Give financial advice to your 20yr-old self

[Brandaddy]

If I was to go back in time I would probably have myself read Rich Dad Poor Dad, then tell myself to start going to local business mastermind meetups and real estate investor meetups. Everything else would just fall into place then.

 

[malfeasance]

I'm working as a personal trainer in a local gym. Making about 40k/year with a few PT Certs. I dropped out of school at 16.

Most guys, especially those who dropped out of school at 16, are not making $40k at your age. Hell, lots of college graduates come out making less than that.

So at least back up and gain a little perspective. You are not doing so badly for a 23 year old.

You do, however, need a plan to develop your income over time. You don't want to be 50 and making $40,000 a year.

I don't know if that means staying in some sort of role in the physique industry or not, but a personal trainer at the local gym is probably not in the cards except as a stepping stone.

Save as much as you can. We live in a capitalist society. Capital is what make it run, not wages. Only what you save from wages is capital to be deployed. Set a percentage of your income and save it, no matter what. Redo your budget and make savings an item in the budget.

Forget crypto and all that other stuff. Might as well be chasing the lotto winning ticket.

Just invest in a low expense ratio index fund like VTSAX.

Then start focusing on how to increase your income. If you are staying in the physique industry, then start competing and winning, and once you know what it takes maybe you can help others do it for a fee. You can do that without leaving your day job.

You don't need a high school diploma to get an HVAC license (just as an idea). Once you learn the ins and outs, the savings (capital) you have accumulated will permit you to open your own business.

All of the wealthy persons I know own a business of some sort. Many of them started very small.

Rewards flow to capital. Labor only gets paid a part of what it produces. If that were not true, then the business would soon go under.

 

[koolio]

The HVAC advice from malfeasance is a good idea...I wished I had become a plumber...instead I was a teacher for 32 years...I would always say that although plumbers have to work with shit at least it doesn't talk back to you!...

 

[Brandaddy]

The HVAC advice from malfeasance is a good idea...I wished I had become a plumber...instead I was a teacher for 32 years...I would always say that although plumbers have to work with shit at least it doesn't talk back to you!...

I did a sheet metal apprenticeship (ductwork). Although I haven't worked in the field for a few years now I'm still glad in a way I got some experience and referrals because now if I failed as an investor I could always go back to sheet metal work and have a job starting within a week making enough to pay my bills and some.

 

[adamcarpenter]

Lots of good advice in this thread.

I will add, learn to serve the needs of others before you serve your own. Subconsciously we all vote on who goes to the top.

If you can treat the guys next to you and the guys beneath you just as good as the guys above you, they will all want to see you succeed.

Try to play as many win/win games as possible, and avoid playing I win/you lose games, even if you can get away with it.

There are plenty of competent losers out there that are stuck because they can’t figure out how to help PEOPLE. A huge part of success is about how well you can relate to others and how you treat them.

 

[trl01]

Buy a little book and write all your goas and wants out of this life, read it at least once a week. This helps to stay focused. Be ready to make sacrifices. Unfortunately like everyone else you got to start working for money so you one day get to have money working for you. Go to google and type highest paying jobs, most profitable business & most profitables markets, read and pick something. Go to Indeed, craiglist or any job searching engine. Pick a job that pays well, read the description, job duties & requirements. Learn those skills from youtube or google search. Make Resume, apply and lie your way into getting the job. This will give you something to start with and is more realistic than saving (maybe), crypto, etc. You cure sadness, depression and anxiety with MONEY. Once you get a higher income, you will feel better but you will get lazier so battle that. Making money is about sacrifices man. I'm early 20s as well, making 150k post taxes thank God & being a immigrant brown . Forget about woman, being social or even fitness. So many things can happen to you that you can overcome but being broke is the one thing that kills your soul.

Read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Hit me up anytime if you need more help. The fact that you are looking for help is the start & acknowledging that you dont have all the answers is the sign that you will be a high income earner soon. I did the same thing.

One last thing, if you want to have the life that nobody else gets to have, you need to do things that nobody is willing to do.

 

[WeightLossBurn]

Sign up with OnlyFans

 

[Demondosage]

Find an actual career. Fuck the gym as an income. Go get your GED, you said you'd do anything rt? Get some sort of cert that can actually get you a decent job with a future. You don't need to go any further than that, hell in this day and age competing with all of these other lazy fucks? Lmao. Anyone willing to work can be financially well off. But at least get a GED

 

[RackPuller]

Only fans,

or like me

Evolve as a spirit and discover that money and earthly material things as not real, what happen when you die you take your Gucci belt with you?

learn where you really can get your worth brother, money, house, even your wife girlfriend mother or any earthly support can be taken away at an instant, and your left there in your earth armor that you didn’t chose to be in. Now what? You look to the sky, you feel the moon on your earth armor, you curl some leave under your feet as you drag your toes across the carbon you stand on.

this is life, explore your mind, don’t be A prisoner of earth and western civilization.

