Need some inspiration ...

hi there ferrarichat

long time lurker; still going to school. need some more motivation. do most of you hold college degrees from prestegious schools to get to where you're at? to own a ferrari? any kind of advice?

thanks

 

In my case, Jesuit Highschool, State college. Sales career. First things first though. Get real estate (house, condo, etc) as fast as you can. Find a job that isn't a dollars per hour gig. Work your plan and stay out of your own way by not making too many bad decisions. Always have money in the bank (you don't want to be in a Ferrari on a tight budget). Do good honest work. Network a lot. Run, do not walk, away from crazy women

 

Yes & Yes - to prestigious school & advanced degree. However, I have worked with a number of people that have also had both boxes checked and they are as much wage slaves as anyone else; this includes vice presidents of major corporations. Doing well in school will help you increase the income side of your financial equation; but if you allow the expense side to rise as fast or faster, then you will be no better off. Always maintain at least 10-20% differential between income and expenses and time and compounding will be on your side.

Taking risks is another part of the equation, once you have some money to put at risk. Learn how to take intelligent risks, not "spin the wheel" risks.

 

All of my successful friends told me the same thing; Buy as much real estate as you can, as soon as you can, even if you have to live like a beggar to do it.
I took that advice. Now I am driving another exotic toy and looking forward to early retirement.

 

You guys are open minded, resourceful, and down to earth as always. Real estate is kind of hard to scoop up in the Bay Area at my age, 22. But I'll definitely be jumping on that right after college.

Allowing the expense side to rise close to the income; and developing a "lifestyle" have left me with nothing. I won't be doing that again, besides I'm tired of that kind of life.

I have a reputation of working hard (at least, at my jobs). But I've had my brushes w/ the law, so they've harassed me enough (Fremont Police) to avoid Law Enforcement altogether.

 

My advice for college: Just get a degree. Any degree. Just get one. I have a masters degree in computer science, and have friends who are making more money than I, writing software, with bachelors degrees in philosophy and biomedicine. Nobody cares what college you went to, and nobody cares what your GPA was. At least in the engineering field. I wouldn't even bother with a masters degree if I were on the fast track to financial independence. As my mom says, "A degree is a license to steal..."

 

I bought my first house at 18 and had no choice to live like a beggar to keep it for the first year...within two years though it over doubled in value ..i told the bank what ever lies i needed to buy asecond one to fix up and flip. im 35 now been through over 40 properties... still tryin to figure out what to do for a "living". oh well ill drive around in my f-car on a nice day and think about it... while i look at real estate of course!!!

 

I'm a computer engineering major (hardware), still considering eletrical or mechanical. So getting your MA wasn't worth it? BTW early retirement? How old are you SoftwareDrone?

 

I also agree, real estate first, ferraris later. I bought many houses (one at a time), worked on them mostly myself, sold some, rented some, had some lean years. Things are very comfortable now. Coincidentally, they were in Fremont.

 

I don't think there are any hard and fast answers, for every person who's done it with an advanced degree, there'll be someone else who's done it without. I think of it more as increasing the average payoff.

A master's degree probably helps to increase your annual income by 5-10% over a bachelor's. For 1 year of study even forgoing 1 year of income, that's probably worthwhile. But more importantly, a master's also makes it easier to get onto a higher paying job track. For example, design engineering and quality assurance in a computer hardware company both require engineering degrees, but the design engineering job usually pays a bit more than the quality assurance job.

IMO, a prestigious university only really matters in two ways. First, when you get your first job, the top tier companies make a serious effort to recruit from the top rank schools. A top tier company doesn't necessarily pay more, but once you've put in several years at one then the higher you rise, the more you're likely to make; also you're more likely to be recruited from a top tier company by head hunters as it helps the resume. The second way that a prestigious university helps is in networking. Your classmates tend to be higher achievers on average and will move to higher ranks and start more companies. When it comes time for you to jump jobs, those connections can be helpful. If you're not a corporate type person, then this is a lot less important; but this path is one way to maximize the income side with relatively low risk.

Regarding investing the savings. It's easier for the average person, who doesn't or can't spend a lot of time starting businesses or thinking about investments, to make money in real estate. First make a home purchase that can be supported by your income, it really doesn't matter that much what housing prices do in the short term (1-3 years), as they have risen in the long term (5-15 years). Take a relatively conservative 5% average annual appreciation, with a 5-20x leverage (5-20% equity), tax deduction on interest expense and property taxes, tax shelter on gains in a primary residence and it's hard to argue against real estate. There's a reason why most people's primary asset is their home.

However, expanding your real estate portfolio beyond the primary residence and it becomes a bit more of a business that takes time and effort. Now you have initial fix-up, you have to go get tenants, you have ongoing repair and maintenance expenses, you have bad tenant problems, you lose some deductions, etc. Plenty of people make money at this still, but it's more of second job. One way that I've seen work well is to move up in houses without selling the old one so you accumulate a portfolio of rentals over time. This works when you wait long enough before moving up so that the monthly rental rate of the property exceeds the monthly carrying costs. In most cases, buying a new property for immediate rental is hard to make work out unless your equity invested is high. You do have to save up the equity portion of your next property from scratch rather than continuing to roll over the equity into each larger property.

Personally, I get very little satisfaction from working on houses, so aside from my primary residence, I spend my time on financial investments. This requires a whole 'nother education.

