Hey everyone, i have a question for you all...

I'm 19, my dad is retired and my mom is about to lose her job becuase the company is going bankrupt.  I'm going to college, and work at a lumber yard part time, earning $7.25 an hour working my butt off.

Anyhow, i want to invest some money so that in about 5-10 years in case I get married, want to buy some land, or what ever, I can have some money to use.  I know earning 7.25 an hour isn't going to get me anything, so I thought I'd invest as much as I can now.  I have no clue what I want to do with the rest of my life, other than I do NOT want to work at a lumber yard for a career.  Right now i'm taking the general courses in college because I have no clue what to do with myself.

So, any advice for a newbie?  I know nothing about investing other than with the right stocks, its better than letting your $$ set in a savings account.

Look into a ROTH-IRA

Its retirement not investing, but basicly you put money in there tax free, then draw it out when youre old, and pay taxes then, when you are in a lower tax bracket from not having a job.

at this point in your life you are more developing a saving/investing mindset than anything.

If you are sure you will want the money in 5-10 years, consider mutual funds such as Vanguard 500 which invests in the S&P 500.  Call and ask them if you can make a minimum monthly contribution such as $50 to avoid their minimum deposit which may be something like $3,000.  

Also, read The Richest Man in Babylon.  It's an easy read and makes the  point of one needing to set aside a portion of ones income for future use and benefiting from compound interest.

Remember, all investments entail a certain amount of risk.

First, congrats on being mature enough to think about this now.  Time is one of the biggest levers for growing money, and you have that in spades right now.  +1 on what sigarkar said.  Definitely read Richest Man in Babylon

Another must-read is Millionaire Next Door.  Practice the principles they discovered about how millionaires think and act, and you will be way way ahead of the pack.

Do NOT use credit cards, especially for non-tangible things like meals, movies, trips, nights out on the town, etc.  OK you can use credit cards for tangible things, but ONLY IF you pay off the ENTIRE balance each month.  Credit cards are a big potential trap and even after you graduate college & get a high paying job, they can suck your salary away.  Build up a good credit record by using them sparingly and always paying off the balance.  Better still, just get a car loan and pay that off every month on time.  That will build credit and you won't have the temptation of buying stuff on a 19% interest rate card.

I know $7.25/hr isn't much, but for right now just focus on saving what you can -- 10%, 5%, 25% whatever you can swing (living at home I think that would be a lot actually).  Trust me, if you develop a savings/investing habit now you will be light years ahead of all of your friends.  Hell you could retire "early" and start a second career if you want...or not.

If you don't know what you want to do try .mil .



I na way I wish I had done so, would have wasted much less time.

Maybe a ING orange account? 3% interest and they can deduct money automatically monthly..

someone sent me a PM a couple weeks ago in response to this, but I waited until today to try to respond to it, and it was deleted automatically.  Whoever it was, feel free to send it again.

Quoted: Hey everyone, i have a question for you all... I'm 19, my dad is retired and my mom is about to lose her job becuase the company is going bankrupt.  I'm going to college, and work at a lumber yard part time, earning $7.25 an hour working my butt off. Anyhow, i want to invest some money so that in about 5-10 years in case I get married, want to buy some land, or what ever, I can have some money to use.  I know earning 7.25 an hour isn't going to get me anything, so I thought I'd invest as much as I can now.  I have no clue what I want to do with the rest of my life, other than I do NOT want to work at a lumber yard for a career.  Right now i'm taking the general courses in college because I have no clue what to do with myself. So, any advice for a newbie?  I know nothing about investing other than with the right stocks, its better than letting your $$ set in a savings account.

All the advice posted above about "Richest Man in Babylon" and "Millionaire Next Door" is good. They're both available on CD which makes it really easy to review the lessons when you take a long drive somewhere.

Until you get about $3K saved you may have to look hard to find a way to invest such small amounts without getting penalized to a point where it's not worth it. Vanguard has a $1000 minimum to open a Roth IRA account last time I checked. But it sounds like you're not interested in that so much as you are a short term investment for the 5-10 year time period you're talking about. If you're a gambler, and if you find a way to invest without incurring penalties, put it into an S&P 500 Index fund (there are much riskier ways to proceed here, but you need to research them). This is very risky for the time frame you're talking about. Are you prepared to deal with that? If not, put it into a money market fund which is pretty safe but will typically keep you ahead of inflation.

Good luck.

Above all, continue to invest in your education.  It will pay life long dividends.

Max your IRA first.

Invest in aggressive funds. At your age, capital preservation isn't as much of a concern as you can rebound.

tag

I am also 19.  I looking forward to reading more in this thread.


Chicken little- Try to find a better paying job.  Hell i started working with a framing contractor when i was 13 and he payed me 7.  I am sure that if you work at a lumber yard you must know some contractors that you could ask for a job.  They would proably start you at atleast 10 bucks an hour.  At 19 you should not except less than 10 an hour.  Atleast where i live.  Just save as much money as you can.  Don't buy shit for yourself.  No silly cds or dvds.  

Matt

Roth-IRA is the way to go.
I am 20, and it is a great thing.
You may be have a million dollars in it by the time you retire.

I am also 20 and need to start saving.  I have a nice account from my childhood build up tha will provide me with a good retirement account.  I need to right now pay off my loans.  One is a CC with about $1000 on it and the other a Loan with $600.  The CC is at 0% and always has been and the loan is around 7%.  I  get paid a weak $8.75 and it has allowed me to pay the bills and pay off my debt.  The worst part is that it was this site that put me there.  Fricken ARs haha

FWIW ...  but basicly you put money in there tax free, then draw it out when youre old, and pay taxes then, ... sorry ... Postal 0311, but I don't believe you're right on that one. Unless I miss my mark, you must use wages to invest in a Roth (the earned income of the account owner), and you invest "taxed" wages. THEN, they accrue interest and you may withdraw them tax-free. I.E.; the taxed $ you put in ... grows and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. THAT's the big advantage of the Roth.  Pretty sure you were trying to show a ROTH's benefits. No flame intended.   OK, Chicken...
here's another hint; scrape together a few bucks and log on to www.fool.com ; The Motley Fool website. They'll charge a little to join, but it's worth it. Forget about anything it seems they're trying to sell (it won't really be much) and "lurk" there and learn everything you can. Then DO it. Starting early makes a HUGE difference. You can also try saving one half of every raise you make. Spend/enjoy one half, but bank/invest one half. I started an apprenticeship in '78 @ $4.11ph and got raises over a period of 4 years that amounted to almost an addition $8 per hour. If 1/2 of those raises had been banked (without interest, even) the savings would have been $10K. Believe it or not, not too many people have that much cash even now. Good luck. You've made a good start just by thinking about it. Stay safe

Dont kid yourself into thinking that you can 'save' your way into retirement.
Most of the millionares that I know have two things in common.

1. They never relied on anyone else to make them rich.
2. They never worked for anyone but themselves.

I could write a lot here, but if there is one short, simple read to get your mindset moving in the right direction, it is to read a book by Robert Kiyosaki called 'Rich Dad/Poor Dad'

Untill you've read that book, I can't get you to understand any of the fundamentals of building wealth.
The biggest problem w/saving, is the huge tax burden, this book covers it in a way that I didn't even understand when I got my Bachelor's of Science in Finance.

Really... go get this book... I'll subscirbe to this thread just to hear your thoughts when you are done.

another idea is to seek out DRiPs.  Dividend reinvestment plans.  It's been a long, long, time since i've looked at these so google for better info than i can provide.  Some companies have a stock purchase plan where you can by stock directly from them w/o paying a stock broker.  They generally charge a small fee and automatically reinvest the dividends.  I think Thumper_three0Eight is steering you in the right direction with real estate.  Acquiring rentals can pay off in the long run, but they are a lot of hard work as far as dealing w/ maintenance and crappy renters.

Quoted: another idea is to seek out DRiPs.  Dividend reinvestment plans.  It's been a long, long, time since i've looked at these so google for better info than i can provide.  Some companies have a stock purchase plan where you can by stock directly from them w/o paying a stock broker.  They generally charge a small fee and automatically reinvest the dividends.  I think Thumper_three0Eight is steering you in the right direction with real estate.  Acquiring rentals can pay off in the long run, but they are a lot of hard work as far as dealing w/ maintenance and crappy renters.

Go read the book... and I will never allow a young person to be mis-led, as was I, that investing is a smart way to save. Even w/company matched 401K, you have a 415 limit, and most companies manage you out, or simply out-source your job to India before you are fully vested.

In regards to tenants, that is what property managers are for... true investors rarely deal with this. A duplex, just for tax reasons alone, may be the smartest way to go. After you read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' I recommend learning a bit more about Carlton Sheet's zero down method.

And, you are wasting your time working for anything less than $15/hour, so do some research and find a home based business... go to a vocational school and learn a trade.

Auto and aircraft technicians are highly skilled and many companies are paying for your training just to get a commitment to work for a while.

A plumber makes more after a 1 year apprenticeship that someone who graduates w/a college degree... think about it.

I could go on, and on, and on... but I highly encourage you to find a skilled labor trade, that provides stable, high wages, and invest in rental property... but I need you to read the book to re-program your brain.

Rich Dad poor dad is not only a book but a mindset to live by. I am only 20 years old to and that was what my parents sent me to kill some time while im here in the BOX. Best book I have ever read. Whatever you do, make sure you do plenty of research and weigh your options. The experince and "education" you can get from a few small mistakes now can save you millions down the road.

Quoted: Rich Dad poor dad is not only a book but a mindset to live by. I am only 20 years old to and that was what my parents sent me to kill some time while im here in the BOX. Best book I have ever read. Whatever you do, make sure you do plenty of research and weigh your options. The experince and "education" you can get from a few small mistakes now can save you millions down the road.

Thanks for the feedback...
Really, I read the book and called my father, almost enraged, as to why he never told me any of this.

He read the book, and then thanked me for telling him about it.

I feel sorry for people that watch fox news and think they can go get an education and provide for thier family.

Quoted: Look into a ROTH-IRA Its retirement not investing, but basicly you put money in there tax free, then draw it out when youre old, and pay taxes then, when you are in a lower tax bracket from not having a job.

I assume he may get married or want to purchase land/house before he retires, so the IRA might not be the best choice.

i cant stress this enough... forget saving, saving is the fastest way too the poorhouse short of rent-to-own schemas.

ok, thumper, I'll read the book.  It'll be a while before i finish reading it.  Finals are in a couple weeks.  I won't get to it until christmas break.

Thanks for the help!

Chicken little:  before you buy Rich Dad Poor Dad, do a search here; we had a thread about it not too long ago.

I bought his books, and read them, and think they contain some good info.  I am a real estate investor and drew inspiration from his books.  But I also believe his books (and seminars and games, etc) are repetitive.  IMHO the best parts of his books can be summed up in two paragraphs:

1) "Look at everything you own. Which of these things are truly assets? If they are valuable but cost a lot to maintain and bring in no income (like a large residence with a big mortgage), they may not really be assets. If they are depreciating (like an expensive car) and also cost money in taxes, maintenance, and debt service, they are definitely not assets. Real assets appreciate and/or throw off income without draining your cash. Work on building your list of real assets and reducing your list of things that drain cash."

- That's a synopsis from John Ross's website (the guy who wrote Unintended Consequences and is an investment counselor of some kind).  Also read John Ross's section on recommended financial reading too for different books on the wealth.

2) Kiyosaki's other point is basically this: whenever possible, form a coproration to be able to write off your expenses as a business expense.  Use a flow-through corporation (e.g. LLC or Type S) that will enable you to benefit from these writeoffs.  [My note: be careful here, it can be done correctly but the IRS is on the lookout for people forming co.s to write off their hobby expenses.]  Also, by forming corporations that you control, you are shielding some your personally held wealth from loss, such as lawsuits.  Trusts, and other devices are also available for this same reason and are used widely by the wealthy to protect what they have.  These tools are available to anyone to use, but most people don't take advantage of them.  As a 19 year old just starting out this probably won't relate much to you but as you earn more wealth you may want to think about them.

Also, for perspective on Kiyosaki himself, I suggest you read this Real Estate expert's website: www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html.  I don't agree with 100% of what he says but most of it is very sound.  And it is free.  

