That's excellent advice for the young buck, and for all of you 20 somethings and an absolute must for 30 somethings. Thanks MerlintheMad!
There aren't that many jobs that provide a true pension any more... there are some like teachers, police, firemen, and basically union jobs or government. The rest of us including self-employed individuals like myself have to make their own retirements. 401k, Roth RIA, 403B, KEOGH accounts, etc., are all fantastic but they are just part of the equation. Ultimately, IMO, you need to create as many income streams as possible throughout your life so you aren't totally dependent on any one thing or on social security when you're older. For instance, property is tool that can be used different ways to provide income both directly and indirectly. Unless there is a reason not to (and there are for sure) you should try to buy a home even if you don't live in it. Rent is an expense that will never go away and will always get more expensive over time. A house payment generally is a fixed amount that will eventually be cheap by comparison. Later on in life you want to be at the point where you no longer have a house payment. That certainly doesn't mean you need to live in the same house all your life, just that by paying a loan over time and building equity and rising values you end up with net worth that allows you flexibility as far as your personal housing goes. When the day comes that you no longer have a house payment you have just received a very nice raise, an indirect increase in your income because you eliminated a major expense. Somewhere along the line maybe you can acquire a 2nd property, whether business or residential it doesn't really matter. The idea is someone or some business is going to make most of the mortgage payment for you over time, building more equity and eventually providing a positive cash flow, another income stream.
Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes time, effort, planning, and sometimes just recognizing and seizing an opportunity that presents itself.
One thing is for sure... if you aim at nothing you will certainly achieve your goal: nothing.
I bought my 1st home at 20 and started a business the same year. 12 years later I sold that starter home and bought a nice family home. Meanwhile I leased commercial space for 17 years for my business, really a long time, before I bought a commercial property. That property has 2 commercial units and 2 residential units on it. Almost immediately the rents I collected paid for the mortgage while my business occupied the main unit for free, another indirect income stream. Six years later I bought another residential property with 2 small houses on it. I own my home and the commercial property free and clear now and am retired. I collect four rents from that property and just need to cover the property tax, insurance, and upkeep... and deal with tenants which can be a pain in the ass to be sure. The other residential property has doubled in price but the tenants have been making the mortgage payment for 14 years. It was a break-even for me for 13 years! All the time, effort, and money I put into the property put not a cent in my pocket but did nice things to my net worth. Since much of the mortgage was paid, along with the down payment I made in the beginning, I now own 2/3 of the property and the bank just 1/3 so, I refinanced it and lowered the mortgage payment dramatically and, yup, another nice income stream every month. My wife is a teacher of 26 years. Financially, it's a great partnership... she provides tremendous healthcare benefits that would have cost a fortune for a self-employed guy like me. She has a few years left but when she retires she will have a pretty nice pension for life. Side note: all of the talk about teachers not wanting to work and all that, well, that's a load of crap. My wife works her ass off everyday including evenings and significant time on the weekends... 7 days a week. She works two jobs in the summer that don't pay as well as her regular job but she does it anyway and always has.
Bottom line is we both worked hard to get where we are and I was willing to do all the extra stuff and bear the expense and stress of making property work for us. I'm a regular guy, no rich family financing my dreams. Blue collar small business, fixed my own machines, took good care of my clients, worked through the night many, many times to make deadlines.
Time flies by faster than you can ever imagine. When you're 14 you want to be 16 and drive and all that. When you're 16 you want to be 18, an adult. When you're 18 you want to be 21, you can drink, meet more girls, etc. Then all of a sudden you are 30, and that's cool. You're more established, better income supposedly. Then bam! 40, bam! 50, 55. Problem is I'm still the same inside as I was at 25. Body gets older and the brain is like, WTF??
Good luck all of you young'uns!! There's no single path, there's no "right way". Everyone's lives are different. i'm no financial planner and certainly not in a position to offer specific advice to anyone! However, if someone, anyone thinks about their future because of anything the OP said or anything I said, that's the point.
