Money advice for a 19 year old

[woods89]

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.

Interesting. And yes, if you are of a mind to learn YouTube is a massive opportunity.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

One more thing, don't be a ten cent millionaire. As in, don't make $60K a year and spend like you make $250k. A lot of people do just that. But being 19 and seeking advice, I doubt you would do that.

 

[CorbLand]

OP. I am going to give you some perspective on why my opinions are the way that they are. I grew up in a small potato town in Idaho. Growing up you were going to work in the potato fields, or take over the family business. The town never grew enough to support anything more than what was already established. My grandpa started a business, my dad took it over and guess what? My brothers and I were going to do the same.

Then, my dad passed away and my mom had to leave that town to go get an education. My mom always played it safe, mostly out of necessity. She had a 12, 10 and 4 year old to raise by herself. She got her degree and is a teacher. All she did was teach us kids to play it safe. Go to college, get a degree, work for the government for 40 years. My mom was an amazing mom and did a hell of a job given the cards she was dealt but she never taught any of us to take risks.

All three of us kids did just that. My older brother has a graduate degree in accounting. He worked for firms for the last 8 to 9 years and just last year finally went out on his own. My other brother married a girl that is a pharmacist. He is pretty much a stay at home dad and his wife works for a hospital. Me, I went to college got a four year degree in finance and work for the university I attended. I am so proud of my oldest brother for breaking the generational curse of not taking risk. It really is that, a curse.

I love my job and what I do. It is a good gig and provides me a lot of free time but I am looking for my out to go do something on my own terms. Last I heard, the university is saying that we haven't seen "a sufficient level of cost of living to justify anything more than the standard 3% raise." They pull that and they will be getting the deuces from me pretty quick.

 

[ETtikka]

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.

yep, what he said

 

[ElGuapo]

Books: Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Also: The Richest Man in Babylon

I really disagree with getting too wrapped up with Dave Ramsey.

Find videos on YouTube about “House hacking”.

Learn to invest in Real Estate, Income properties, and learning to use Debt to create wealth and freedom for yourself. Likely when you’re 40, you’ll figure out that Time is what you’re really seeking.

If you get on this train now, and stay after it, it’s likely you can be financially free by the age of 30, and you’ll understand what real freedom is. Good luck and the fact you are asking now, means your head is in a good place.

 

[long hunter]

Uncle sam is hiring, example have a nephew went in the Navy at 18, nucelar program, submarines, just retired with 20 years under his belt, each re-up made a big bonus. Now has power companies that work with nucelar beating his door down. My hunting buddys grandson is getting ready to do the same thing. O but 20 years is a long time you say, wrong its just a drop in the bucket. Do not live for today but think down the road as in what do I want 40-50 years from now. I put 31 years in a job that I totally hated but it is paying off now, and knew it would if I busted my ass.

 

[CorbLand]

Interesting. And yes, if you are of a mind to learn YouTube is a massive opportunity.

Like you, I am just a person on the internet but that is my opinion. If you want to start a business and build it into a corporation, then I would go to college but if you just want to run a small business, dont waste your time or money.

A lot of the farmers I grew up around told each of their kids that they wouldn't get the farm until they had a college degree though. So there could be something in there that I am missing.

 

[Customweld]

Like you, I am just a person on the internet but that is my opinion. If you want to start a business and build it into a corporation, then I would go to college but if you just want to run a small business, dont waste your time or money.

A lot of the farmers I grew up around told each of their kids that they wouldn't get the farm until they had a college degree though. So there could be something in there that I am missing.

I think the farming of today is much more sophisticated than in generations past. Definitely more of a global and business presence to it.

 

[Mds2004]

My opinions on Dave Ramsey are that he is great for foundational fundamentals, but once you get your current finances in order then you can venture out to be riskier.

Having a budget is critical. Without knowing where your money is going and how to spend or allocate it, you won't have any extra money to save or invest.

For example, when I first got married ten years ago (I'm still young at 35) my wife and I had disagreements due to finances and where the money was going. Through the Dave Ramsey class, we were able to sit down, discuss finances, and come up with an agreed-upon budget. We then focused on our credit card debts and saved up a decent emergency fund.

Because we knew that we could stick to our budget, we jumped off of Ramsey's plan towards a Robert Kiyosaki mindset and purchased a property to rent out. Ramsey would be upset because all debt is bad debt, whereas Kiyosaki believes in categorizing debt into good debt (investments) and bad debt ($5k rifle).

So my initial advice would be to create a budget to $0 knowing where every penny goes, and follow it. Of course, be fair to yourself on spending money instead of having to live on rice and beans depending on your goals. Ramsey believes in a cash-only system which I think does work great, but only for those who have no self-control. If you are able to follow your budget, use your credit cards for points and pay them off weekly/bi-weekly/monthly.

With your budget for investments building, you can decide on how you want to invest. If using them on investments that payout immediately, use those payments towards the investment debt or another investment as much as possible.

Lastly, another good book to read is The Millionaire Next Door, about not having to look rich to be wealthy. As others have suggested most people with nice things are in more debt. Don't get me wrong...my wife and I have some nice things...but they are things we have budgeted for and mostly paid in cash.

