My dream life planned out.

[Skyline]

I'm gonna write down my path to my dream life in case I get distracted, which is highly unlikely but you never know...

- Work out, stay away from hard drugs, and keep an open mind. Never stop improving.

- Build my Credit score.

- Study my butt off to get an Associates in Criminal Justice by the time I'm 21, and hopefully get a scholarship to a university.

- Enroll in the Academy and graduate a year later.

- Apply around town for a Patrol Officer position, I should be 22 years old. And do my absolute best to be the best in my class and set a perfect example for everyone. And making sure I don't die or get severely injured. This part in my life is CRITICAL.

- Once I get a position, I'm gonna go after my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice at a University. If I can't afford it because I didn't get a scholarship, I'll just take out a student loan since I'll be able to pay it off anyways. This part is going to be difficult as I will be working 8-10 hours a day 4-5 days a week and then studying for college.

- Hopefully I graduate with my Bachelors in two years, so I should be about 24 by this time.

- I'm gonna save up about $150k to put down on a $250k-$300k house on a 30 year plan. My payments shouldn't exceed more than $900 a month. I'll be around 25-26 at this time. And yes, I'll still be living with mommy until then.

- By the time I buy my house, I should be promoted to Police Sergeant. My salary then SKY ROCKETS to about $72k a year compared to $43k(as a patrol officer).

- Make absolutely SURE that I train and hire the BEST, or potentially best, officers I can find. If one of my officers does something blatantly stupid, I'm not going to go easy on him/her. I will always try my absolute best to take responsibility for my officers as well, I'm going to be training them after all.

- By the time I'm 28, maybe even 29, I should have payed off my house completely and my student loan If I got one.

- When I'm 28/29, I'm going to walk into a certified Nissan dealership and buy a Pearl Black Black Edition Nissan GT-R for exactly $100k. Even If I don't have $100k, I can throw down about $50k and have it payed off next year. My dream was just then accomplished and I will probably cry.

- Hit up a bunch of clubs and live it up because I'm not even 30 and I'll be making more than $70k a year.

Not sure what I'm gonna do next, but after all of my living expenses I will have about $2500 a month to spend on whatever. I could probably start a family if I wanted to.

I was actually planning on retiring when I'm 50 because my pension would be half of about $72k, which is around $36k, which is livable but cutting it close for me in my opinion($200 maybe $300 left over after living expenses). So...

- I plan on going back to college and getting a teaching certificate so I can be a Driver's Ed teacher. Teachers make about $40k a year, stacked with my $36k pension... That's $75k+ a year plus I get ALL holidays and SUMMERS off. That sounds really nice to me in my opinion, plus I'll be the only teacher driving a car worth $100k.

I'll be retired at 52-54 and making stupid cash teaching a bunch of high school kids how to drive. I should probably start a family when I'm like 35-40 or something though.


Oh yeah, from age's 30-50 I'll have a mighty $400-500k in my bank. Once I become a teacher for 15, maybe 20 years, I'm going to have over a million dollars before I die.

So yeah, that's my plan. I'm sticking to it like GLUE.

 

[Rave18]

All the best

 

[speed dawg]

Half your battle is won, dude. You have a plan. Now make it happen and don't let anyone stop you.

 

[DaddyLongShanks]

I'm gonna write down my path to my dream life in case I get distracted, which is highly unlikely but you never know...

- Work out, stay away from hard drugs, and keep an open mind. Never stop improving.

- Build my Credit score.

- Study my butt off to get an Associates in Criminal Justice by the time I'm 21, and hopefully get a scholarship to a university.

- Enroll in the Academy and graduate a year later.

- Apply around town for a Patrol Officer position, I should be 22 years old. And do my absolute best to be the best in my class and set a perfect example for everyone. And making sure I don't die or get severely injured. This part in my life is CRITICAL.

- Once I get a position, I'm gonna go after my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice at a University. If I can't afford it because I didn't get a scholarship, I'll just take out a student loan since I'll be able to pay it off anyways. This part is going to be difficult as I will be working 8-10 hours a day 4-5 days a week and then studying for college.

- Hopefully I graduate with my Bachelors in two years, so I should be about 24 by this time.

- I'm gonna save up about $150k to put down on a $250k-$300k house on a 30 year plan. My payments shouldn't exceed more than $900 a month. I'll be around 25-26 at this time. And yes, I'll still be living with mommy until then.

