Money advice for a 19 year old

[WI in the west]

i saw it mentioned before but defiantly have an emergency fund. im 27 and broke 5 vertebrae's this fall and was off work for 3 months and 1 week. i have insurance but the short term disability part made it clear you cant count on anyone or anything to help you. they took almost 2 months to send me any money. luckily i keep 6 months of house payments in my savings. so it wasnt a worry but you cant count on any one but yourself these days it seems. grocerys i just put on my credit card which isnt probably a recomended thing to do but im not the best with money. thats why im reading this. but shit happens be ready for it. side note though i went to tech school and have my journymen card in tool and die so i make good money now. 7 years ago i was at $10 now im over $30 by a bit. i did 2 years of school all day and work part time at night. its a grind but it pays off.

 

[wind gypsy]

Just felt the need to emphasize again - all the talk about investing and saving is worthless if you're making $12 an hour. You have nothing to invest or save and really you're only falling further behind the curve if you are not gaining useful experience or relationships. Figure out what you want to do in life and what that means financially. Some people are able to be financially secure without significant lifestyle or work/life balance compromises but many are not. It can take some significant compromises that might involve moving somewhere you don't want to.

When I was in college in the early 2000's $60-80k seemed like a really good living. In much of the country 60-80k means you're relegated to frugal living or financial woes. Housing, taxes, insurance, gas, food, vehicles, etc are expensive.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

The man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. -Thoreau

Don't compare where you are financially to other people. You will either feel bad you aren't wealthy yet or proud that you have more than some poor sap. Focus on yourself and building a life. 19 is no young anymore and you need to be doing, not just planning.

If you are worth your salt you could easily be making twice what you are starting today. You need to have some education, formal or not. Learn a trade and get after it.

Work as much overtime as you can while you are young but don't spend it like I did.
Investing is good but working on making more money is more important.
have a rock solid budget for yourself as a single man and stick to it. I never did and I regret it.
Avoid debt like it is radioactive.
Leave your vehicles stock.
don't get drawn into consumerism.
Buy a house.
Don't pay for a big wedding.
Health is wealth.

Just asking the question isn't any credit to you. You need to act on it.

 

[cjdewese]

You already have all the advice I would give but I can't stress enough how important staying out of debt and living within your means are.

Before I married my wife we went to financial peace university paid for by my brother. In total we had 70K in debts between our two well used cars, both student loans and credit cards. We paid everything off within 4 years dumping every bonus we had into debt.

Now we have more in our savings than ever before, would be comfortable if I lost my job up to 6 months and have a good enough credit score that applying for credit is literally who gives me the best rates, not IF we are going to be approved.

Having an emergency fund is the single most important thing I would say you can do for yourself. It keeps you out of trouble and gives you the peace of knowing things will be OK if shit happens.

 

[long hunter]

Work your ass off and keep your pecker in your pants.

 

[cjdewese]

Work your ass off and keep your pecker in your pants.

I feel like this needs to get more attention. I had a kid with a previous relationship, 18 years of child support while trying to do the best for your wife and other kids is rough. It ain't worth it, I love my son to death but it's definitely not the best way.

 

[Customweld]

Take care of your money, it'll take care of you.
Take care of your body, you're gonna need it later.
Your number one builder of wealth is your income.
Make good decisions. You'll know what they are when they need to be made.

 

[Bighorner]

Live below your means and be happy with what you have. A 5k scope is probably pretty nice, but pretty much any scope today would beat a 25 year old scope. Don't get tied up on marketing. Their job is to separate you from your money. You can do a lot with less than these.folks would have you believe. Your young man's legs with take your further in getting game than that scope will.

I agree finding something that pays better is a big step. If you are handy construction generally pays better than most entry level jobs.

 

[Dos Perros]

Pick a trade you like and learn it well. You'll be making well over $100k in a couple years. But you also need to learn what to do with all that money. I also recommend dave ramsey and "Your Money or Your Life". I don't follow their investing, but their money saving/spending insight is excellent. For investing, I follow "The simple path to wealth".

For the record, I'm a pipe welder and haven't made less than $175k in the last 10 years. And don't know another pipe welder that makes less than $100k. Welding, carpentry, drywall, HVAC, plumbing, iron worker and there are so many more. Maintenance repair is huge also. A bunch of rich people have shit that they have no idea how to fix lol.

Ima add some perspective to the discussion.

I’m 39, a degreed engineer, have my MBA, work as a Program Manager for a govt contractor, and many see this as a great job (and I have worked really hard to get it), but I don’t make anywhere close to $175k a year.

