Figuring out where you will be financially years from now is hard to imagine. There are always what you plan, and then there’s things that just happen that you would usually rather not have of. You can always make goals and things and hope that things go alright and end up close to what you expected. I am currently eighteen years old.
I am working on setting up all my financial things so that I am independent and can rely on myself for what I need and not have to worry about having my parents approving of things and being responsible for what I choose to do. I am going to take out a small loan soon and work on building up my credit history. I am also planning on transferring all my things like my car and phone to my name. This summer I am going to get a full time job as a CNA and save up some money for next year college. I plan on hopefully going to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities for my bachelors degree in nursing.
As I attend college I plan on staying employed as a CNA and working as much as possible so that I can afford to pay my tuition that I will basically be on my own with. During my college years I plan to get a few small credit cards just in case and also to keep my credit good. After I graduate, I would like to move somewhere south or west and work as a Psych RN. While I work as a RN, I may go back to school and complete my masters program to become a NP (nurse practitioner).
I will be receiving my insurance through whatever company I am working at because that will be required in order for me to even apply. Hopefully I will have met someone by then and will get married after I receive my bachelors and will eventually have two kids. I will then purchase my own house and also a car. I will be paying insurance on both of these items. I will work the rest of my life as a Nurse and will eventually retire at the age of 65.
Although I don’t really know how well all of this will work out and I’m sure there are probably easier ways to do all this, I don’t think I will be talking to any professionals. I think I have enough basic understanding in order to keep myself stable. Granted I will probably fall a couple of times and make a few mistakes, I’ve been taught to keep working at it and you’ll get it right eventually. I know that in order to get what you want you have to try and work really hard. I don’t believe in being handed things, whether it be money or advice or anything else. I would rather try and fail then have someone tell me what to and what not to do.
I myself believe in risks to an extent. I think they are alright as long as they are somewhat logical. I don’t believe in “jumping off a cliff with no ropes hoping to survive”. I plan on having two accounts, one checking and one savings.
I will mainly work with my checking account and the savings will not be touched unless for emergencies. I will keep a minimum of a thousand dollars in my savings account, which I will be opening at a credit union since they have a slightly higher interest rate, so I will always have it. I have learned to always keep a “safe” amount of money the hard way, which is why I will be taking out a loan soon. I think the best investment for you to make is the purchasing of a house. The only catch though is to make sure that you can afford the payments, because if you don’t make them all or you are late with them your credit will go down and you will not be able to buy another house for seven to ten years if you allow it to go down to zero. I believe that necessary investments are low risk.
Although they might be a lot of money and can be very damaging to credit if not taken care of when they have to be, they are necessities and anyone with their right mind should have them as first priorities. With this I am talking about cars and necessary credit card purchases such as household equipment. I do not think credit cards should be used as any type of “extra” money. It’s not extra, it’s borrowed. You do have to pay it back and the item will be extra because of all the interest that comes with them.
If things are necessary to get at the time cash is not available, like a washing machine and things like that, then go for it. They are necessary to have because things do happen, but too many people use them the wrong way and then end up filing for bankruptcy. The investment that I believe is the highest risk of all would be the purchasing of stocks and relying solely on them for your everyday money supply. They are very unstable and can go many different ways over the course of one day. I think if you purchase one small one that’s fine, but not very many unless you like taking those kinds of risks. When I get to about the age of 40-50, I will start to look into what I will need for retirement.
I will begin putting money away so I can get a nice house and car. I will begin spending some money on little things because I’m getting near the end. Once I get up into the fifties, I will probably be set. I will hopefully have a traditional IRA because I will have made so much money throughout my life.
I will probably begin to look for a place to live once I do retire. I will make sure I have at least some kind of medical insurance because older people usually have high medical bills. When I get to the wonderful age of retirement, I will pretty much be set. I will have a job where a 401k plan is set up for me. I will also have my IRA to look to also.
I should have plenty of money to support me and my family for the rest of our lives. All these plans will hopefully help me and my family become economically successful. If I can invest all my money intelligently then we will have a higher possibility for success. The key is to remember the things I have learned and do things the smart way.