- By the time I buy my house, I should be promoted to Police Sergeant. My salary then SKY ROCKETS to about $72k a year compared to $43k(as a patrol officer).

- Make absolutely SURE that I train and hire the BEST, or potentially best, officers I can find. If one of my officers does something blatantly stupid, I'm not going to go easy on him/her. I will always try my absolute best to take responsibility for my officers as well, I'm going to be training them after all.

- By the time I'm 28, maybe even 29, I should have payed off my house completely and my student loan If I got one.

- When I'm 28/29, I'm going to walk into a certified Nissan dealership and buy a Pearl Black Black Edition Nissan GT-R for exactly $100k. Even If I don't have $100k, I can throw down about $50k and have it payed off next year. My dream was just then accomplished and I will probably cry.

- Hit up a bunch of clubs and live it up because I'm not even 30 and I'll be making more than $70k a year.

Not sure what I'm gonna do next, but after all of my living expenses I will have about $2500 a month to spend on whatever. I could probably start a family if I wanted to.

I was actually planning on retiring when I'm 50 because my pension would be half of about $72k, which is around $36k, which is livable but cutting it close for me in my opinion($200 maybe $300 left over after living expenses). So...

- I plan on going back to college and getting a teaching certificate so I can be a Driver's Ed teacher. Teachers make about $40k a year, stacked with my $36k pension... That's $75k+ a year plus I get ALL holidays and SUMMERS off. That sounds really nice to me in my opinion, plus I'll be the only teacher driving a car worth $100k.

I'll be retired at 52-54 and making stupid cash teaching a bunch of high school kids how to drive. I should probably start a family when I'm like 35-40 or something though.


Oh yeah, from age's 30-50 I'll have a mighty $400-500k in my bank. Once I become a teacher for 15, maybe 20 years, I'm going to have over a million dollars before I die.

So yeah, that's my plan. I'm sticking to it like GLUE.

Solid plan except I'd retire at 65 instead with a few mills in the bank, house and cars owned.

Perhaps you won't have to work for anyone at 55 and can do your own business that is in something you enjoy.

 

[Skinnylove]

Damn a 19 yr old mod,
Nway,all the best dude,
plus I'd spice it up with some dance lessons
It really works.
Stick to it,or this post will haunt you..
All the best!

 

[Skyline]

All the best

Thanks man!

Half your battle is won, dude. You have a plan. Now make it happen and don't let anyone stop you.

Don't worry, I don't think anyone understands how much I want a Nissan GT-R. That car is literally a symbol for: "You made it in life" for me. I'll admit that it's pretty much my only motivation for me. As arrogant as this is going to sound, I honestly don't care about anyone or anything else as much as I care about that car.

Solid plan except I'd retire at 65 instead with a few mills in the bank, house and cars owned.

Perhaps you won't have to work for anyone at 55 and can do your own business that is in something you enjoy.

I was thinking about seeing the world so I don't want to be too old. I'll have Summer's off so this is perfect in my opinion. And of course I'll own a few tuned cars, and maybe even buy another GT-R for my son!

I'm not sure I want to start a business anymore but that could change down the road!

Damn a 19 yr old mod,
Nway,all the best dude,
plus I'd spice it up with some dance lessons
It really works.
Stick to it,or this post will haunt you..
All the best!

Thanks man, it's really not that difficult to be a Moderator here to be honest. I'm sure I'll spice up my life with A LOT of lessons, dancing included!

I will stick to my plan.

 

[Skinnylove]

Thanks man, it's really not that difficult to be a Moderator here to be honest.

Now that you mentioned it,how?

 

[Tenacity]

Excellent plan. Just like with business plans, you might end up modifying it here or there, but this is a very great start.

Most people at 19 have no career plan, and when I talk to them about creating one there's always a group of people in their ear saying how they are "too young" to have "life all figured out yet".

I don't know how anyone operates in the US today without an individual plan of action. How do you know where you are going, what it will take to get there, who you need to network with to get there, etc., if you have no damn plan or direction?

I can already tell you will be very successful, you most likely will be in the six figure range because at 19 you are already well ahead of a significant amount of men who are my age in terms of life direction.

 

[miketan70]

Good plan. Good luck!