 

If you are seeking inspiration give yourself something tangible to attain. In your case you want a Ferrari yes? Go to the dealership, if you haven't been already, and surround yourself with the sights, smells, sounds and feel...immerse yourself totally in the moment. Keep telling yourself the this is what you are busting your ass in school for and no one but you can take that dream away from you. Snap tons of photos and when you feel down, depressed and think that you are just spinning your wheels in school and in life, look at those pictures and think about how owning what you want will make you feel. It is all worth it.

As a side note I would like to add that many successful and wealthy people don't have prestigious degrees or even degrees at all. Bill Gates dropped out his Freshman year of college and Dave Thomas from Wendy's dropped out in the 10th grade. They both have what many others lacked and that is passion, patience, perseverance, and complete confidence in themselves and their life direction.

Words of wisdom from great minds for you:

Far better it is to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure,
than to take rank with those poor spirits
who neither enjoy much nor suffer much,
because they live in the gray twilight
that knows not victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt


Studying the Way is like planting a tree -
if you cut it just when it branches out,
it can be used for firewood;
if you cut it when it's about to reach full growth,
it can be used for rafters;
if you cut it when it's somewhat stronger,
it can be used for beams;
and if you cut it when it's old and huge,
it can be used for pillars.
Could it be that when you take the attainment
over the long run the profit is greater?

- Zen Lessons, The Art of Leadership

 

work for yourself (consultant, business owner, entrepreneur, etc.)

be a lender and not a borrower

schooling helps but not mandatory

 

Interesting questions you've posed. But the answer, surprisingly, is with you! It is truly up to you and your interests/goals in what you want to achieve in this lifetime (and no, I don't mean only financially). What are you truly passionate about? Find something if you haven't already. My friend's brother is a true Computer Science guy--he loves programming so much that he doesn't even eat properly. To him, it's an art, a mere labor of love if you may. He gets paid somewhat well for designing video games for cell phones. To him, it's not even work he claims. I imagine it'd be similar if one of us had a job as a test driver for Ferrari or Lamborghini.

Hardware engineering is fascinating and quite involving I would assume so if that's what you want to do, pursue it by all means. Remember, there is a LOT more to life than money. Money merely and literally provides a means to an end. That end, my friend, is for you to decide. Do something that really interests you.

Mere sense gratification is ephemeral at most and not quite as enjoyable as some make it out to seem; at least in the long run.

Schooling, as others mentioned correctly, is not mandatory these days but it would behoove you to get as far in academia as possible. The reason for this is not simple. "Going to school" or doing something similar which is structured, I believe, is a must because it provides for good confidence, soul satisfaction, and a feeling that nothing else can really provide. By this I mean that immersing oneself in a subject of interest deeply is very gratifying to say the least and will definitely help in many areas of one's life. Obviously, if you want to make a lot of money, you don't necessarily need to go to grad school etc. or sometimes even high school (aka Richard Branson LOL).

Most of the times we are all caught up with "tomorrow" so to speak that we forget about our actions today. Live in the present and plan for the future!

 

ding ding ding... winner

--dan

 

Sound fiscal advice.

Live in the most expensive house you can afford, and drive the cheapest car you can stand.

No one ever got rich off a paycheck.

Be your own boss.

Any other cliches out there?

 

Hey guys, thanks a bunch. I posted here b/c I figured you guys were more "successful" than the other forums communites I lurk/post at (maybe I'll post the same question at honda-tech and we'll see what becomes of it).

I'm still in school at Ohlone College in Fremont. It's right smack in the middle of a hillside of million dollar homes/estates. So maybe today I'll take a drive out there thinking some more.

See, I haven't felt motivated for a really long time. I took a semester off to work and went back to school this spring. So far I'm aiming at SJSU or UCDavis. Law Enforcement is my backup career.

I'm 22 (just turned) and feel like I haven't done anything w/ my life yet. A "late bloomer" I guess ><. I guess it could be worst, I could've gotten a girl pregnant; landed my arse in jail, etc. It's not too late.

But all the BS general ed classes are what drag me down. Anything related to my major I do well in. Guess I should just bite the bullet and finish what I started.

 

Success is a relative term. I know that personally I did not have a lot on the ball at age 22.

Somewhere around that age, I decided to focus my energy and go after what I really wanted. For some reason I always knew what I had to do, I just needed to wake up and go after it.

I would personally follow much of the previous advice presented on this thread...it is really good. Especially the real estate part. Also I would pick up a book called the wealthy barber, as it is simple to read and to the point. Following much of this advice, I was able to become financially independant by age 42. Incidentally the following year I purchased my first Ferrari. In many ways it was (is) a reward to myself for all of the hard work, investment, and commitment that I have personally choosen to commit to.

You mentioned that you are possibly seeking a career in Law enforcement. That should provide you with the income necessary to invest and be successful. Additionally by entering that field (public safety) you will be eligible to retire at age 50. That alone should be an inspiration.

Even though I could afford to drive any car I want, I still drive a honda as my daily driver, (old habits are hard to break). Life and finances are what you make of them. "Degree's" tend to open doors but it is what you do when you walk through that door that really counts. Some people look at success as luck, others know that you make your own luck.

Good luck, with whatever path you choose.

Fyrrari