Newbie from Fort Worth, TX (Cleburne) - Fairly lengthy intro

[Brady Wise]

Hi everyone! I stumbled upon this forum by just searching the ol' google for some info on how to get started in real estate investing. I liked what I was reading and figured I'd give this site a go...so here I am.

First off I will give you a short introduction, if you are interested please keep on reading as I go more in depth about not only myself, but my goals that I have set for myself. So here it goes...my name is Brady Wise, I am a 19 year old college student currently living at home (soaking up not having any bills) and working at my families optical store. The reason I am here, obviously, is because I would like to someday begin a career in real estate investing. Until then, I would like to learn everything and anything there is to know about it, that way when that day comes, I'll be ready.

Currently I work as an optician/lab technician at a small chain of optical stores owned by my parents in Burleson, Cedar Hill, and Granbury. I have the blessing of having wonderful parents who are willing to do anything they can to help me get a jump start on life. They fully support what I want to do with my life and have granted me the opportunity to allow me to stay at home with no bills of any sort, gave me a very well paying job, and have funded my schooling, until I am ready to go off on my own.

One question that I have always had that I have never been able to get a real answer on is...am I attending college for no reason? If all I am really wanting to do is flip houses and rent out duplexes/apartments, is there any need for any sort of degree? Or is there some degree I could achieve that would further enhance my skills as an investor?

As I stated above, from what I've been reading and have grown an interest from over the past couple years...house flipping and renting out duplexes and apartments seem to be what I would like to get started with. From there, the sky is the limit as far as what I am comfortable with trying to achieve. Any tips on certain blogs or forums I should begin with?

Now for my goals...I've done the math. I plan on staying at home and working my you-know-what off for another 3-4 years or so. With my hourly pay, and commission on what I sell, my goal would be to walk away with anywhere from $120k-$175k to start investing with. What should I do first? I was leaning towards a live-in-flip that my girlfriend (assuming we are still together) could move into and transform into my first real money-making investment. What from there?

One of my goals is by the time I am 30 years old to make my first million. I know that is a rather large goal at my age, but I do believe I have the drive and the determination to make it happen. I don't want to stop there, though. My ultimate goal is to really just live life completely worry free, financially speaking, and start a family that I will be able to fully support with anything they need. I want to get as early of a jump on things as I can, learn everything I can, and help many others along the way.

I want to thank everyone who comments and answers some of my questions in advance. I truly appreciate any advice you all are willing to give and will take every bit of it into consideration. I am looking forward to becoming a more involved member of this community and learning as much as my poor brain can take!

Thank you all and God Bless!

-Brady

[Ronn Johnstone]

@Brady Wise --Welcome to BP. I'm a college man, so I'm jaded. But to me an educated man in a wiser man. And I think there are several major's that would be a great asset to your plans; economics, small businesses management, marketing, finance, entrepreneurship--a great major if your college offers it (just check out how many posts on BP are inquiring as to where to find financial backing). Sure, you could learn most of this through the school of hard knocks, but why takes the knocks when you can just learn it?

I like the idea of making your first million in 21 years--do it!

Welcome again,

Ronn