 

[synergy1]

First - I like that you have a pretty structured plan for success. Having a blueprint like this gives you a good roadmap to preserver when things go wrong. That said, my only comment is as follows:

You need significantly more margin of safety in your financial figures. What I mean by that is that you assume very generous amounts of money ( coupled with a lifestyle of partying before 30). Now, I am not saying it isn't possible, but I earn more than 70k per year, live less expensively ( I barely party), and do not have 2500 of disposable income every month. Now, while these are only numbers and you can whip something up ..don't be dissapointed when "life" happens, and you do not have 150k before 25 even with a 70k salary. With that in mind, if you get even halfway there, you will be ahead of most people i know that earn 100k+ so that deserves a pat on the back.

To sum up - put in a bit more thought into your financial projections. Air on the side of conservatism. Add in margin of safety ( unexpected expenses).

Here is how I do it - I track over a time period what I spent on certain things and come up with an aggregated average. Some months I go out more than others, so the average over the months takes into account visits to the doctor, broken car, dates, etc.

That said, all the best to you. At 19, you have a good vision. you'll get there for sure!

 

[Tenacity]

Right what synergy said, also make sure you are efficiently managing all four portions of the financial management system including:

- Income

- Expenses

- Taxes

- Investments

Focus on making as much Income as you can, $70k - $100k in a GOOD cost of living area is excellent. But make sure your Expenses are being managed properly, if you are making $70k but spending $75k then you are operating at a personal "loss". This can happen if you have too many kids, have kids by the wrong chick(s), if you get married and then divorced, if you buy TOO much "car" or TOO much "house", if you have stupid addictions (escorts/strippers/sex, drinking, drugs, gambling, shopping), etc.

Also look at how to efficiently reduce your taxes, I would open up a small business on the side, maybe something home based. It will allow you to generate side revenue and turn a lot of your personal expenses into business deductions.

For Investments, you are 19, let's say you want to start at 21. If you put away just $5,000 a year starting at age 21 and let that go until age 65 (44 years) at just a very conservative rate of return at 5%, you will have almost $1 million by the age of 65! You can get that 5% very conservatively using Blue Chip Stocks and Conservative Bonds like Munis and High Grade Corporate. You don't even need to go after the riskier things to get that double digit annual return. Me personally, I'm just a 5% conservative guy , I'm not the type of guy that likes to log into my investment portfolio and see losses and just "wait them out"...that's not me!

 

[Starwolf]

let me see

if i want to save for 150k in the next 5 years i would have to save 80% of my salary each month


damn.. being a patrol officer sounds much better then being a programmer.


btw I need a financial mentor... reaching 30 now and haven't quite figured it out yet.
saving up for downpayment on a property on which i want to build rental properties

but thats it. some guidance?

 

[Skyline]

First - I like that you have a pretty structured plan for success. Having a blueprint like this gives you a good roadmap to preserver when things go wrong. That said, my only comment is as follows:

You need significantly more margin of safety in your financial figures. What I mean by that is that you assume very generous amounts of money ( coupled with a lifestyle of partying before 30). Now, I am not saying it isn't possible, but I earn more than 70k per year, live less expensively ( I barely party), and do not have 2500 of disposable income every month. Now, while these are only numbers and you can whip something up ..don't be dissapointed when "life" happens, and you do not have 150k before 25 even with a 70k salary. With that in mind, if you get even halfway there, you will be ahead of most people i know that earn 100k+ so that deserves a pat on the back.

To sum up - put in a bit more thought into your financial projections. Air on the side of conservatism. Add in margin of safety ( unexpected expenses).

Here is how I do it - I track over a time period what I spent on certain things and come up with an aggregated average. Some months I go out more than others, so the average over the months takes into account visits to the doctor, broken car, dates, etc.

That said, all the best to you. At 19, you have a good vision. you'll get there for sure!

Do you mind if you write down your monthly expenses for me?

