[J$ is recovering from beach week and shall return shortly… While he’s away, enjoy this inspirational post by Will Lipovsky of FirstQuarterFinance.com. Proof again that it all adds up! And that you’re never too young, or old, to get started…]
At age 21 I graduated college with $100,000 sitting in the bank. Scratch that – most of it was invested elsewhere… but you get the point.
I’m not writing this post because I think I’m cool (beatboxing skills, aside ;)). I didn’t earn $100k before even getting a “real job” because I’m special – I was just intentional.
What I don’t get is most people wait until a quarter of their life is gone before they start worrying about money. I didn’t wait until I was halfway through my 20’s and deep in student and consumer debt to start paying attention to my finances. I blog to help other people create wealth early in life.
How Did I Get Here?
I worked, saved, and invested of course! How else does one create wealth? I started working early and often. So early that I used to measure my money in the amount of Skittles packets it could buy!
I had 3 requirements for my jobs and side hustles: must be fun, pay well, and look snazzy on my resume. Tick, tick, tick and I was almost always eager to get out of bed! Whenever I worked borderline illegally long hours, I did so because I wanted to. I began investing the money right away at age 10.
I had so few expenses as a kid. I didn’t need to work or invest. Heck, birthday money would cover any ‘expenses’ I accrued. The reason I worked was because I knew life outside my parents’ house came with expenses. I wanted to be ready. Why fall out of the nest when you can soar?
Everyday I’m Hustlin’
As I got older, I sold a lot of stuff on eBay, forums, and Craigslist. My stuff, my parents’ stuff (for a commission), stuff I would flip… clothing, electronics, you name it. I started doing this before I could legally have a PayPal account! I convinced mom to create one using my email. To this day, my PayPal homepage greets me with, ‘Hi again, Victoria!’
I asked my parents to pay me for any crazy odd job they had available. I remember picking dandelions for 5 cents per head. It was great because they grew right back! Talk about job security! However, they soon told me my position had been eliminated…
In one of my gutsier moves, I found stuff in the attic, garage, outbuildings that mom didn’t use anymore. I announced a garage sale outside where she could buy back her stolen forgotten goods. Making money as a kid is way easier than as an adult. To seal the deals, I would include free home delivery. Good thing I was a cute kid.
When I was 14, I found a neighbor who hustled like crazy. He took early retirement from the FDIC to start 3 businesses. I wanted in on the excitement. I knew he likely needed help. With a lot of encouragement from mom, I created a resume and gave the guy a call. I learned a lot about how to win at life from that man and he paid me! He even let me live in his investment house for free after college.
Fast and Furious Side Hustle
In high school, I started a pawn shop out of my high school shop class. Kids who ‘needed’ money for whatever silly reason would sell their stuff to me. I had cash. Business eventually got so good I started making them do the market research to prove I could resell their stuff online for at least a 50% profit before we would make a deal. Easy and very fun! The only downside was how mad mom would get when every few days I filled the living room with packing peanuts and car parts…
Work and Pay Should Correlate
In college, I would schmooze alums to donate money to my school. They would give to our scholarship/ campus renovation/student organization programs. My target age group was 40-60-year-old ladies. We had a great time chatting and I made my school a lot of money – which helped keep tuition down.
It felt like being self-employed. I earned commission in this role. Seeing my efforts directly correlate with my earnings has always been motivating to me. I worked every night I could. Again – having fun while working. I really miss talking with some of those ladies!
Cashing Checks and Fighter Jets
I had some pretty awesome internships. One was a financial advising firm (go figure) and the other with the U.S. Strategic Command (I think it’s okay to tell you about this?).
Working for the financial firm was okay but honestly, Vanguard > traditional financial salespeople – I mean – advisors.
Working on an Air Force Base gave me a shot of adrenaline each time I pulled through the gates. Armed soldiers, jets ready to scramble, security clearances, top brass… oh yeah. That’s the stuff. Once, while going to a base picnic, we crossed a runway and had a pair of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets come in for landing right above our car. This job was fun, paid well, and boosted my resume!
Ways I Saved
My biggest purchase prior to my car at age 16 was a $40 stereo I bought from my cousin. Honestly, I was sweatin’ bullets after the purchase because I felt like I wasted a mountain of cash. Good thing I still use that sucker today!
Most kids buy all sorts of stuff on a whim. But our hobbies and passions change fast as a kid. Buying a lot of stuff is pretty silly. I always thought to myself, if I want it bad enough, I can wait for my birthday or Christmas. Cap gun obsession followed by NERF obsession followed by airsoft obsession followed by paintball obsession… Makes me tired just typing out all the ways I could have piddled away my $100k! Seriously!
Man, I could go on and on about what I did to save… Maybe J. Money will let me guest post again. Hint, hint, comment below. :)
Paying for College
I hustled through college in 3.5 years (not impressive, anyone can get a bachelor’s degree in 3 full-time years). I took summer classes to keep the costs down – apparently getting the same education in the summer is 80% cheaper! I used some tricks to get A’s from professors almost no matter what – that freed up my time for earning money and learning about investing. Retaking classes was definitely never an option. It was a private school which gave me a good education. I hacked my way through college in a million different ways. That’s another post for another day.
