good starting point and eye opener into wealth creation. Simple and straight to the point.
August 27, 2016
Many of the finer details are outdated, but the principles here remain. If you want this book to give you a step-by-step plan to make you wealthy, you will be disappointed. If, instead, you treat it more as a philosophical work, you will come away with wisdom.
Allen's credo that everyone needs to win in a negotiation, and how to find out what the other party wants is itself worth the price of this book. As is his maxim that "if you don't have it, you can find someone who does."
Allen's credo that everyone needs to win in a negotiation, and how to find out what the other party wants is itself worth the price of this book. As is his maxim that "if you don't have it, you can find someone who does."
December 29, 2013
Another time, another place.
December 4, 2021
Muito bom ter uma noção aprofundada de como investir em imóveis!
January 20, 2008
Interesting book on investing. Mainly how to invest in real-estate for "nothing down." This book will get you excited about investing in real estate. I would not say it is a "how to" by any means, but it helps you to grasp the concept on how real estate can not only build a good retirement nest egg, but also how to have wealth before retirement.
August 9, 2010
This book is more specific about ways you can create wealth through real estate. It's a good jumping off point to begin to gather more information. I'd like to get a copy of the book to "reread" some sections since I listened to this on CD.
September 9, 2008
"No success can compensate for failure in the home" was my favorite quote of the book. Obviously, he was quoting someone else.
February 12, 2012
Interesting book, certainly full of ideas but thin on implementation. This was my second read through. Good nonetheless.
November 24, 2011
An excellent source for those who are interested in using real estate as an investment vehicle, however this is more of a general overview rather than a detailed how-to-manual.
Read
June 13, 2012It has been too many years since I read this to rate it. At the time, I am sure I thought it was fascinating because it was all new to me. Reality in implementing ideas is something quite different.
August 30, 2012
The target audience is older than myself, but there was still some useful information about investing options.
October 6, 2013
Lots of information and tips on real estate investing, classic Robert Allen.
September 19, 2014
I have an older version and love it! I'm getting a newer version to read! Must read for anyone interested in real estate!
July 10, 2016
Interesting
February 24, 2017
More ideas on wealth and money.
June 21, 2017
Thought provoking, practical principles for people wanting to build wealth. Fuel for great conversations, to be sure.
March 7, 2018
This is about aquiring real estate to create wealth. Allen is a BIG risk taker. Me, not so much, but I learned and was modivated to get things moving more from reading this book.
June 11, 2020
Two Sundays a month dad would take me to this no frills news stand in downtown Elkhart, Indiana called City News. He usually bought Baron's magazine to read about Wall street. On one particular day this book caught his eye, Creating Wealth by Robert Allen, and he bought it. Rather than read it himself he told me to read it. I was a Freshman in high school and I read it everyday in study hall. I hated reading as a kid and this book looked like a snooze, but I wasn't going to disappoint my dad who had never given me a book to read. Not only did I love the book, it taught me that real estate was an important part of any investment portfolio.
The strategies here are likely outdated. The one I remember was his ability to buy houses with no money down by paying the owners a monthly mortgage rather than borrowing from a bank. Retired people would get a monthly check like an extra pension and Robert Allen would rent the place out for a profit. Big companies are doing a derivative of this today with reverse mortgages and the people get to stay in their homes. No small investor can compete with that.
To be honest, no book I have ever read about real estate taught me how to make it work. Every city and location and property is unique and analyzing those variables is beyond the abilities of a book. What this book did was inspire me to start thinking about real estate as an investment. Do you want to be someone that uses surplus money for fancy cars or meals or vacations or do you want to own things of value? Creating Wealth was therefore the most important book I read in high school. It didn't immediately change my life, but it changed my thinking by making me think.
The strategies here are likely outdated. The one I remember was his ability to buy houses with no money down by paying the owners a monthly mortgage rather than borrowing from a bank. Retired people would get a monthly check like an extra pension and Robert Allen would rent the place out for a profit. Big companies are doing a derivative of this today with reverse mortgages and the people get to stay in their homes. No small investor can compete with that.
To be honest, no book I have ever read about real estate taught me how to make it work. Every city and location and property is unique and analyzing those variables is beyond the abilities of a book. What this book did was inspire me to start thinking about real estate as an investment. Do you want to be someone that uses surplus money for fancy cars or meals or vacations or do you want to own things of value? Creating Wealth was therefore the most important book I read in high school. It didn't immediately change my life, but it changed my thinking by making me think.
July 23, 2020
Have you ever wondered about those signs on the side of the road? The ones that read "We Buy Houses!" If so, this book explains exactly what those individuals are trying to do in terms of building their real estate empire...and what they're going to expect of you.
Have you ever heard that saying about not investing in anything that can't be explained on a single page of paper? Yeah, this guy's real estate program won't fit on a single page of paper.
What's the gist? Allen recommends an approach to real estate investing that doesn't involve banks...that's how he's able to buy properties with no money down. He asks the seller to keep their existing mortgage with their bank and basically pays you enough to make your mortgage payment (while he's renting your property to someone else) until he's ready to sell.