 

[Jet Labs]

I'd tell my younger self to spend less on high quality hookers and go with lower quality hookers

 

[Demondosage]

Only fans,

or like me

Evolve as a spirit and discover that money and earthly material things as not real, what happen when you die you take your Gucci belt with you?

learn where you really can get your worth brother, money, house, even your wife girlfriend mother or any earthly support can be taken away at an instant, and your left there in your earth armor that you didn’t chose to be in. Now what? You look to the sky, you feel the moon on your earth armor, you curl some leave under your feet as you drag your toes across the carbon you stand on.

this is life, explore your mind, don’t be A prisoner of earth and western civilization.

That's great, till you realize that unless you outprice the dirtbags of society you learn you'll have to deal with the dirtbags of society on a regular basis. Then money sort of matters. I totally get your point though, don't let it consume you, but don't become a lazy hippie in the process either.

 

[RackPuller]

That's great, till you realize that unless you outprice the dirtbags of society you learn you'll have to deal with the dirtbags of society on a regular basis. Then money sort of matters. I totally get your point though, don't let it consume you, but don't become a lazy hippie in the process either.

The be aware of all ways of life is powerful, with that knowledge a person is able to play their cards right - and form their reality to suit their overall well-being. Imo and experience at least.

 

[Jet Labs]

To invest EVERYTHING in bitcoin come 2009!

 

[WeightLossBurn]

The true power of happiness is to treat everyone with respect. It will pay dividends in the form of well being. Treat money as a necessity, not a luxury and you will never feel poor.

 

[Demondosage]

The be aware of all ways of life is powerful, with that knowledge a person is able to play their cards right - and form their reality to suit their overall well-being. Imo and experience at least.

I'm with you, I've seen ppl with more money than they can spend who are absolutely miserable. Actually I see more ppl like that than ppl scraping by who are living in misery. I think what society deems successful is like chasing the horizon at times. Until you can live for you and say fuck everyone else's opinion then you won't be happy. I learned that no matter what I acquired that I never had before, it just didn't ultimately make me content and satisfied. Sometimes it just stressed me out even more

 

[Zerg]

Roth ira in an s&p index.

 

[Megadick3000]

Only fans,

or like me

Evolve as a spirit and discover that money and earthly material things as not real, what happen when you die you take your Gucci belt with you?

learn where you really can get your worth brother, money, house, even your wife girlfriend mother or any earthly support can be taken away at an instant, and your left there in your earth armor that you didn’t chose to be in. Now what? You look to the sky, you feel the moon on your earth armor, you curl some leave under your feet as you drag your toes across the carbon you stand on.

this is life, explore your mind, don’t be A prisoner of earth and western civilization.

Fuck that. Get rich or die trying!

Gonna quote my girl Oprah here “money cant buy you happiness but it can certainly pave the way for it”.

I reiterate my previous advice. Start a business. You dont need mich capital. Here do this. Find something you can sell on amazon that ppl will buy that you can double your investment on. Buy $1000 worth from China and sell for $2000. Do NOT spend that $2000 instead buy $2000 worth of more stock sell that for $4000 and keep repeating until the sum of money becomes life changing.

Fuck these guys with their index funds, ya you can earn 5% a year on your $1000 wow your going places... not. You could buy $1000 worth of something and resell for $2000 doubled your money in a week. Amazon. Ebay. When your booming enough launch your own ecommerce website too. You dont need a wharehouse stockpile in your personal pad, no overhead, pure profit. I ran my business out of a laundry room from $350 to a million, zero overhead, pure profit, 3 years rags to riches.

Stocks aint worth it until your playing with serious capital or your betting on penny stocks to make you rich but thats no better than buying lotto tickets.

 

[RackPuller]

Fuck that. Get rich or die trying!

Gonna quote my girl Oprah here “money cant buy you happiness but it can certainly pave the way for it”.

I reiterate my previous advice. Start a business. You dont need mich capital. Here do this. Find something you can sell on amazon that ppl will buy that you can double your investment on. Buy $1000 worth from China and sell for $2000. Do NOT spend that $2000 instead buy $2000 worth of more stock sell that for $4000 and keep repeating until the sum of money becomes life changing.