If you still want to read Kiyosaki's books (and there's no reason you shouldn't) I suggest borrowing them from the library, from a friend or buying at a used book store -- you can find copies everywhere.

One thing I can warn you against is Network or Mutli-Level Marketing (that's Amway, Herbalife, NuSkin, etc).  I worked for a major supplier to Amway and saw many pathetic people believing in a dream but not only getting nowhere, but being worse off as a result of their committments to "building their network."  Here is a website that can tell you more about it, from the inside:

www.merchantsofdeception.com/  and download the free book the guy wrote.  Very sobering reading.

No flames, please!  I am not anyi-Kiyosaki or anything, I am just trying to give some perspective here.

Well, chicken_little, you've got a lot of good advice so far.

I personally haven't read "'Rich Dad/Poor Dad", and cannot comment on it.

I have however, read Dave Ramsey's books, and heartily recommend "The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness".  It is a true Life-changing book.

I have had the good fortune to always be "frugle" and never got too deeply into debt.  But my daughter and her husband just read the book a few months ago and got "gazille intense" (a phrase Dave uses to mean "very serious about getting out of debt") and are nearly completely out of debt.  They are now working on paying off their home so that they will be totally debt free.

I wish I could find a copy of a chart he has in another book of his.  It shows how a small amount invested by a young man gets bigger and bigger each year.  It then compares it to a person that starts saving later in life, but invests much more.  The second person cannot ever "catch" the first guy.

The secret is to start saving now while you are young.  Never get into debt.  Don't waste money on unnecessary "stuff".  Don't use credit cards.  Don't buy new cars.  Don't try "get rich quick" schemes.  Get a good education.  Always be gazille intense about saving and being debt free.

My advice might not sound like much fun.  But I am 57 years old, retired, living comfortably, have everything I need, and going shooting all I want to.  

Maybe I know what I am talking about.

Look into REITs.  By law, 90% of all the profits of the company gets passed onto the shareholders in the form of dividend checks.  The company only gets to keep 10% for operating expenses, salaries, etc.  Historically, they are fairly safe investments with some modest returns.

You could also do a variable universal life insurance policy.  After the cost of the insurance policy is deducted from the monthly premium, the rest is allocated into variable products (mutual funds) you have selected.  Kinda killing two birds with one stone here....you get a life insurance policy and additional cash value from the investments into the mutual funds.  Being 19 years old, life insurance is probably the last thing on your mind. Never too young or old to think about life insurance.  

Since you are talking about having access to the cash/investment in about 10 years or so, I'd go with the REITs and maybe get a whole life insurance policy on the side.  Great thing about whole life is that the premium rates are locked in usually till you hit age 100.  Being 19 years old, your premiums would be fairly low.  Also, the whole life policy gains cash value each year too.  After 10 years or so, you could always "cash" in the policy for additional cash.

Don't be afraid to be wrong.

I have no clue what I want to do with the rest of my life, other than I do NOT want to work at a lumber yard for a career.

Ty Webb - What's wrong with lumber ? I own two lumber yards
Danny - I notice you don't spend much time there
Ty Webb - I'm not sure where they are

Ty Webb - What's wrong with lumber ? I own two lumber yards Danny - I notice you don't spend much time there Ty Webb - I'm not sure where they are

Best dang sports movie ever made...

Quoted: Quoted: Look into a ROTH-IRA Its retirement not investing, but basicly you put money in there tax free, then draw it out when youre old, and pay taxes then, when you are in a lower tax bracket from not having a job. I assume he may get married or want to purchase land/house before he retires, so the IRA might not be the best choice.

Contribute as much as you can to a Roth and another regular investment account (buy some ETF's or tax managed mutual fund in that account.)  the important thing to do is to systematically add to these accounts.

There are exceptions for withdrawals on Roth IRA.  Also, you can withdraw your contributions tax and penalty free.  

Look it up: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf

The whole rich dad, poor dad thing is all real estate and  great if you want to play that cash flow game, otherwise for most , systematic saving and investment is the only realistic way for wealth accumulation.  It's not what you make,  it's how much you spend.

There is no get rich quick scheme.  Smart "savers" don't lose, contrary to what Kyosaki is saying, but that is another topic...

