What should I do when I'm 17 making 36,000 a year

Question

I finished school when I was 16 and now, I'm 17 years old and I'm making 36,000 a year from my w2 job, I know there's not much I could do as of right now but what should I do to set me up so when I turn 18 I can start my investing Journey. I will have about 15k-20k in liquid Cash when I turn 18. I listen to bigger pockets podcast about 5 hours a day, what else can I do to prepare myself and even make some more money right now?

Randall Alan · Answer

@Kaias Blanco

I will share with you some advice I got when I was about your age… maybe a few years older… I’m now 54… and this advice has served me well through the years; and it sounds so simplistic:   “You are where you are because you choose to be there.”

What that means is that the limits as you currently see them are self imposed.  The $36,000 a year for instance...  Think of that as a stepping stone to your next step up.  I don’t know where real estate fits in your future.  It sounds like somewhere… and if you want that to be now, you have to figure out how to step up to it.  You have to be willing to take a chance.  They don’t say “fake it till you make it” for no reason.   It’s that no one ever feels ready for the leap it takes for that next big step…. But eventually you take the leap… you decide to go for it and you tread water until you can swim to the next level of your future.

For me, I was about 20 attending a photography seminar as a store employee and the day I heard that phrase it hit me… I’m going nowhere being the employee. The next day I literally quit my job and went out on my own in photography, and did that job for another 20 years as my own boss… making way more than the $36,000! I wish I knew about real estate back then… but that didn’t come until age 47 for me. Today, 7 years later, I have 37 doors and real estate is my full time job managing those properties.

I doubt anyone can tell you exactly what course you should take… but if real estate is your goal, my suggestion is to go find your local real estate investment group that probably meets once a month and start rubbing shoulders with everyone there. Volunteer to help people with their projects for the sweat equity of knowledge and experience. Not only will you make good friends, you’ll make connections in the industry. Maybe a year or two goes by… but with a little age comes more respect… and maybe you partner with one of your new found real estate people and do a deal together. Maybe you bird dog and find a deal you can pull off with a partner and make 1/2 the profit. Step by step you are working your way to being an independent player where you can do the deal on your own eventually.

If you want to accelerate the process… find a position with a company in the real estate industry. Whatever field you are working in, tell yourself, “I am where I am because I am choosing to be here.” You simply need to choose to be in another place. In all reality it is as simple as that. That may translate to your start applying to real estate oriented jobs while you still work your day job… or more sweat equity on your days off to learn more and more. What you will find is that the synergy of your efforts, plus your new “aim” will lead you to something new… in the field you want to be in.

To show you the limits of your thinking… right now you could partner with a family member and buy a house / investment property… even though you are just 17.  Your name may not be on the title… but family will respect each other and honor your role and partnership in the deal.   So your age is just a perceived excuse.  it may not be your parent… maybe it is an aunt or an uncle or a grand mother who you can educate about real estate and get them excited too?  if you show them you can make 3-4 times what their cd is earning, you will get their attention!

if you have haven’t read “rich dad poor dad” you should do so for the encouragement it will give you. It’s a quirky story, but will open your eyes to a different perception of employment and how real estate can be a great vehicle to wealth.

I wish you all the best!

Randy

Mike Dymski · Answer

My daughter makes $25 per hour working at Starbucks while at school ($20 per hour plus tips).  Check around and see what's out there.  Check in with the local technical school.  There is a high demand for high paying trade work, often with scholarships and two year degrees.

Jaron Walling · Answer

Powerful, grounding, responses here. These are some of the best answers I've read in a while for a question like this.

Patrick Roberts · Answer

Once you're 18 with two years of job history, you can start by househacking with a primary and renting out any spare rooms or part of the house. In the meantime, stay focused on two things - piling up cash and upskilling.

For the upskilling part, start attending the local REI meetups in BR. Red Stick REIA is probably the largest, and The RING is the other. If you're going to go to college, start preparing for that. If not, start learning a trade if you aren't already (electrician, HVAC, plumber, etc). Trade skills are lucrative these days, can easily lead to you building your own business, and will put you miles ahead when it comes to flips and rehabs on properties. If you want to be more on the knowledge/digital side of skill, marketing is a good place to start. Marketing is core to every business in existence and is critically important in RE. These are just suggestions - find some overlap between your interests and your natural talents, and then figure out where that aligns in the market.

As someone else said, continue to soak up as much knowledge and info as you can - reading, podcasts, etc. You're absolutely on the right path.

I'm from BR. DM me if I can help - more than happy to help where I can.

What should I do when I'm 17 making 36,000 a year

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