I gave this book three stars because, yes, I believe that this is all legitimate and it can work. I just think that it takes a lot more work and bearing a lot more risk than Allen lets on.
Have you ever heard that saying about not investing in anything that can't be explained on a single page of paper? Yeah, this guy's real estate program won't fit on a single page of paper.
What's the gist? Allen recommends an approach to real estate investing that doesn't involve banks...that's how he's able to buy properties with no money down. He asks the seller to keep their existing mortgage with their bank and basically pays you enough to make your mortgage payment (while he's renting your property to someone else) until he's ready to sell.
I gave this book three stars because, yes, I believe that this is all legitimate and it can work. I just think that it takes a lot more work and bearing a lot more risk than Allen lets on.
November 25, 2025
In Chapter 5, Stage 4 “The Automatic Pilot Principle”, Robert mentions taking $765k of gross equities from sale proceeds of the first 10 home purchases and selling for cash. Saying this should leave approximately $650k (after taxes paid on the $765k from the cash sale of our homes) in cash to pay off the other 10 mortgages. But then he mentions we are the free and clear owners of 10 single family houses worth approximately $900k.
Where is he getting these numbers from? How does he know the equity will total $765k? Then he mentions we’re paying off the other 10 mortgages? I thought we were paying off only the first 10 houses? The math doesn’t add up. This means each of the 10 remaining houses is valued at $90,000. This is inconsistent with the $131,000 value derived from the $765k equity calculation.
I get it. Trying to sell books, create a utopian image of what could be but he’s just throwing around numbers without any real rationale or strategy.
Where is he getting these numbers from? How does he know the equity will total $765k? Then he mentions we’re paying off the other 10 mortgages? I thought we were paying off only the first 10 houses? The math doesn’t add up. This means each of the 10 remaining houses is valued at $90,000. This is inconsistent with the $131,000 value derived from the $765k equity calculation.
I get it. Trying to sell books, create a utopian image of what could be but he’s just throwing around numbers without any real rationale or strategy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2020
“A job should be looked upon as a temporary inconvenience. It is a method for generating cash flow for living expenses while you are setting up an automatic pilot... Your ultimate goal is to acquire ownership of a generous source of income that flows to you regardless of your job.”
Despite being published over a decade ago, the concepts discussed in this book are still relevant today. I flew through this book, soaking up every ounce of knowledge I could. I wish I would have found this book when I graduated from high school. This book (as well as a few others) have completely changed my outlook on money and financial education. Now on to the next book on my reading list...
Despite being published over a decade ago, the concepts discussed in this book are still relevant today. I flew through this book, soaking up every ounce of knowledge I could. I wish I would have found this book when I graduated from high school. This book (as well as a few others) have completely changed my outlook on money and financial education. Now on to the next book on my reading list...
June 12, 2018
There were a few good ideas, but mainly rehashed "zero money down" principles that Carlton Sheets made famous in the 90's.
He also used some numbers to bolster his arguments that are nowhere close to reality, so it's hard to trust what he has to say. He keeps quoting 5% inflation eating away at your savings, but we haven't approached 5% in decades. The 10 years before he wrote the book, it averaged 3%. Since he wrote the book, it has been less than 2%. Again, it's not a big deal, so why fudge the numbers.
If you get a few good ideas, it might be worth the time. But not mine.
He also used some numbers to bolster his arguments that are nowhere close to reality, so it's hard to trust what he has to say. He keeps quoting 5% inflation eating away at your savings, but we haven't approached 5% in decades. The 10 years before he wrote the book, it averaged 3%. Since he wrote the book, it has been less than 2%. Again, it's not a big deal, so why fudge the numbers.
If you get a few good ideas, it might be worth the time. But not mine.
August 18, 2020
The title should be creating wealth using unconventional real estate processes. This book is inciteful. Although its obvious by the examples that this book was written during the late 80s early 90s. I would like to hear the author's take on his creating wealth today with our crazy low interest rates. I learned a great deal from his buy low sell high, buy high sell high, buy high sell low sections and quite a bit about real estate in general. I don't think I personally have the guile and tenacity to put Creating Wealth into pratice but I learned and grew my knowledge.
August 13, 2020
The book is old but the principles for defining and building a wealthy life are timeless. The real estate investing advice is solid and the strategy he proposes is a reasonable and realistic approach to creating financial freedom. My favorite aspect of the book though was his focus on the fact that financial wealth is really just an outgrowth of personal growth. There can be no lasting wealth without a solid personal foundation.
January 11, 2025
The book’s alright. The general principles are all applicable but I wouldn’t take advice about the housing market from a book written in the 80s. Oh and also he recommends investing in rare coins to secure wealth… yeah I’m gonna pass on that one
The one quote I do like is “anything I don’t have now, I can get.” Too often we limit ourselves because of what we don’t have
The one quote I do like is “anything I don’t have now, I can get.” Too often we limit ourselves because of what we don’t have
July 20, 2025
Hmm, some interesting ideas. Very US centric. The core idea around mortgages being assumable does not apply in the UK. I guess the key message is to look beyond the obvious and try to see what else might be possible in a property deal.
August 26, 2018
Easy read simple solutions.
January 27, 2019
interesting reading
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews