A Teen's Intro into ERE

[Venom]

Hey World!

I haven't read any other journals so I'm not sure if there is a precedent to start. I'll start with some basic info on who I am. I'm also an INTJ personality type oddly enough.

I'm Venom. A 17 year old teen who was enlightened to FIRE at age 16. I have a job at a fast-food chain and I save more than ~80% of my income. I've currently saved up around ~$3k that will probably be gone after college.

Currently I'm a senior in high school, but going to the community college through a program at my school for technical degrees. I'm going for my Associates in Electrical Engineer Technology(glorified electrician, I hear). After doing that I will take a year of classes at the community college to fill in some gaps so I can transfer to get my Bachelors in Electrical Engineering. The program at my high school pays for my first year's tuition. After that it's FAFSA and money from me or my parents.

I enjoy powerlifting, watching my money build up, video games, reading, and thinking about serious topics such as peak oil or the Gaza conflict. Most of my money is spent on powerlifting. The purchases I've made in the past couple months include: a singlet, weightlifting belt, and weightlifting shoes. A total of ~$200 which will last ~5 years meaning I get around ~$20 per year. That's something I picked up from the ERE book .

I'm going to lay out some goals relating to anything right now

• Get hired as maintenance man for a local real estate agency.

• Recover from strained knee ligaments.

• Deadlift 365 for 2 sets of 3 reps by end of this year.

• Bench 245lbs by the end of this year.

• Save 90% of paychecks from August 'till... forever?

• Start a YouTube channel to journal my fitness journey

• Get my Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and not EET

• Graduate college with zero debt!!!

• Write my guide to sustainable diet for obese teenagers.(I was obese from age 7-15)Publish it via Amazon

[almostthere]

Ahh to be young and be introduced to ERE. Wonderful.

If I were you I would also add in reading widely about investing. I started reading in the subject at about age 20 and I wish I had started even earlier. Read widely. Don't limit yourself to any style at this point. There will time enough for that later. I read for three or four years before I ever even put a dime in the market. Maybe I waited a little too long to begin but I had a better than average understanding of the markets when I did.

[Chad]

Sounds like a great start. I was into powerlifting through my teens and early twenties, as preparation for sports. I'm actually in the process of working my way back into it.

Definitely do some reading on investing.

Don't wait to start your own YouTube channel and publish that guide for teenagers. Those are money making opportunities that will help you ERE. Plus, you will probably enjoy creating them.

[JohnnyH]

Wow, you are on the ball! Keep us updated... Teens enlightened to FIRE, the world is your oyster.

[Venom]

I'll definitely look up some investing books. Seems like the Wiki here has a list. I'll see if my community college's library has some.

I'll get started on both the YouTube channel and Dietary Guide. I have a couple weeks before the fall semester, I'll have time.

[Venom]

As of August I have a partially torn ACL and a cyst on my meniscus. No squats or deadlifts for the foreseeable future. At least I may not need surgery. The doc prescribed rehabilitation exercises that I do daily. Currently really bummed out about not being able to squat or deadlift.

This past month I've spent a total of $60. A rain jacket that will sell for $40+ on eBay, local MMA tickets, and some drinks which I could've easily skimped on. Hindsight is always 20/20 :/. Income this month will be around $200 only, not able to work with my knee for 2 weeks.

I'm considering quitting my fast food job and volunteering for a non-profit or the soup kitchen. My reasoning is I will have little financial trouble through college and my time at my job isn't that valuable. Where as volunteering contributes more to society than my job. Another plus is a great looking resume, apparently colleges love volunteers but not part-time employees.

My plan for college as of now is to see what I can do with an Associates in Electrical Engineering Technology. If I can't get a good paying job I'll simply take another year at community college and then transfer to an actual Electrical Engineering program.

[Dragline]

Your journey is quite inspirational for us older folks. I had my 18-year old read the ERE book before he heads off to State U. in a few weeks. He had a funny comment, along the lines of "it was a great book, but I hated when he referred to things in earlier chapters that were actually in later chapters. That irritated me about my linear algebra book, too."

Yes, the volunteering might suit you better long-term. One thing i did not appreciate at your age was making good connections with people who might be able to give me good references later when looking for that first higher-paying job. Make sure you do that at your school and whatever work you do, whether its volunteer or otherwise. And send handwritten thank-you notes to people who helped/supervised you. It works wonders, because almost no one does it anymore. Easy investments in your future.

[GandK]

I'm also an INTJ personality type oddly enough.

Not odd at all. INTJs get sucked toward this site as though it were at the center of some strange psychosocial black hole.

You're on a great track. Keep us informed of your progress! Good luck.

[Venom]

I'm going to pick up some texts on investing at my school's library. I'm a very simple kind of person and the MMM approach to investing seems like a simple, straight forward process. I currently have 1.8k in a savings and 1.5k in a checkings. Once I turn 18 and am stable enough to afford community college I will attempt to max out a Roth IRA. From here I'm just saving my money and living the teenage life.

