Get Rich (Not So Quick) Advice Needed

Off Topic
1

So I’ve decided it’s time to get a job that pays more money, significantly more money and I actually have my final interview for one in about an hour. Regardless of whether I get this particular job in the next 6 months I intend to have something significantly more lucrative than the $45k a year that I’m currently making.

Here’s the thing. With my new income I want to use it to start making more money but I don’t know a damn thing about doing so and neither does anyone in my immediate family (my cousin Brian does but he’s way way way beyond the financial level I’ll be moving into so not really a lot of help).

What sorts of things should I do?

I would like to get out of debt (credit card and car payment, I’m okay with my mortgage)

Then I was thinking of looking into buying real estate, I have a few friends that are realtors who are happy to point me at properties they feel are going enough below market to make it worth my while to purchase as a rental property.

Honestly I don’t know much about anything else.

Does anyone have advice for where I should start reading? Researching? putting my money?

The first few months will simply pay off my existing debt but after that I’d like to have a plan in place already for when I have the money.

Thanks

STU

2

Getting out of debt should be your primary goal for sure. Then, invest in something you understand. If you don’t know real estate, don’t sink your money in to it, it’s a stupid idea. Learn the market your self, don’t lean on your friends for more than snippets of insight or advice. Any scenario that lets you win big lets you lose big too so know what you are doing.

Set up financial investments. Stocks, mutual funds, IRA… they are tried and true methods of protecting and increasing your money. Invest enough to let the returns give you a decent life on their own.

Any excess money you have after paying your debts and setting up a “standard” retirement plan can be poured in to high risk investments that you have studied and understand.

Read and study wealthy people. We all come to T-Nation to get top notch advice from top notch strength/body building gurus, do the same in other endevours.

A Success Magazine subscription would be a fantastic investment. It’s worth more than gold if you really read and apply the concepts contributers write about.

3

Once you have $10,000 you are able to lose, consider investing in the stock market. Until that time, research investment. Despite the market’s condition, it is a fine time for value investing.

As is preached to the bleary eyed lambs, first year MBA students, all you need is 10k and two ten-baggers to become a millionaire.

4

Congrats man, it’s always refreshing to hear that folks are moving up in the world.

5

Settle your debts, then take some risks - no one got rich by accident (well, almost).

A little more than a year ago I started a business on the side of my 9-5 job, because I had $15k in my savings that was lying around - I took a risk. I quit my job 2 months ago because the business makes me enough money to get by on.

With that, I’ve also started a company doing the same thing I did at the job I quit. If all goes well, I’ll put “them” out of business within a year.

I may not get rich, but I believe self employment is a much better way to get there than working for someone else. Generally speaking, that is. It does depend on your profession.

That’s my 2 cents.

6

Dave Ramsey has some good info IMO. It worked for me anyways.
Robert Kiyosaki, I’ve heard good things. I believe he does alot with real estate?

I’ve only been researching stuff for a very short time so take my vague info with a grain of salt.

What I’ve noticed about this type of stuff is that there is no ONE way to go about it. If you perfer stocks, look into that. If you like real estate, look into that. Everyone is going to give you different info anyways.
It probably helps to find someone that suits your personality. I’d try to find a forum that’s more suited for whatever you have in mind.

7

Cash flow real estate purchased below current market value.

Does Canada have an equivalent to the US Section 8 program where the government pays low income families rent directly to the landlord for them?

Those are the properties I personally invest in, and we compound all the revenue back into more properties.

8

Thanks for the advice folks. I’m happy to do my own reading and research but with no idea where to start it’s a little daunting, just like someone who walks into the gym the first time not knowing the difference between machines, free weights and the damn bosu ball so I figured I’d ask here knowing people have a variety of interests.

The debts are definitely the first thing that’s getting taken care of and I figured I could hang on tot he rest till I come up with a more coherent plan.

The advice from the realtors is just that, friendly advice. I’m comfortable doing renovations to places on my own so I figured I might look for a few places to buy, reno and rent, or flip if it looks like I can make some decent money. While I don’t know a ton about the real estate per se my realtor friends can help out a bit and I do trust them.

Again, at this point I’m just researching options as I don’t even have the job yet.

STU

9

Pay off your debt.
Max out your 401k at work
open a 529 for your kids
open a roth if you have enough left & contribute to it.

/thread.

Most people would do well staying out of the market without at least 300-400k to LOSE. Whole lot of people with big balls, until the DOW loses 250 points on a bad Friday, and then they freak out, sell low, and the retardation of chasing the market starts and they didn’t even realize it.

Risk tolerance is a huge issue.