Two good resources for investing:

www.dowtheoryletters.com  Richard Russell, old guy who's been watching investing and writing about the stock market since he came home from the war, he flew B-25s over Italy.  $250 a year, but the best commentary on the condition of the market, emailed 6 days a week to you. He has a great indicator called the PTI that pretty much tells you when to be bullish or bearish on the market.  If you had taken his advice, you would have sold off your tech stocks and stayed out of the bear market that started in 2000, and gotten into gold around early 2002.  I follow him, so I know this first hand.  His advice is worth something.

The other one is this book

www.amazon.com/gp/product/0131345508/ref=nosim/104-8089547-4358342?n=283155

The fundamental route to successful investing is finding trends, getting on, and having an exit strategy if your position turns against you so you dont lose money.  Sounds facile and obvious but you'd be surprised once it's your money and your call to make how hard it is.

Series I bond's are paying close to 7% right now.  You buy one for $50 at your bank evey time you save up that much. You have to hold for 6 months before cash out or there is a penalty.  Easy / safe / liquid.  When you have a couple grand together move into some kind of mutual fund.   Don't  invest in rare coins / stamps / comic books or..... guns.  Those should be hobbies.

Good luck!

JDK

Are you paying for your education or your parents??
If the latter, don't even think about retirement and saving until you finish school because it is a thoughtless insult to your hard working parents who saved up to put you through school and are spending THEIR retirement savings on YOU.  

Buy a place to live.  Get roomates to pay your mortgage.  Even if its small and crappy, real estate is the best way to build capital.

Start saving 10% of what you make. Pay that savings first.

Start with a savings account and when you have enough to move into a mutual fund, do it.

Another +1 for Dave Ramsey and "Total Money Makeover."

Big +1 on the don't use credit cards thing.

I fell into that hole... twice!

First time, it was because I was 19 and had a beautiful girlfriend I wanted to travel the world with... and I got a M4gery. My parents, both in the financial industry were horrified when they found out about the credit card and paid off my debt after reprimanding me for a whole day. Beat the idea of evil interest rates into my head. The second time, I went on a binge and got a EOtech, SOPMOD stock and a case of ammo and a second M4. I paid that one off myself after saving up money from my job. I guess what they say about learning things for yourself is true.

Good thing closed that account recently. I feel a familiar and evil itch whenever I see pictures of the FS2000.

Roth's mentioned here:


ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=75&t=424338

edit: in member forum, may not be accessible

here's what i posted

Good for you for starting to think about it. First off,

1. Open a Roth IRA
Use a discount brokerage like E*Trade, ScottTrade, whatever or a no-load mutual fund family if you don't want the flexibility invest in other things. Vanguard is good for this.

2. Systematically put money into the account, max it to 4K by deadline.
a. you can only max it to 4K if you have job that at least pays you that much AND your modified adjusted gross income is less than $95K filing single or $150K for joint filers.
b. you have until tax time (April 15th deadline or after extension) to make your contribution for the previous year. (you can still make your 2005 contribution)( if you have'nt put a penny in to a Roth yet, you could contribute 4K for 2005 and another 4K for 2006 now = total 8K today)

3. Invest it. This is the fun part. You can buy stocks, bonds, ETF, mutual funds, etc. in a brokerage account. What to buy? Since you are young and assume you can handle swings, you would want capital appreciation (growth) as your objective and I would suggest a 90%/10% equity(stocks)/fixed income(bonds) or 100% equity mix.
What equity or bonds? That's part of the fun. I dont suggest investing all in one stock or bond.

info:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=137307,00.html
http://morningstar.com/

I am not a tax advisor or CPA.

A couple of good websites for you to check out:

http://www.efficientfrontier.com/

http://www.fundadvice.com/

Quoted: A couple of good websites for you to check out: http://www.efficientfrontier.com/ http://www.fundadvice.com/

www.ricedelman.com

Regarding Rich Dad, Poor Dad:

I am in the camp who believes (scratch that... Is 100% sure) that Kyosaki is a complete fraud.
As is the case whenever someone challenges a "messiah", there will be a vocal coterie of slack-jawed minions mindlessly bleating in unison hoping their blind praises might drown out the sad truth about what they've been led to believe.