 

[Bingo-Player]

Really nice plan, it really is so good you know what you want to do so early in life i wish i did and I’m a couple of years older than you

Be wary though life isn’t as straight forward as it sounds on paper........ Things are going to crop up that are going to be way out of your control, you will meet people who will distract you and lead you astray unfortunately this is life

The only way you’re going to get around it, is to be with very little social contact something i wouldn’t advise in your 20’s, as easy as it sounds to just resume life at 30 it isn’t

At 30 you are expected to know better, you’re expected to have a long term relationship; you’re expected to have quieter more sensible Saturday nights and you’re expected to have less casual sex

You may suddenly find yourself short of friends most of whom have spent the last 10 years partying and having sex and are now settled with partners and kids

I appreciated you say the car means more than anything else to you.....but what use is a nice car if you have nobody to show it off too or share it with ? i would love to buy a Mercedes AMG outright but i would need to trade 8 years of my life in for it and that isn’t something im prepared to do

Im 23 now and it feels about time to get a plan together ...dont get me wrong i probably have another 3 /4 years left of being able to “not give a sh1t” but i am ready to calm down a bit now only because i know i have pretty much covered everything i needed too in the last 5 years

Ive done my fair share of partying , drinking , drugs and all nighters I’ve let the club *****s slide on my c0ck , I’ve had the threesomes and the orgy’s ive had fast cars and I’ve been a big boy on the blackjack table

All of this has been invaluable life experience and stuff i will look back on in 20 years and laugh at

Be careful exchanging your youth to work your way up the system it could be something you regret later on

 

[Skyline]

That's for your input Bingo-Player, as well with everyone else's input I really appreciate it.

You're right about me not caring about anything or anyone else except the car and I'm prepared for life's force as well. I planned on not letting anyone or anything stand in my way but I didn't plan on avoiding social contact all together. Like I said, the time that I'm going to be an officer while doing part time college for my bachelor's degree is going to be the hardest part of my life.

I'm a very active hungry person so I can't really imagine me not talking to new people within that four years... But you're right about life happening. At the end of the day, I'm still gonna buy my GT-R.

 

[Vice]

Good that you have a plan.

Consider buying a duplex, triplex, or fourplex with the least amount of money down to leverage your money. This way you will get paid to live in the property since the other tenants will cover the mortgage and then some, assuming you buy right. This will also get you out of your parent's house and begin building wealth right away. Contrast that with saving for years to buy your own big pretty house, which, by the way, can be acquired faster since a bank will can use the money that your property generates as additional income, affording you a larger house if you choose to do so. I would personally acquire another investment property.

You goals are also very consumption-based; what are you going to do to offer value to society besides your job? Consider learning how to invest and make your money work for you instead of the other way around.

Think about the fact that the money that the property throws off you buy can easily pay for the car you want, (I'm certain that by the time you reach a certain level of financial sophistication you will probably want a different car, or, like myself, opt to drive a nondescript vehicle to not attract unwanted attention).

Lastly, don't be too concerned with outward indicators of status like $100k cars; no one really cares that you drive one, people with real wealthy will likely conclude that you're up to your eye balls in debt, people will be envious, and you'll be attracting the wrong kind of attention from people. I know a guy that drove an exotic for a few months and ended up selling it because of the latter.

 

[Skyline]

Good that you have a plan.

Consider buying a duplex, triplex, or fourplex with the least amount of money down to leverage your money. This way you will get paid to live in the property since the other tenants will cover the mortgage and then some, assuming you buy right. This will also get you out of your parent's house and begin building wealth right away. Contrast that with saving for years to buy your own big pretty house, which, by the way, can be acquired faster since a bank will can use the money that your property generates as additional income, affording you a larger house if you choose to do so. I would personally acquire another investment property.

The main advice everyone seems to be giving me is to invest my money. I have no idea how investing works or that area in particular. I just don't want to walk away loosing a lot of money.

You mind elaborating more on the buying apartment idea?

(I'm certain that by the time you reach a certain level of financial sophistication you will probably want a different car, or, like myself, opt to drive a nondescript vehicle to not attract unwanted attention).

I've thought about this and have a couple other ones in mind actually.

Lastly, don't be too concerned with outward indicators of status like $100k cars; no one really cares that you drive one, people with real wealthy will likely conclude that you're up to your eye balls in debt, people will be envious, and you'll be attracting the wrong kind of attention from people. I know a guy that drove an exotic for a few months and ended up selling it because of the latter.

I don't care if people think of me in "x" way or not, I care whether or not I'm successful. The Nissan GT-R is at the borderline of being pricey but not too expensive. Obtaining the car and being able to live comfortably is a personal goal that I've set. If for whatever reason that I decide that the GT-R isn't suitable for my lifestyle, maybe I'm starting a family, I'll most likely look at a Q/G whatever series from Infiniti.