 

[Loggerdude]

I worked hard side hustled everything I could’ my best return was flipping houses every two years. Buy them live in them fix them up and sell. Live within your means, only a property payment no other debt other than a line of credit for house remodel. I had no experience going into it but learned everything I could. And then came the university of youtube, schooling can be overrated imo.

 

[displacedtexan]

Uncle sam is hiring, example have a nephew went in the Navy at 18, nucelar program, submarines, just retired with 20 years under his belt, each re-up made a big bonus. Now has power companies that work with nucelar beating his door down. My hunting buddys grandson is getting ready to do the same thing. O but 20 years is a long time you say, wrong its just a drop in the bucket. Do not live for today but think down the road as in what do I want 40-50 years from now. I put 31 years in a job that I totally hated but it is paying off now, and knew it would if I busted my ass.

Zero downside to being next in line for cannon fodder.

I'm not exactly anti military, but looking at it as a just a career with retirement in 20 years is beyond foolish if you ask me.

 

[HandgunHTR]

Zero downside to being next in line for cannon fodder.

I'm not exactly anti military, but looking at it as a just a career with retirement in 20 years is beyond foolish if you ask me.

As a former Navy Nuke, the advice that was given was pretty solid. He wasn't advocating being an 11B in the Marines, the Navy Nuclear program or CT program, quite a few Air Force technical ratings will get you 2-3 years of schooling that a lot of Universities will give you credit for, a solid technical education and actual work and leadership experience. Plus, if you don't want to do 20 (or more) many of those programs also come with some sort of "college bonus" on top of the GI Bill, so that after you do your 4 or 6, you can go straight to school. Now you have a degree, actual experience, and leadership skills. Trust me, that means something and you will quickly surpass your "peers" who just have the degree.
I did 10.5 years in the Navy, was able to get my undergrad while I was in (tuition assistance meant I didn't have any debt either). I am less than 50 years old now and am the General Manager for a parent company that has three companies under it. I live debt free, live in a nice house (not a McMansion), own my own hunting property and will be able to retire at 60 if I wish.

If the military isn't an option and you don't mind travel, get on with an industrial construction company and learn a trade. Our welders are paid 32-35 per hour plus 130/day per diem. Most of our projects offer at least 60 hours per week during our busy seasons (spring and fall). You can easily make $120K and only work 6-7months out of the year. Our Superintendents/PMs are making $225K+. None of them have college degrees. All of them are very smart guys, lead people well, and work exceptionally hard.
I also know quite a few guys who started in the field, made good money and put a lot of it away. After 5-10 years, they parleyed that into full time maintenance jobs with one of our customers, or took some of that money, went to school, got an Associates or Bachelors degree and entered the corporate world, or in most cases joined the management track in their old company or similar company.

There are lots of options. Just commit to one and work hard.

 

[long hunter]

Zero downside to being next in line for cannon fodder.

I'm not exactly anti military, but looking at it as a just a career with retirement in 20 years is beyond foolish if you ask me.

I done 8 in the Marine Corps 0351-0352 and last tour 8411 first tour helped evac siagon, my ass was in the grass no cannon fodder here, would of went 20 but got married and started a family, To much seperation from the wife and baby. Nothing foolish in defending your country.

 

[def90]

Money advice? Live within your means, learn how to budget, drink coffee and water you get from home instead of spending $8 everyday for your Starbucks or whatever and plastic bottled water. A used Remington 700 will kill as many elk as a new custom $2k rifle. Army surplus or Walmart camo works as good as $250 Sitka pants, don't buy in to the game. You will want a credit card to build up a credit history, that said get one with some sort of cash back or airlines miles benefits and pay it off every month.

There is nothing worse than being debt ridden.

 

[roosiebull]

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

Is that what you did at 19?

I agree with working hard, but the second part isn’t realistic… if he ends up with repetitive motion injuries that could effect his ability to earn a good living

 

[RS3579]

Read/audiobook, JL Collins The simple path to wealth.

 

[Dust Rider]

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

Keep your pecker in a condom.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Don’t assume that because someone has a $5k scope that their finances are in order, often it is quite the opposite…

People have mixed opinions about Dave Ramsey but for young guys, it’s a good place to start for financial advice.

Second for Dave Ramsey program for young people just starting out that haven't been taugh much financial literacy. His program is ideal for folks that don't already have a $hit ton of debt and responsibilities. Human nature encourages people to spend more as they make more, and if you're deliberate and disciplined as a young person you can save yourself a ton of money and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

 

[long hunter]

Is that what you did at 19?

I agree with working hard, but the second part isn’t realistic… if he ends up with repetitive motion injuries that could effect his ability to earn a good living

Well roosiebull, lets see I worked my ass off from the time I was about 10 years old, at 19 I was married and started a family, was putting my wife through college, serving my country in the Marine Corps, at 58 I retired a nice house paid for, totally no debt, and living rather well. Never lived above my means, you know keeping up with jonses type of thing, I can afford a 5 thousand dollar rifle if I wanted one but the remy 700 works just as good. Can hunt out west every other year, just sent the wife on a 10 day cruise with our granddaughter, I am not or had to pay some bimbo for 18-21 years for a 25 min. ride, SO YEA I GUESS THATS WHAT I DONE.

 

[roosiebull]

Keep your pecker in a condom.

Keep your lady on birth control… with the price of oil going up, a condom bill would be a big setback if he is anything like I was at 19