23 with 46k planning for future.

[gtprince]

Hello,

Been a long time follower (year or so). Have learned a lot from the forums and would like to tell everyone thanks for their insight on different ways to make money. So i have about 46k invested (all made from min wage job and paid of tuition) with which i'm earning about 6% per annum, which is pretty good from what I believe. However I have recently convinced myself to take the plunge on quest trade and play stocks, which I will first try with 1k. However I do have some aspiration in life, as I'm sure you all did when your my age. Eventually i want to be able to own a million dollar home. I've done a few mortgage calculators with my girlfriend to figure out what I would need to do etc to retire comfortably at 50. Is there anyone that started investing early, and have had similar outcomes? I realize the time is different, and I still am making only 12/hr but as a recent graduate I'm expecting that to at least double or triple as I land a decent job. But I do eventually want to get married at 25 or so if the time comes, and buy my first house at 27 or so. I've also been actively searching purchasing foreclosure and renting it out, as a subsidiary income for now and maybe for the future.

Thanks for reading my long post

Raymond R-B.Sc.

[Spudd]

It'll be a lot easier to retire at 50 if you don't buy a million dollar home.

If you're making 6% on the money without being in stocks (how are you doing that, by the way??) I would definitely keep the majority of my money in the 6% return place.

I started investing when I was in university, just in mutual funds and GICs in my RRSP. I'm now 39 and on a good path to retiring comfortably, I believe. However I don't own a million dollar home.

[MoneyGal]

What she said. I bought a "cheap" home (which has appreciated in price considerably). It might become a "million-dollar home" through price appreciation over time, but I didn't set out to buy a million-dollar home. I'm 45 and started investing seriously in my mid-20s. I have no intention of retiring in my mid-50s, but you can ask me again in 10 years.

[gtprince]

Thanks for all the response so far. I've seen alot of people saying don't buy a house at this time, etc etc. But I do think its an easy way to invest for the future, and helping my father with his investment properties, it is not as much work as I think its being portrayed on the boards. Take into account, I come from a very mechanically inclined background- plumbing, electrical, drywall, you name it.

[Barwelle]

Why a million dollar home? Why throw that value out there? You should be buying a house because it you like it and can afford it, not because it costs seven figures. Maybe you will be able to afford it, but then you won't have money left over to invest and save for Freedom 50 (which is a pretty young age to aim for retirement at, so you'll need to save pretty agressively compared to your peers). 3x your current wage isn't a lot of money. And why set the standards so high? You pay a million dollars for the house... then insurance will cost more. It will likely be big, so cleaning will be more of a chore. When you renovate, that will cost big bucks because, since the rest of the house is already really nice / really big / both, you have to renovate to the same standard. It's an endless cycle that doesn't stop when you close the purchase.

Nice job though, having 46K saved up at 23, after going to school for 4 years. I also am curious where you're getting this 6% return. Welcome to the forum!

[Causalien]

Work is not about money. Why do you want to retire? It's boring.

What you really want. Is to stop taking orders fromo others. If you just want a million dollar house to show off. That can be done NOW with a mortgage. Then you can retire and live off of the government.

[crazyjackcsa]

If you're earning 6% a year right now, leave it the hell alone. Forget the "playing stocks on quest trade", put the million dollar home out of your mind, and cross the retirement bridge when you get to it.

You're sitting in an enviable position right now. Hoard every dollar you can over the next few years, buy a nice house with a decent down payment, and just keep investing as much as you can, but DON'T "play stocks".

The silly season must be upon us.

[the-royal-mail]

Great post as always by crazyjacks. Agreed on all counts.

Very few people get to retire at 50. Million dollar home? Wow.

Lots of swiss cheese around CMF lately.

[gtprince]

Great post as always by crazyjacks. Agreed on all counts.

Very few people get to retire at 50. Million dollar home? Wow.

Lots of swiss cheese around CMF lately.

There is holes in my plan. However it does not mean that is unattainable. Any goal can be reached if you look at the smaller steps to fulfill them, which is what I'm trying to do by using this form as one of many resources to enhance and educated my knowledge. Thanks all for the constructive criticism and positive posts so far. As for the investment check out Banwell financial. I've net an average of 6% in the 2 years I've been with them.

[Plugging Along]

If you really want to retire at 50, just as a goal, I would rephase 'i want to be able to own a million dollar home' to 'I want to have enough that I could buy a million dollar home', and just not buy it. I am actually in the position that I could buy a million dollar home, but wont because I would rather have the million dollars =)

Kudos first of all in your savings and all your hard work. I believe you have a big part of the equation nailed and that's the savings and planning part. Keep saving the way you do, so you can buy a house (an affordable one) The other thing I would focus more on instead playing around in stocks, etc, is really your income and earning potential. You should be doing everything you can to increase your long term earning potential through experience, education etc. This will have bigger pay off later.

In terms of has anyone been there, I started saving and 'investing' when I first got out of school at 21. Just putting money in my RRSP, and coming up with a plan to max it. I made that automatic and still have it come out monthly. I spent my early days in my career learning everything I could and volunteering for all the projects I could even if it wasn't a part of my job. As a result I got promoted on an average every 18 months. At the same time, my spouse (partner at the time), work his butt off to get experience and started contracting. Since consulting pays well, but is unstable we made all our financial decisions base on my income, and just banked his. We bought a house using the down payment my spouse saved, based on just my income, so it was less than 1/2 of what the bank would allow a mortgage for, which was a lot less in ratios than they are now. By NOT buying the largest house we could, we were able to have many more choices in life because we were not house poor or depending on 2 incomes. We have always had the choice of whether both of us need to be working or not, so that's invaluable when someone wants to stay at home with the kids, or loses a job. We both really like to work too, so having two incomes has allowed us to pay off our mortgage alot faster, buy additional property, and investments. We were able to hit the million dollar mark (total networth only, not just investments) in our early thirties, and could probably retire at fifty.

I think you're on track, just don't get sucked into the image of the million dollar home. My spouse and I often talk about upgrading our house, and getting the bigger house, because really out of all of our friends, we have the most modest house. It seems unfair at times because we know we also have some of the highest incomes. Then we remind ourself not to get sucked in because we have the ability to buy any of the places if we really wanted to.