If’n my son/daughter were getting ready to graduate HS this May, I’d tell him/her to figure out how to get a business degree and trade experience at the same time. Maybe start school at a juco and work part time learning a trade. Work hard at that trade but more importantly learn it, and learn the business (learn the customers). Graduate with your degree and work a couple more years full time but setting up your exit in your spare time. Then quit, start your own gig, work hard for a few years growing it, and then sell it or hire an office manager and mail it in for the rest of your life.

 

[CorbLand]

Ima add some perspective to the discussion.

I’m 39, a degreed engineer, have my MBA, work as a Program Manager for a govt contractor, and many see this as a great job (and I have worked really hard to get it), but I don’t make anywhere close to $175k a year.

If’n my son/daughter were getting ready to graduate HS this May, I’d tell him/her to figure out how to get a business degree and trade experience at the same time. Maybe start school at a juco and work part time learning a trade. Work hard at that trade but more importantly learn it, and learn the business (learn the customers). Graduate with your degree and work a couple more years full time but setting up your exit in your spare time. Then quit, start your own gig, work hard for a few years growing it, and then sell it or hire an office manager and mail it in for the rest of your life.

Tell your kids to take one semester of business school. Cram it full of basic accounting. business management and investment classes. Then go start your business. Or just go sit in on those classes. I never had a professor take attendance and if you keep your mouth shut, act like your in the class, they wont notice. The only reason to get a 4 year degree is if your future employer wants you to have one. You will learn more losing 20,000 trying to start a business then you will spending 20,000 getting a degree.

 

[woods89]

Tell your kids to take one semester of business school. Cram it full of basic accounting. business management and investment classes. Then go start your business. Or just go sit in on those classes. I never had a professor take attendance and if you keep your month shut, act like your in the class, they wont notice. The only reason to get a 4 year degree is if your future employer wants you to have one. You will learn more losing 20,000 trying to start a business then you will spending 20,000 getting a degree.

I didn't go to college, so I'm somewhat talking about things I'm not familiar with, but it's the internet, so......

This seems like a good compromise in my opinion. 5-10 years of working on jobsites is a good idea if you want to know the trade in and out. If you wait until after 4 years of college to do this your getting well into life by that time.

There are so many aspects to running a business besides the trade itself, though. I started working full time at 16 and took high school through a correspondence course. I had 10 years of experience by my mid 20s and my brother and I started our own. We had to learn a lot of the administrative aspects through trial and error, which has worked, but not without some bumps. 1 or 2 years of classes on accounting, etc would have been a huge help. Knowing how to set prices, for example, should be a simple thing, and yet most business owners have probably struggled to properly value their work.

 

[Dos Perros]

Tell your kids to take one semester of business school. Cram it full of basic accounting. business management and investment classes. Then go start your business. Or just go sit in on those classes. I never had a professor take attendance and if you keep your month shut, act like your in the class, they wont notice. The only reason to get a 4 year degree is if your future employer wants you to have one. You will learn more losing 20,000 trying to start a business then you will spending 20,000 getting a degree.

If the goal is to 100% make the most money the fastest, then sure I guess skip college.

If the goal is to be happy, then I'd keep my recommendation the same, knowing I had some of the best times of my life and met lifelong friends in college. I think it can be valuable for networking, too.

While the time may be valuable, $20k in the grand scheme of things is nothing.

But, maybe I'm trying to trick myself into believing all those hours solving complex thermodyanimcs problems wasn't a complete waste. Definitely did some character building earning my degree.

 

[displacedtexan]

Lots of good advice already, and I don't think I'm the best at this stuff.

But I know the wife and I are way better off than most of our peers.

Debt isn't your friend, but credit is. Debt isn't the devil though.

When we buy tires, appliances, etc... We use a card with 0% interest for xx months. No hit to savings, less disruption to monthly cash flow, and the exact same out of pocket.

Don't worry about what others have. Worry about a budget to work towards your goals, in a responsible way. I wanted a new rifle for a hunt this fall. I could have charged a Cooper or whatever. Instead I paid cash for a lightly used Remington 700.

 

[huntnful]

Ima add some perspective to the discussion.

I’m 39, a degreed engineer, have my MBA, work as a Program Manager for a govt contractor, and many see this as a great job (and I have worked really hard to get it), but I don’t make anywhere close to $175k a year.

If’n my son/daughter were getting ready to graduate HS this May, I’d tell him/her to figure out how to get a business degree and trade experience at the same time. Maybe start school at a juco and work part time learning a trade. Work hard at that trade but more importantly learn it, and learn the business (learn the customers). Graduate with your degree and work a couple more years full time but setting up your exit in your spare time. Then quit, start your own gig, work hard for a few years growing it, and then sell it or hire an office manager and mail it in for the rest of your life.

