Wealth management for 18yo

[Jarod McGovern]

Hello all,

I am hoping to get some opinions on optimal wealth management for my long and short term goals.

Background: Currently 18yo in college. I have about 14k in savings, 5.5k in a Roth IRA (Which I will max out yearly) and another 6k in a brokerage account. I am projecting to bring home about 20k before taxes in work wages.

My long term goal is like most investors, financial freedom. However, I have short term goals. One major of which is real estate which I plan to pull the trigger on in the next 5-7 years. My question is this, should I be moving more of my cash into the stock market or is keeping it liquid good for my short term goal of buying real estate? I want to be able to gain wealth through real estate but also don’t want to lack in a market portfolio and loose out on unrealized gains especially because of my youth.

What should my allocation be? Any advice on anything?

[Benjamin Seibert]

Hey @Jarod McGovern that's a great question. I was in your shoes a few years ago. I always recommend a well balanced and diversified portfolio. I would continue to max out your Roth IRA and use the rest of the saved funds for real estate investing (after saving up 3-6 months of reserves). Building your plan this early on will set you on a great path. If you end up at the age of 22 with $15k in Roth IRA, $6k in brokerage and $20k-$30k to use for real estate you will be in a great spot.