The truth about Robert Kyosaki is out there.
The facts are known.
"Rich Dad" never existed.
Robert Kyosaki got rich by selling the "Rich Dad" franchise...

"You too can become rich like me... For $159.95, i'll tell you how..."

I am always leery of someone who purports to have 'all the answers' but when it comes time to deliver the goods, it's nothing more than a rambling, intangible, philosophical monologue made up of anecdotes and "positive thinking" crap.

The first thing that came to my mind when I was done reading RDPD was that "Think Method" the con artist in "The Music Man" talked about to convince the people of River City that the only skill involved in playing the trombone was "thinking" a certain way.

The fact is, getting rich takes a number of skills, talents and acuities that, sadly, everyone doesn't have. Life isn't fair in that respect. Even those who do have 'it' are still at the mercy of a little bit of luck if we are talking about getting obscenely wealthy...

Kyosaki comes along and tells everyone what they want to hear.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and you too can become rich... For $159.95, i'll tell you how.

mutual funds are easy and convenient for you to invest in...better than savings account and it is something you can add to as you go...
my son is 19 and has 10K in funds and pays for his own college.
the big key to your thinking right now is to fore go the immediate pleasures of youth and take every dime you can to put it to work for you.
if you smoke a pack a day, that is $912.50 a year you could have invested.
if you drink a big gulp from 7-11 daily, that is over $500. you spend a year.
if you drink beer, a six pack a day can cost you $2500. + a year.
A girl friend can cost you plenty in meals and movies...
Collect CDs or DVDs?  That can be $thousands a year and you can't give them away...
a car can cost $500. for insurance, then your registration and gas and maintenance can suck $5K a year...because you just gotta have one...
You'll find that your money will disappear in little increments  without you being aware of it...start concentrating on what is really important for spending your money on.
When you buy items, think of their value in terms of "what will this be worth to a pawnbroker if I have to liquidate it today?"  and that is all it is worth...
You have two avenues to go in life...you are a producer or a consumer...
if you are not doing anything to produce, you are consuming...even if it is just sitting around doing nothing...that costs something.
Get the degrees and keep those grades up so you qualify for scholarships and grants to allow your own money to work for you.
In ten, twenty or thirty years, you will still be young enough to enjoy life and it will be nice if you can afford to,as well.

tagged

First off... forget these clowns that tell you to save!  

Put your money to work for you, buy a duplex... there are ways to do it w/no money down. If you go to school, don’t bother with a business degree, you will learn and earn more with a technical trade.

Oh, and this retard…  www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
how offensive... it's like he didn't even realize the story was a fable?

Kiyosaki does one thing... and only one thing; he tries to reverse the backwards programming we have towards saving, working towards retirement, assets-vs-liablities, and small business ownership.

Why do marines do push-ups, they aren't going to lay on the ground and push-up the enemy to death? So, why read 'rich-dad, poor-dad'? Because it is financial conditioning... that's why!!!

He breaks down the concepts into block diagrams, showing cash flows and tax liabilities... f'ing Californiacator retards, they think their whit makes them succeed; hell everyone makes money in Cali real-estate, only a moron looses money in real-estate there.

Did you ever realize that you are talking to a 19 year old; the boy's gotta start somewhere!!!

*geeesh*

Quoted: First off... forget these clowns that tell you to save!   Put your money to work for you, buy a duplex... there are ways to do it w/no money down. If you go to school, don’t bother with a business degree, you will learn and earn more with a technical trade. Oh, and this retard…  www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html how offensive... it's like he didn't even realize the story was a fable? Kiyosaki does one thing... and only one thing; he tries to reverse the backwards programming we have towards saving, working towards retirement, assets-vs-liablities, and small business ownership. Why do marines do push-ups, they aren't going to lay on the ground and push-up the enemy to death? So, why read 'rich-dad, poor-dad'? Because it is financial conditioning... that's why!!! He breaks down the concepts into block diagrams, showing cash flows and tax liabilities... f'ing Californiacator retards, they think their whit makes them succeed; hell everyone makes money in Cali real-estate, only a moron looses money in real-estate there. Did you ever realize that you are talking to a 19 year old; the boy's gotta start somewhere!!! *geeesh*

Not to hi-jack, but Kiyosaki is all about a cash flow through real estate almost exclusively.  There's nothing wrong with that but by promoting himself and his "enlightenment" , he distorts/plays down the risks of getting into the cash flow game.  What risks? For one, getting leveraged over your head...