Recently my mom has told me I'm going to get a car. The car she's getting me gets 25mpg. I'm considering buying a bike to take to school. I have no clue of the local laws pertaining to biking. My college is only 3.8mi away so it is definitely close enough to bike to. I'm really confused as to what bike to buy, there are so many different kinds with so many different gear speeds and other junk that I wish it was as simple as going to WalMart. I'm going to educate myself on bikes and try to find one on Craigslist. If that doesn't work I'll go to the local bike shop we have.

I had to take 2 weeks of work to recover. I have a partially torn ACL and a cyst on my MCL. Feeling a lot better via rehab exercises.

I've decided to see what I can do with just my AA in EET. I'm interested in all trades and wouldn't mind Apprenticing, but I have no clue where to start. To add to that it seems I'll be able to get a decent job with my AA. No reason to go to a costly school and trouble my parents and myself.

[theanimal]

I may have missed it but when do you plan on reaching FI? The reason I'm asking is because of your statement regarding the Roth IRA. It may not be the wisest choice to max it out each year (if you're hitting FI relatively soon) since you can't touch that until you're 59.5.

And as someone who just graduated, I think you're making a great call in pursuing a trade over college. Good luck!

[Venom]

Well, my goal to reach FI is in about 10-15 years. 8-13 working years assuming I can get a job straight out of college. I'm actually really glad you reminded me of that about IRA's. Although my idea was to let the interest grow and if need be use the principle, I understand how idiotic that would be.

Thanks!

[TheFrugalFox]

Great that you starting so young, kudos. Personally, I would start a share trading account and start buying good dividend paying large cap stocks regularly and over a few sectors. Don't sell them, just keep adding to them. For every $10,000 invested, use $500 on a more speculative punt - just to add a bit of spice to your portfolio.

Although I am very happy where I am and am about to retire in 2 weeks at 40, it really bugs me to know how much I SAVED then spent over the years vs what I should have done, which is INVEST. There is a massive difference between those words but for many people they treat them the same - unfortunately, so did I for many years.

[Barlotti]

Hi there, just wanted to note that you can withdraw the amount contributed from a Roth IRA at any time, and after 5 years, you can withdraw investment earnings, although your earnings will be taxed (I believe as ordinary income) before age 59.5.

Best wishes!

[frihet]

Wow you're way ahead thinking of this so early on. I think electrical engineer is a very wise choice, fun and challenging. I used to work in a train workshop and it was always so satisfactory to trouble shoot electrical/automation following the circuit diagrams. At least when you finally found the fault

If I where you I would consider the oil and gas / shipping industry afterwards. This is where the money is and you also have the possibility of offshore rotation with 6 months off a year and see many exotic place all over the world in your career.

[Dragline]

If you're going to be a double E, you'd better learn this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajgqBrJVe3o

Sure, it's called "Darlene", but Plant is really singing "Double E". Trust me.

"Come on baby, Double E!"
"And I do my double E . . ."

Makes the homework go WAY faster.

[Venom]

Thanks, Barlotti. Seems I know way less about investing than I thought I did. I definitely am going to pick up some text on investing and finance.

Frihet, I'd actually love to do some oil rig work. Apparently it is a lucrative career, from what I've heard. Once I graduate that'll be my first option. Hopefully by then I'll have enough money to relocate to one of the states where it is more popular. Any advice on oil rig careers?

If only double E + T sounded as good, Dragline.

[frihet]

Sorry can't give much advice because I live in Norway and will have my career based on the North Sea. But if I hear any rumours on the rigs or learn something valuable in the future I let you know.

At least I can reaffirm your plan of moving to an oil hub. That's what I did to get my career started. You often need to build experience onshore before you get the rotational offshore work.

[Venom]

At least I can reaffirm your plan of moving to an oil hub. That's what I did to get my career started. You often need to build experience onshore before you get the rotational offshore work.

Thanks frihet. I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to get employed with my Associates in Electrical Engineering Technology. But if I have to get a Bachelor's in EE, I will.

[pemulis]

At least I can reaffirm your plan of moving to an oil hub. That's what I did to get my career started. You often need to build experience onshore before you get the rotational offshore work.

Thanks frihet. I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to get employed with my Associates in Electrical Engineering Technology. But if I have to get a Bachelor's in EE, I will.

You may find this strange believe but typically the opposite is true. In general higher paying jobs are fewer than lower paying jobs so in almost every field it is easier or at least as easy to find work as a technician rather than as a full engineer or professional (whatever the distinction is).

If you want to do a clever thing, get a two year degree then get job with an employer that will pay your tuition for the remaining 2-3 years of school you have.

The biggest thing you can do to kick off your career is to get the first job. If you go to a school that does co-ops you are set.

[Venom]

Had to purchase ~$70 in books and $14 on a scientific calculator for my Circuits class. The way my program coordinator talks I'll be able to pick up a job pretty quickly. He showed us some of the classes they have. PLCs seem like a very interesting thing to program and apparently PLC technicians make quite a bit of cash. Unfortunately I doubt I'll be qualified for such a position but hopefully I'll get a good intro to PLCs.

Total income this month is ~$200.

Gym fees: $54(extra $29 due to a fee they have once a year)
Eating out: $10
College: $84

Not happy with how much I spent, but the gym is something I can't bring to the apartment. Not a good month but definitely an exciting one with the start of community college! I love it!