July 09, 2019

The Dreamer’s Path to FI | Diego Corzo

45 minutes

In today’s episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Diego Corzo from House Hacking Club.

His story is incredible and highlights why so many view America as the land of opportunity.

Diego didn’t even know he was undocumented until he attempts to get a drivers license. He faced a ton of obstacles but never stopped trying.

Some luck and hard work meant he ended up qualifying for the Defense Action on Childhood Arrivals and DREAMER acts.

Now Diego is living a successful life, spreading his story through places like TED talks…and yes paying a healthy sum of taxes.

So go take a listen, leave that 5-star review and give us some feedback!

Episode Summary

Diego’s family came to the United States on a VISA but it lapsed and left Diego here undocumented as a child

He didn’t even realize it until he started trying to apply for a drivers license and didn’t have all the necessary paperwork

He hits more roadblocks when he looks to college

Eventually, he would get into Florida State University

He could make money to help pay for college by building and selling study guides to fellow students or building websites

Things seemed to be going Diego’s way until he realized he couldn’t actually work for anyone in his current status

Then came the DACA and DREAMER programs under the Obama administration

This gave Diego a chance to work and be as successful as any other kid raised in America

He wasn’t satisfied with the status quo though

Diego came across the Book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad and it changed his whole view on life

From then on, he knew his focus was to have assets and make his money work for him and not the other way

This led to the first of many house hacks and his entry into real estate

He actually bought his first home at age 23

After three years he quit his full-time job as a software developer and now owns a plethora of properties

Diego is now a Realtor in Austin, TX and continues to grow his rental property empire

Key Takeaways

Someone has it worse: This one just jumped out at me. I always think about how life was different if I had a better start and then you see people who started so far behind those who we’d consider at the back. But he still succeeded.

Headlines are people: Man, when we see talking heads on TV, regardless of what side you’re on, it’s so easy to forget that things are complicated and that these are real people who are impacted greatly by the decisions and laws we’re considering.

Your message is important: If I was Diego, I’d be terrified to tell my story from worrying about what might happen to my family but he realized he could inspire so many people. It’s not even about having a great story. Your story will be more relatable to some person than any other story they could hear. So tell it.

Call to Action

Imagine a young Diego scenario. No one can hire you but you need a job. What skills can take advantage of, what creative money making opportunities are you prepared for in case someone else isn’t around to hire you.

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