After reading Dan Sheek's book, First to a Million, I've learned so much about personal finance and I'm thinking about my future life decisions (I'm 15 as of this post). But my parents are disputing the options that I've been thinking about. For more info, my family is in the middle class and are working through the typical American Dream. They don't have any experience investing. Disclaimer: I am in no way trying to talk bad about them or insinuate they're bad parents. I do love them, they've given me a life that not a lot of others have, and I'm truly grateful for them. But they don't seem to trust me or the ideas in Mr. Sheek's book. I've decided to not attend college, so I can achieve financial independence faster and to avoid student debt. But my mom won't let me not enroll. My dad is a bit more lenient about this. The only problem is that he wants me to save up and learn the value of earning money. These are good expectations, as the book wants me to get an income/earn more, which is step one. I'm okay with that, but he distrusts me so much on being able to not spend as much, which is step 2. Step 3, I have to save the difference between what I spend and what I earn. No problems there, but the last step is where things fall apart. Step 4, invest wisely. The book gives an overview on index funds and real estate. I have read many books over real estate the past few months, and it DOES seem like a great long-term investment for early financial freedom. But my dad, doesn't want me to own any, and suggests that I work at a franchise and just move up the coorporate ladder from there to get a feel of business and then he'll entrust me with his money to start opening more franchises.

That is the exact thing I'm trying to avoid.

I don't want to be dependent on making money via active income for that long of a time, I want PASSIVE income. But my dad says real estate is too risky and if I can't meet his expectations on being frugal or working the job, he'll send me to college! I have zero voice in this and I'm too afraid to even talk back. I don't know how I'll change their mind or get them to understand me. Can parents legally force me to attend a university? I want to be happy and free in my late twenties, like the book suggests, not worrying about operating these franchises. Maybe franchise owning/small commercial real estate is a good idea? But I'm not going to rise through the ranks, I'm soley working there part-time or full-time to make my first income, this isn't my sole path. And this really bothers me because I thought I could be the one to make my family wealthy, but my parents can't seem to see eye-to-eye with me and they'll distrust me even further.

In short, I just need help. I need a mentor to guide me on personal finance and investing, I want freedom and control over my life, I want the very people who raised me to just believe in me this once. I don't know everything and now I'm even more unsure.

Do my parents really know best? Was all my time reading about real estate worthless? How many information has been sugercoated or false? Can I even be financially independent in this situation?

Thank you for reading this, I've always known I'd be at my most uncomfortable when approaching adulthood and what's worse is I have no one on my side. Please answer any of these questions or suggest any advice on how I should handle this mess. If you're in Frisco or any nearby Texas city, and are willing to accept an intern to mentor who'd be willing to show me the ropes, please do...

At this point finding a mentor in the summer (anytime without school) would be my best card at the moment. I may be inexperienced, and thats why I need a mentor to be hard on me. I don't want to lose trust or fail to help my future mentor. I don't want all this knowledge to not be put to use when it was meant for me to pursue it sooner. I want everything I did to be worth it (reading about real estate, joining BiggerPockets, networking, etc.)

Dallas, Texas

2 Votes