This is a good perspective also. There are many great avenues! They all involve hard work and commitment no doubt!

I personally hated school and learning stuff I didn’t care about. I went to a trade school straight of high school. I had already made $500k welding before most people got done getting their degrees and collecting loan debt that they have to continue to pay on. There is always an outlier that excels in schooling and end up making a killing in the long run though. But if it were me, my kid would go to a trade school for something they enjoyed. My friends and I are all in the trades. We were all the country-kid screw ups lol. don’t think any of us make less than $150k hahaha. But that’s also with California wages and having to live here .

 

[StuckoYota99]

Put in money into a retirement account and a separate out of sight out of mind emergency fund. Don't drink, smoke, or eat out everyday.

Money is the #1 or 2 cause for divorce I believe so communicating with your future spouse about finances is a big deal.
Combined income with no kids is badass.

Work harder than the next guy and add value to yourself. Always be learning and challenging yourself. That will make you more valuable to the company and should resut in better pay.
But remember to enjoy life and be a guy. Save up and go make memories on that hunting trip instead of getting that new scope or rifle.
You can't buy back time.

 

[CorbLand]

If the goal is to 100% make the most money the fastest, then sure I guess skip college.

If the goal is to be happy, then I'd keep my recommendation the same, knowing I had some of the best times of my life and met lifelong friends in college. I think it can be valuable for networking, too.

While the time may be valuable, $20k in the grand scheme of things is nothing.

But, maybe I'm trying to trick myself into believing all those hours solving complex thermodyanimcs problems wasn't a complete waste. Definitely did some character building earning my degree.

I just think we cram college down kids throats. I am young at 30 years old and I cannot remember a time from about 6th grade that we weren't told "go to college, get a good job, sit at a desk, etc." Not once did anyone ever tell me about trade school.

If you want to be an accountant, your going to find a benefit of a four year or even graduate level degree. If you want to be an engineer, its the same.

If you want to start your own business mowing lawns. Four years of college is not going to teach you what you need to know. Dont waste your time and money.

 

[CorbLand]

There are so many aspects to running a business besides the trade itself, though. I started working full time at 16 and took high school through a correspondence course. I had 10 years of experience by my mid 20s and my brother and I started our own. We had to learn a lot of the administrative aspects through trial and error, which has worked, but not without some bumps. 1 or 2 years of classes on accounting, etc would have been a huge help. Knowing how to set prices, for example, should be a simple thing, and yet most business owners have probably struggled to properly value their work.

Honestly, never was I taught any of that in college. I think you would be better off working for someone for 5 years, learning all of that, then going out on your own. You would be better of losing 20 grand undervaluing yourself then spending 20 grand to get an education.

I think something that is being lost is the idea that you can work for someone to learn an industry and then go out on your own. People have done this for years. My brother worked for someone for 8 years, wanted to be partners with them and they told him maybe he would make partner in 15 year. He quit 6 months later to start his own business. When he quit they asked him why. He told them why would I wait 15 years to maybe make partner, when I could be partner tomorrow and build to where you are in 15 years?

 

[WCB]

Money is the #1 or 2 cause for divorce I believe so communicating with your future spouse about finances is a big deal.
Combined income with no kids is badass.

But remember to enjoy life and be a guy. Save up and go make memories on that hunting trip instead of getting that new scope or rifle.
You can't buy back time.

I believe marriage is the #1 cause of divorce so money must be #2

 

[woods89]

Honestly, never was I taught any of that in college. I think you would be better off working for someone for 5 years, learning all of that, then going out on your own. You would be better of losing 20 grand undervaluing yourself then spending 20 grand to get an education.

I think something that is being lost is the idea that you can work for someone to learn an industry and then go out on your own. People have done this for years. My brother worked for someone for 8 years, wanted to be partners with them and they told him maybe he would make partner in 15 year. He quit 6 months later to start his own business. When he quit they asked him why. He told them why would I wait 15 years to maybe make partner, when I could be partner tomorrow and build to where you are in 15 years.

You can't cherry pick some classes to get at least some understanding of those concepts?
100% agree with your second paragraph.

 

[CorbLand]

You can't cherry pick some classes to get at least some understanding of those concepts?
100% agree with your second paragraph.

To an extent you can and it would probably be better if you went a bigger college than I did. I wouldn't waste time on a full degree if you want to start your own business. One semester would provide you everything you need to know. Hell, I learned more in a four hour YouTube video about Excel then I learned in a full semester class about Excel.