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