All Forum Posts by: Evan T. Ong

Quote from @Alecia Loveless:

@Evan T. Ong To me the actual EXPERIENCE of college was more important than the degree itself. I moved away from home into a new area that had totally different views than people in my home town did. For the first time I had a credit card (pay it off every month) and bills to pay. I had to learn to navigate public transportation which was non existent where I grew up. I met people from other backgrounds, religions, and cultures that I had never been exposed to before.

If you can find an affordable way to get a degree it should hopefully improve your earning potential. I would recommend picking a major that has high earnings potential, not something like a degree playing the Trombone.

Think about your current passions and what you might enjoy doing first the next 10-15 years while you begin your investing journey.

If you’re really interested in real estate you can even get a degree in it if you want to, I know one university that at least used to have a good real estate degree was the University of North Texas. I’m sure there are many.

I would recommend continuing to educate yourself on real estate if you’re interested. Read more books. There’s a learning curve in getting started but once you are in control of your own self once you turn 18 you will be free to buy a house hack and get started.

I didn’t really get started investing until I was 43 and now 5 years later at 48 I’m just about financially free. I’ve never made more than $45,000 at a W-2. So financial freedom can be achieved on a small income. It would have been easier if I had made more. My point is that you can easily achieve financial freedom by the time you’re 30-35 if you work at it.

 Thank you for sharing your story! I enjoy learning about others and the experiences. College COULD give me great education, I'm just unsure if the dorm life or the fees are worth it. I'm happy you shared your story. Much appreciated!

Quote from @Denis Ponder:

Quote from @Evan T. Ong:

Quote from @Denis Ponder:

Tough spot to be in.

First, it sounds like your parents really want what they think is best for you; that's great!  On the flip side, there is some conditional love at play here that you need to think through.  If left unchecked, conditional love can control your life.  If you aren't doing or pursuing anything unethical or immoral, once you are of age, you should go and pursue whatever you desire.  Just make sure you understand the outcomes/consequences.  Be calculated about it.  Until then, you have a duty to honor your parents so long as you can legally and safely do so.  I think most adults, at some stage, had to set boundaries with their parents for a myriad of reasons.  Their love and involvement appears to be well intentioned, be grateful and thankful for that.

You have choices to make, but each choice will provide its own set of challenges, consequences, hurt, disappointment, joy, reward, etc.  You have to analyze those possible outcomes and determine what you are comfortable with.  Is your pursuit of what you want more important to you than the approval of your parents?  That's a tough question to wrestle with.

Remember, parents are doing their best to protect and provide for their kids.  We don't have an instruction manual, crystal ball to the future, or a road map with guaranteed outcomes.  The world is an incredible place full of opportunity, but you need to understand how to navigate it and what you are comfortable accepting and rejecting.  It sounds like your parents want to set you on a path that has a high probability of some level of success and safety for your life.  That's admirable.  Your parents are striving to teach you some fantastic characters traits!  You are blessed.

Sometimes, people want more than that.  Or, they just want to get there on their own terms.  Or, they want something completely different for their lives.  Nothing wrong with any of that.

I needed to hear this. Thank you very much for this response. I don't have the wisdom and experience like them, and the thought of adulthood is getting to me. I know they love me and I reciprocate. They wish me the best, which is why I want to get my adulthood down right. I hope I can pay them back one day (a huge sum of money maybe) to improve their life, the way they did mine. It's thanks to people like you who've reached out to me that make me feel more motivated about what's up ahead. I'll achieve financial independence 👍!

Sounds like you have a great perspective!  The only thing I would challenge is getting adulthood down "right".  I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that, but this implies there is a right and wrong.  Perhaps shifting your mental to approach to a continuum of "Least Optimal" to "Most Optimal" is better phrasing.  I firmly believe many things in life belong on a spectrum of "Least to Most" rather than thinking of things strictly in terms of black and white, right vs wrong.  Either way, you are wrestling with some great questions for your age.  Keep being curious!  The beauty of being an adult is you get to define success however you want.  Define it, then pursue it.

 I learned that I have to work on phrasing things 😅. What I mean is that I want to achieve all my financial goals in the decades I'll grow up and to be happy every step of the way. My life is getting more abstract and complex, and I want that maximum optimal for myself!

Quote from @Denis Ponder:

Tough spot to be in.

