Investing Advice for young people w/ no experience

[Olivia Umoren]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Olivia, I'm 24 y/o and a 2016 grad from Penn State. I'm a lifelong resident of Boston and I'm looking to start investing in the next year or two (not in Boston, but surrounding and more affordable areas) but I'm trying to figure out a strategy and plan. I work a full time job and a part time job and have good credit. Currently living at home to save money while paying for student loans, car note, car insurance and other bills. I've heard a lot of different opinions outside of BP but I wanted to ask for some advice. Some people say "don't wait until you have the perfect amount of money saved, just dive in!" and others say "make sure you are somewhat financially stable before you buy your first property." I am a bit overwhelmed/lost on what I should do and what makes more sense right now given my financial responsibilities. 

If anyone has any advice or would like to share their own personal story of how they got started in a similar situation it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Olivia

[Stephen Akindona]

I think people that tell you have to have your financial situation together are giving good solid advice from a conservative point of view. Some of us though, are a little more comfortable with risk and will tell you to jump right in. When I was starting out I had “0” money saved, no reserves, no plan except I knew that I wanted to own real estate. I bought our first rental creatively with none of my own cash. I owned that rental and literally used the cash flow to build up a reserve account. So neither strategy is right or even better than the other it boils down to who you are and your risk tolerance. If something had gone wrong in the first year of owning my rental I would have been in trouble but with the same breath I would say, I was laser focused and I would have figured it out and if you decide to jump in so will you! I think what you really should be thinking about is who you are are you aggressive and want to throw all your chips in? Or are you more reserved and methodically and want to patiently start to invest? Both ways work! It is important however that you still know how to analyze deals and buy only GOOD deals because neither approach works if you buy bad deals! Just my two cents! Good luck and happy investing.