Him saying "savers are losers" just really irks me.

I can debate the finer points, but the bottom line is he is espousing only one method of wealth creation while bashing all others.  Playing the cash flow game requires real estate investment almost exclusively.  He does a very good job of promoting himself by feeding dreams to masses, and ,maybe coincidentally, he's gotten popular during the real estate boom of the last few years.

boy,
delay gratification, accumulate and save/invest systematically, buy some real estate, and let owning property be a part of your cash generation plan as you grow.  If you can build more and more real estate into your portoflio, you will become financially independent, eventually.
There is no get rich quick scheme.

Quoted: ..he distorts/plays down the risks of getting into the cash flow game.  What risks? For one, getting leveraged over your head...  There is no get rich quick scheme.

Who said anything about a scheme?

I'm no Kiyosaki desciple, but I am a real-estate investor... and I've seen what the difference in cash-positive properties vs saving can do.

Give us examples, dont lash out becuase you like to save.

Quoted: Quoted: ..he distorts/plays down the risks of getting into the cash flow game.  What risks? For one, getting leveraged over your head...  There is no get rich quick scheme. Who said anything about a scheme? I'm no Kiyosaki desciple, but I am a real-estate investor... and I've seen what the difference in cash-positive properties vs saving can do. Give us examples, dont lash out becuase you like to save.

I never said cash positive properties are a scheme.  People like Kiyosaki market that strategy like a scheme.

Investing and saving are two different things.  

Owning cash positive properties is a good thing.  Currently, I would rather have a cash positive rental property than an equivalent market value in savings.  But then again, $500K market value real estate and $500K cash are two entirely different things.

The risks of developing cash positive properties investments should be made known, instead of simply saying go "buy a duplex".   Maybe you could tell us?

Also at age 19, does the poster have much net worth?

There is no faster way to accumulate wealth than through cashpositive properties.
Nobody can take realestate, or land from you, and if they are turning a profit, while at the same time appreciating, AND... while the ballance is going down.

Having $500K in the bank is great, but who has that, honestly?

Quoted: There is no faster way to accumulate wealth than through cashpositive properties. Nobody can take realestate, or land from you, and if they are turning a profit, while at the same time appreciating, AND... while the ballance is going down. Having $500K in the bank is great, but who has that, honestly?

Also, try reading the original poster's question more carefully.  Financing an investment real estate purchase now might not help him to achieve his current financial objectives.

I agree cash positive properties generate wealth.  
But as far as wealth accumulation goes, I agree with what author Tom Stanley said:  wealth accumulation has nothing to do with how much you make, it's how much you spend.

And again, you forget to mention the risks and costs of achieving cash positive real estate....financing costs, implicit and explicit property management expenses, taxes, etc.

Obviously you do not know or work with many people who have $500K in the "bank" = liquid assets/marketable securities.  It really is not that much for a person, who has saved then invested, to have.

The posts above already provide the readers here enough evidence who they believe is giving sound advice.  Good day.

*ugh*
And then the ad-hominem attacks begin.... just an FYI, I'm talking about $500K to start out!!!
So... what's your plan, specifically, wright it out if you dont mind, I'm curiuos?

Dont worry, I'm used too it; I firmly believe that mentioning the word duplex gives idiot's carte blanche to call me slum-lord, and over-extended.

My friends and family gave me shit... even hurt my feelings.
But, they have all began to change thier tunes... after I purchased 3rd cash-positive property in 4 years and had enough equity in my 1st duplex to almost buy a small duplex out-right.

You talk about dreams, scams, ect... but I want to know what your advice is... specifically?
I'm not talking about risk, w/out risk there is no reward, but you know that... right?

How may properties do you have equity in?

I'm 19 and looking to buy a place of my own.  I'm planning on buying a duplex and living in 1 side of it.  The other sides rent should cover my mortage or be very close.  Then in a few years i'll build myself a new house and have good cash flow coming in from the duplex.