First, it sounds like your parents really want what they think is best for you; that's great!  On the flip side, there is some conditional love at play here that you need to think through.  If left unchecked, conditional love can control your life.  If you aren't doing or pursuing anything unethical or immoral, once you are of age, you should go and pursue whatever you desire.  Just make sure you understand the outcomes/consequences.  Be calculated about it.  Until then, you have a duty to honor your parents so long as you can legally and safely do so.  I think most adults, at some stage, had to set boundaries with their parents for a myriad of reasons.  Their love and involvement appears to be well intentioned, be grateful and thankful for that.

You have choices to make, but each choice will provide its own set of challenges, consequences, hurt, disappointment, joy, reward, etc.  You have to analyze those possible outcomes and determine what you are comfortable with.  Is your pursuit of what you want more important to you than the approval of your parents?  That's a tough question to wrestle with.

Remember, parents are doing their best to protect and provide for their kids.  We don't have an instruction manual, crystal ball to the future, or a road map with guaranteed outcomes.  The world is an incredible place full of opportunity, but you need to understand how to navigate it and what you are comfortable accepting and rejecting.  It sounds like your parents want to set you on a path that has a high probability of some level of success and safety for your life.  That's admirable.  Your parents are striving to teach you some fantastic characters traits!  You are blessed.

Sometimes, people want more than that.  Or, they just want to get there on their own terms.  Or, they want something completely different for their lives.  Nothing wrong with any of that.

I needed to hear this. Thank you very much for this response. I don't have the wisdom and experience like them, and the thought of adulthood is getting to me. I know they love me and I reciprocate. They wish me the best, which is why I want to get my adulthood down right. I hope I can pay them back one day (a huge sum of money maybe) to improve their life, the way they did mine. It's thanks to people like you who've reached out to me that make me feel more motivated about what's up ahead. I'll achieve financial independence 👍!

Quote from @JD Martin:

Quote from @Evan T. Ong:

I apologize and I think I have to rephrase: I do understand I have to work for a few years, that I'm fine with. That's one of the lessons in First to a Million  in fact. I'm not trying to dodge all work, I just don't want be attached to a job when I'm older, hence I'm brainstorming ways to find side hustles (not old enough to get a job yet) to build up savings and investment money. I appreciate all criticism in pointing out my lack of knowledge. Thank you.

 What state do you live in that doesn't allow you to work at 15? You might have to get a parent sign off but most places let you work as young as 13 or 14 with parental consent. 

If that's the case, then your next best bet is really concentrate on your studies. A scholarship because of good grades is huge, as school debt can really be a drag on your economic future depending on your profession.

There are jobs, only problem is that my parents aren't fine with them and prefer I work at 16. I should be able to land an upcoming summer job.

I apologize and I think I have to rephrase: I do understand I have to work for a few years, that I'm fine with. That's one of the lessons in First to a Million  in fact. I'm not trying to dodge all work, I just don't want be attached to a job when I'm older, hence I'm brainstorming ways to find side hustles (not old enough to get a job yet) to build up savings and investment money. I appreciate all criticism in pointing out my lack of knowledge. Thank you.

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.)

I want to be able to own shopping centers/malls and hotels one day, so books that can cover those topics. I want to be able to negotiate for them, get them for cheap, management, selling, etc.

I've always wanted to read HOLD. But I can't find that book at Amazon or my Barnes and Nobles. How'd you get your copy of HOLD?

I'm keeping a list of all the real estate books I need to read in the future and I want to be able to own some commercial real estate properties (large or small) someday too. I didn't see a Biggerpockets book on commercial properties (maybe there is one that I didn't find) and I don't know which book to buy or which author to trust on Amazon. If you have any recommendations on any commercial real estate books, please let me know.

Thank you everyone for the advice! A lot of my stresses and gripes have been cleared. If you don't mind, I do have additional things I would like to ask:

- Once a get a job and my first property, how do I manage my time with working at the job, planning on my property/other financial decisions and have free time for myself?

- Is college a good idea? Finding these deals and being involved will take a lot of time and college has the risk of adding heavy debt. There are a lot of criticisms about college in the US right now, but some people declare college as a neccessity. 

- When do I apply for a loan in the process of me getting a deal? Is there free time in a deal where I can get my loan ready? Or do I get my loan ready first, just in case I get rejected by lenders? Or is the other way around, where I want to back out of a deal? Does the lender have to wait to put the mortgage payment in action until I buy the property?