Fuck these guys with their index funds, ya you can earn 5% a year on your $1000 wow your going places... not. You could buy $1000 worth of something and resell for $2000 doubled your money in a week. Amazon. Ebay. When your booming enough launch your own ecommerce website too. You dont need a wharehouse stockpile in your personal pad, no overhead, pure profit. I ran my business out of a laundry room from $350 to a million, zero overhead, pure profit, 3 years rags to riches.

Stocks aint worth it until your playing with serious capital or your betting on penny stocks to make you rich but thats no better than buying lotto tickets.

Im going to live in the wilderness.

 

[Brandaddy]

Fuck that. Get rich or die trying!

Gonna quote my girl Oprah here “money cant buy you happiness but it can certainly pave the way for it”.

I reiterate my previous advice. Start a business. You dont need mich capital. Here do this. Find something you can sell on amazon that ppl will buy that you can double your investment on. Buy $1000 worth from China and sell for $2000. Do NOT spend that $2000 instead buy $2000 worth of more stock sell that for $4000 and keep repeating until the sum of money becomes life changing.

Fuck these guys with their index funds, ya you can earn 5% a year on your $1000 wow your going places... not. You could buy $1000 worth of something and resell for $2000 doubled your money in a week. Amazon. Ebay. When your booming enough launch your own ecommerce website too. You dont need a wharehouse stockpile in your personal pad, no overhead, pure profit. I ran my business out of a laundry room from $350 to a million, zero overhead, pure profit, 3 years rags to riches.

Stocks aint worth it until your playing with serious capital or your betting on penny stocks to make you rich but thats no better than buying lotto tickets.

I do mainly agree with this. Focusing on sticking your money in index funds and working hard at a 9-5 is basically condemning yourself to work at your job for plenty of years to come. There are definitely faster ways to reach financial freedom before traditional retirement age.

Flipping products is a pretty easy way to do it. I remember starting out flipping weed and now I flip real estate.

The only thing I would add is to not limit yourself to an online store. You can flip used cars, motorcycles, trailer houses, scrap items, storage units and estate sales, etc. To people who aren't familiar with flipping things, it literally is as simple as finding something cheaper than what you know you could turn around and sell it for, add some additional value if you can, and selling it for a markup. It really isn't rocket science and can be done with basically anything. Even sources on here are just gear flippers. They get raws from someone, finish the product and sell for a markup.

The reason I like real estate is you can have your cake and eat it too. You get great tax savings, equity from appreciation, equity from loan pay downs, tax deferrals on like kind exchanges, and obviously that awesome passive income every month.

 

[Megadick3000]

I do mainly agree with this. Focusing on sticking your money in index funds and working hard at a 9-5 is basically condemning yourself to work at your job for plenty of years to come. There are definitely faster ways to reach financial freedom before traditional retirement age.

Flipping products is a pretty easy way to do it. I remember starting out flipping weed and now I flip real estate.

The only thing I would add is to not limit yourself to an online store. You can flip used cars, motorcycles, trailer houses, scrap items, storage units and estate sales, etc. To people who aren't familiar with flipping things, it literally is as simple as finding something cheaper than what you know you could turn around and sell it for, add some additional value if you can, and selling it for a markup. It really isn't rocket science and can be done with basically anything. Even sources on here are just gear flippers. They get raws from someone, finish the product and sell for a markup.

The reason I like real estate is you can have your cake and eat it too. You get great tax savings, equity from appreciation, equity from loan pay downs, tax deferrals on like kind exchanges, and obviously that awesome passive income every month.

I agree you can flip a profit off alot of things not just online so definitely be open to opportunities. Onlines beauty is the semi-automation of it all and worldwide reach.

Once you got the capital snowballed up flipping lower value stuff, you buy real estate, either to flip or to BRRR which is to buy, rent, refinance, repeat. If going the BRRR route then Ideally go for a multi-unit that will pay its own mortgage, building you the equity and possibly cashflow depending on the deal you get. You can then access the equity built up after a few years and use that to fund another purchase in a BRRR scheme to expand your portfolio using its own equities inertia to power it financially. Keep repeating, ive spoken to guys doing this who buy 2-3 properties a year for BRRR there is a snowball compounding effect on this process where it gets easier to do the bigger your portfolio is. The hardest property to buy will be your first one so if you achieve that you can definitely achieve building an entire real estate portfolio using leverage.

Flipping houses can be very profitable but it can also be harder than it looks especially if your factoring in doing renovations. Definitely want to do your homework before you make an attempt less you end up taking a big loss.