10

Trading your time for money (i.e. being an employee) will never make you rich. Depending upon the profession and level of education, you can command a high salary and be extremely comfortable, but you will never get “rich”. You have to figure out how to both A) Provide Value and B) Get PAID for it. Preferably with a “vehicle” that you enjoy. But right now, it sounds like you don’t have a clue about what you WANT (other than to be rich) and you don’t have a clue about HOW to get there…

Here’s a hint, in case you missed that last part: FIRST figure out what you want (be specific), then figure out how to get there.

Good luck - in this economy, you’re going to need it (but if you actually MAKE it in this economy, you’ll know everything you need to thrive in ANY economy).

11

I’m Canadian, no 401k or a 529. . . no kids either actually.

ROTH?

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Pay off your debt.
Max out your 401k at work
open a 529 for your kids
open a roth if you have enough left & contribute to it.

/thread.

Most people would do well staying out of the market without at least 300-400k to LOSE. Whole lot of people with big balls, until the DOW loses 250 points on a bad Friday, and then they freak out, sell low, and the retardation of chasing the market starts and they didn’t even realize it.

Risk tolerance is a huge issue. [/quote]

12

[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Trading your time for money (i.e. being an employee) will never make you rich. Depending upon the profession and level of education, you can command a high salary and be extremely comfortable, but you will never get “rich”. You have to figure out how to both A) Provide Value and B) Get PAID for it. Preferably with a “vehicle” that you enjoy. But right now, it sounds like you don’t have a clue about what you WANT (other than to be rich) and you don’t have a clue about HOW to get there…

Here’s a hint, in case you missed that last part: FIRST figure out what you want (be specific), then figure out how to get there.

Good luck - in this economy, you’re going to need it (but if you actually MAKE it in this economy, you’ll know everything you need to thrive in ANY economy).[/quote]

Actually my cousin got quite rich as an employee. . . to the tune of around a billion dollars but I know he’s the exception.

What do I want? I want enough income that in 15 years I don’t have to work anymore. That’s what I want. Passive income ideally.

Really the title wasn’t about getting rich it’s about what sorts of things I can do with my money other than spend it, ideally things that will bring in some more money.

13

[quote]Sturat wrote:

[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Trading your time for money (i.e. being an employee) will never make you rich. Depending upon the profession and level of education, you can command a high salary and be extremely comfortable, but you will never get “rich”. You have to figure out how to both A) Provide Value and B) Get PAID for it. Preferably with a “vehicle” that you enjoy. But right now, it sounds like you don’t have a clue about what you WANT (other than to be rich) and you don’t have a clue about HOW to get there…

Here’s a hint, in case you missed that last part: FIRST figure out what you want (be specific), then figure out how to get there.

Good luck - in this economy, you’re going to need it (but if you actually MAKE it in this economy, you’ll know everything you need to thrive in ANY economy).[/quote]

Actually my cousin got quite rich as an employee. . . to the tune of around a billion dollars but I know he’s the exception.

What do I want? I want enough income that in 15 years I don’t have to work anymore. That’s what I want. Passive income ideally.

Really the title wasn’t about getting rich it’s about what sorts of things I can do with my money other than spend it, ideally things that will bring in some more money.
[/quote]

Go work for your cousin! LOL

14

[quote]Sturat wrote:
I’m Canadian, no 401k or a 529. . . no kids either actually.

ROTH?

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Pay off your debt.
Max out your 401k at work
open a 529 for your kids
open a roth if you have enough left & contribute to it.

/thread.

Most people would do well staying out of the market without at least 300-400k to LOSE. Whole lot of people with big balls, until the DOW loses 250 points on a bad Friday, and then they freak out, sell low, and the retardation of chasing the market starts and they didn’t even realize it.

Risk tolerance is a huge issue. [/quote]
[/quote]

In Canadian terms - max out your RRSP and your TFSA. Also take advantage of any employer matched contribution plan.

IMO- DO NOT GO OUT AND BUY MUTUAL FUNDS - they will almost always underperform the market plus the MERs are usually anywhere from one to three points higher than an index fund.

If I was you I would look into “passive index investing” - At least to start off. This should give you MARKET returns (which is a feat as most people get less…).

Excellent site - http://canadiancouchpotato.com/

and - http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/

My #1 book recommendation would be Grahams “Intelligent Investor”

Good Luck

15

In no particular order,

  1. Read Richest Man in Babylon and Think and Grow Rich.
  2. Invest in things that you like and understand. Just because everyone does options and stocks doesn’t mean you need to. If you like houses and loved playing Monopoly as a kid like I do, then set your sites on getting your first house/property. Then the next one, then a factory. (this is exactly what I did although I share these with family).
  3. Clear your debts, maintain debts only on true assets (investment property yes, car no unless it’s a means for you to earn more money).
  4. Start small, then in a few years build on it.
  5. Sales involving commission is one of the fastest and most difficult ways to get closer to earning lots of money quickly. Yes the money comes but is it worth the time, the emotions, the relationships with people around you. Only you can assess. The only other category are highly skilled people who have their own risks (lawyers, doctors, dentists etc) who really have one true skill which they charge for, they are specialists but still need to be proficient in their job to get better at it. You don’t sound like a specialist to me.