The car itself is more of a trophy of success for me.

 

[synergy1]

Do you mind if you write down your monthly expenses for me?

I'll go dig them up and give you an aggregation - my life has been in lockdown mode for some time periods, and living normally in others. Additionally I don't work for salary, so my income drastically changes month in and month out. That said, I do not have my numbers on me at the moment so i'll get them and send you a PM.

For the sake of discussion, here is a back of the envelope type calculation to get things going:

1- Rent/mortgage/utlities etc : 1000

2- Food - 500

3- Car insurance - 100

4- gym membership - 60

5- cell phone - 80

6- Gas - 150

7- non essential stuff (dates, drinks, friends, vacation)- 250

8- Essential stuff (car fix, dentist etc)- 200

So you are looking at around 2200$ per month with all expenses. If you are pulling in 70,000, that comes to a paycheck of roughly 1500 per month after taxes, 401k etc. Even here, you are left with 700-800 dollars per month to invest, save, or whatever. Over the year this gives you 9500$, which if you want to buy a 200,000 dollar house at current interest rates with a reasonable down payment, about 3-4 years. Even than, your monthly payment will take the same salary and reduce the bottom line to about 400-500 per month.

Again, these are rough numbers, and I did not take the time to add them. But it gives you a scale and a scope to work within. This assumes nothing...and as everyone knows...life doesn't just come at you with nothing.

Anyway good luck. I'll try and get you those numbers in time.

 

[Skyline]

I'll go dig them up and give you an aggregation - my life has been in lockdown mode for some time periods, and living normally in others. Additionally I don't work for salary, so my income drastically changes month in and month out. That said, I do not have my numbers on me at the moment so i'll get them and send you a PM.

For the sake of discussion, here is a back of the envelope type calculation to get things going:

1- Rent/mortgage/utlities etc : 1000

2- Food - 500

3- Car insurance - 100

4- gym membership - 60

5- cell phone - 80

6- Gas - 150

7- non essential stuff (dates, drinks, friends, vacation)- 250

8- Essential stuff (car fix, dentist etc)- 200

So you are looking at around 2200$ per month with all expenses. If you are pulling in 70,000, that comes to a paycheck of roughly 1500 per month after taxes, 401k etc. Even here, you are left with 700-800 dollars per month to invest, save, or whatever. Over the year this gives you 9500$, which if you want to buy a 200,000 dollar house at current interest rates with a reasonable down payment, about 3-4 years. Even than, your monthly payment will take the same salary and reduce the bottom line to about 400-500 per month.

Again, these are rough numbers, and I did not take the time to add them. But it gives you a scale and a scope to work within. This assumes nothing...and as everyone knows...life doesn't just come at you with nothing.

Anyway good luck. I'll try and get you those numbers in time.

Thanks a lot man this really helps.

I based my numbers off of the monthly hours of 160(28 days) which is about 40 hours a week. That's how my positions salary is calculated so I got some pretty big numbers and that isn't including over time.

 

[Vice]

You mind elaborating more on the buying apartment idea?

Sure. We'll use my property (2-unit) as an example:

Mortgage payment: $1200
Rental Income from other tenant: $1000
Rental Income from Roommate: $400
Net Income: $200

The numbers get better as you get more units.

This is obviously oversimplified but I'm sure you grasp the concept. Getting paid to live somewhere is better than living for free at your parents.

I don't care if people think of me in "x" way or not, I care whether or not I'm successful. The Nissan GT-R is at the borderline of being pricey but not too expensive. Obtaining the car and being able to live comfortably is a personal goal that I've set. If for whatever reason that I decide that the GT-R isn't suitable for my lifestyle, maybe I'm starting a family, I'll most likely look at a Q/G whatever series from Infiniti.

The car itself is more of a trophy of success for me.

If a $100k vehicle is "at the borderline of being pricey but not too expensive", I believe you don't have a good grasp on the value of a dollar yet.

Why do you feel the need to live "comfortably"? What is "comfortable" for you? Have you considered what life would be like if you were "uncomfortable"? Same question for starting a family: why do you feel the need to do so? Is it something YOU want to do, or is it something that society is pressuring you to do?

I'm giving you a hard time on purpose here, to challenge you for your own benefit.