Other ways to make money - share in a business/franchise etc. I’ve done both. Attend all sorts of seminars connected to investing because if you’re green now you won’t realise how green till you see people at these seminars operate.

16

[quote]Sturat wrote:

[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Trading your time for money (i.e. being an employee) will never make you rich. Depending upon the profession and level of education, you can command a high salary and be extremely comfortable, but you will never get “rich”. You have to figure out how to both A) Provide Value and B) Get PAID for it. Preferably with a “vehicle” that you enjoy. But right now, it sounds like you don’t have a clue about what you WANT (other than to be rich) and you don’t have a clue about HOW to get there…

Here’s a hint, in case you missed that last part: FIRST figure out what you want (be specific), then figure out how to get there.

Good luck - in this economy, you’re going to need it (but if you actually MAKE it in this economy, you’ll know everything you need to thrive in ANY economy).[/quote]

Actually my cousin got quite rich as an employee. . . to the tune of around a billion dollars but I know he’s the exception.

What do I want? I want enough income that in 15 years I don’t have to work anymore. That’s what I want. Passive income ideally.

Really the title wasn’t about getting rich it’s about what sorts of things I can do with my money other than spend it, ideally things that will bring in some more money.
[/quote]

I’d be keen to know specifically how your cousin is worth a billion dollars. Because there’s no faster way to be rich than to model.

Ok, 15 years is a LONG time. A DAMN LONG time. Set 3 to 5 year goals max and make as damn sure you HIT them. Your whole world will change in 15 years.

Who doesn’t want Passive Income? I mean money while you sleep? Honestly. How much? from what sources? how are you going to do it? How many ways are there to earn passive income? Read multiple streams of income by Robert Allen for e.g. Think house, shares, business, franchise, art, investment, gold etc. Think investment all the time.

Don’t want to work anymore? Try not working for a month and tell me how bored you get. Your mind must always be active, be creative, chasing for a new challenge. Retire by 45? Fuck that, I’m not retiring I’m going to work on myself and my passions and my family for every single day of my life. Whether I work for someone or myself, my reputation, who I am and my legacy are FAR more important. I have a job, I have investments, I know who I want to be, what sort of mark I want to leave on society. Work on that. Else it’s just words on a forum…

Invest money to fill your head with knowledge, then meet people, expand your knowledge, learn to lose money, learn from your mistakes, become more adept. The most successful people aren’t the ones that don’t fail, they are the ones that fail all the time but get better and better at finding a solution and resolving matters by themselves. They are also willing to take big risks. I want to be Donald Trump, but I know I can’t risk things like him, so i’ll never be him. I’ll be better than me now but never better than someone who’s willing to risk more. Fact.

Manage your emotions. This is priceless. Find a way to be calm in a storm and ready to turn on the heat when required.

17

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Pay off your debt.
Max out your 401k at work
open a 529 for your kids
open a roth if you have enough left & contribute to it.

/thread.

Most people would do well staying out of the market without at least 300-400k to LOSE. Whole lot of people with big balls, until the DOW loses 250 points on a bad Friday, and then they freak out, sell low, and the retardation of chasing the market starts and they didn’t even realize it.

Risk tolerance is a huge issue. [/quote]

I agree with counting beans in that I would pay off all unsecured debt; that is, everything but the mortgage. But first, set up an emergency fund so that your debt does not get any worse. Then pay off your debt in order of interest rate. After that, it really depends on your risk tolerance and time horizon. For retirement, I like the spider (SPY) and diamond (DIA) index funds because they give market returns without the higher mutual fund costs. Past that, if you are going to start your own business, then you might want to make sure that you have enough capital before you launch.
Good luck.

18

Invest in horseshoes. Horseshoes are the future!

19

Xander,

Currently I’m looking for a commissioned sales position, my current position is sales but with no commission and a pretty meh base salary so I figure since I do damn well at it I might as well find somethign that pays a little better.

Shoot me a PM and I’ll explain who my cousin is.

I appreciate all the advice on what to read, I’m happy to do research but like I said I’m so green at this I don’t know enough to sort the crap from the good stuff so I appreciate some guidance.

I actually have no intention of not working, I simply don’t want to have to work. Big difference.

Thanks for the advice from everyone, I have a lot of reading to get going on.

20

lol try doing something for your cousin. a billion dollars your whole family shouldn’t have to work again

What are you trying to sell? What is your education level?