Back to Present Day
As I write this, I’m 24-years-old still hustling to earn, save, and invest my way to financial freedom. My current savings rate is 85%. I should quite easily become FI by 30. But all in all I’m pretty normal. My views align pretty closely with J. Money’s (is that normal???). Sometimes I want to buy something useless but I stop myself. I would rather buy freedom than pointless stuff.
That initial $100,000 was not that difficult to achieve. Most people just don’t bother putting in the effort.
Thanks to my early efforts, I have huge head start in life. Compound interest should not be underestimated. That $100k will stay in my investment account forever – helping sustain my eventual life of freedom. My portfolio is similar to a restaurant that frames their first earned dollar bill. But by age 67, it’ll look more like a $3.2 million dollar bill!
Now what’s stopping YOU from hustling your a$$ off?
——–
Will Lipovsky writes about money at FirstQuarterFinance.com, where he helps others create lifelong wealth ASAP. Outside of writing, Will enjoys cycling, cars, the internets, the outdoors, exercising, and sweets. Good thing his writing isn’t so full of contradictions.
[Photo cred: Bryan Jones]
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It’s pretty refreshing to read about someone actually graduating college with money in the bank rather than a big pile of debt. I’m digging your attitude here on staying frugal and focusing all that energy on hustling. However you just gave me a glimpse into what I believe my son will be doing soon – selling all our stuff on eBay! He loves that site.
I wanted to show that not all recent graduates complain about the economy and debt. Honestly, we have it pretty easy!
Oh, that’s awesome you’re giving your son the opportunity to make some cash through ebay! What’s awesome too is if you give him like a 25% cut or whatever, 25% to him will seem like a huge chunk of change even if to you it’s not.
Agreed! Most people think the debt from college is inevitable.
I wish I were like you having that clear goals in mind. I started saving money after college. I think what I am doing now is not enough just to meet my goal when I have a family. You’re really awesome starting at a very young age. You must be some kind of a genus! If I could turn back time, I would have liked to do the same thing as what you did. Very inspirational!
I’m definitely not a genius. Just intentional.
An 85% savings rate is super impressive. I can see how you were able to save everything as a kid with no expenses, but at 24, how do you live off of 15% of your income? Another post idea maybe? ;)
Linky links! http://firstquarterfinance.com/how-i-save-85-of-my-income/ and http://firstquarterfinance.com/i-save-85-by-deploying-the-antibudget/!
Nice! I didn’t realize you were such a hustler! Btw, I tried to con my parents in the exact same way by attempting to sell them their old stuff back. I also re-gifted items from around the house that they already owned for birthdays and Christmas… I wasn’t called on it until I was about 8 or so and they’d decided I should stop being so tacky (I considered it clever at the time).
P.S. Jealous of your 85% savings rate; I’m at a measly 82% ;). Enjoyed this post a lot!
I vote clever as well. ;) But you must have been a cute kid to get away with it until 8!
82%!!! We should start a club called the 80 Percenters or something! And yes, last night I watched ’21 Jump Street’…
Impressive! I love this line ” I didn’t earn $100k before even getting a “real job” because I’m special – I was just intentional..” What got you started at such a young age?
Probably because I knew that when I graduated college, I had to face all the expenses of the “real world.” So I thought it smart to build up a pile of cash to make the transition easier.
It worked too. When I graduated, I didn’t stress one bit about how to be an adult. Money does a good job of calming a person down, I think.
Nicely Done Will!
My fave line too!
I wish I thought about how I spent money when I was in high school or college. So much wasted. And I’m not talking about booze either! All the trips to 7-11, or just wasting money on random electronics that I’d use for a month. It’s a kick in the face when you see someone so young who didn’t have the same income levels save more than you!
As Warren Buffett says, the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.
Very amazing story…props to you! Like Brian…loved the line about not being special, just intentional. I thought I gave myself a head start my saving my money from my low paying high school and college jobs and starting to invest in my retirement plans right after college…but what you did is in a league of its own.
Thanks, Andrew. I hope this article inspires other young people to join the league! After all, that’s the goal of First Quarter Finance!
Ha ha, I love the bit about the dandelion picking job from your parents – that’s awesome! That said, it just goes to show you what can be done when you’re intentional and have a way of life you want. Most people in their 50s/60s choose not to do it so kudos to you for starting MUCH earlier and actually doing it!
Thanks for the kind words, John.
I can still look at my fingers and imagine the yellow stains. :)
Yeah, nothing I did back then was extraordinary. Most people know money can be made by doing x, y, z – but they DON’T DO IT. I did it.
“Why fall out of the nest when you can soar?”
Haha. Nice. Very nice.
You don’t have to lie. That line was corny as heck! :D
Very impressive to have that much saved up at such a young age. I love what you say about intentional living!! I’d also love to hear more about those tricks to get an A no matter what!
I wish I could give you a link but I have yet to write about that! It’ll probably pop up on my blog in the next month or 2. *hint, hint, subscribe* :p
Oh and alllllmost no matter what. It’ll be a fun post.
Subscribe button: http://firstquarterfinance.com/
:D
You impress me Will. Seriously.
Thanks, Kassandra.
I love your story, Will, and I think the more people who know about it, the better! It’s awesome!
So true. The smart Millennials are way underrepresented in the media!
Great story! I didn’t have that much when I graduated, but I did do full-time school and worked full-time–it’s a lot easier than most people think.
That’s true. It really isn’t too difficult. It’s not a matter of doing something perfect, it’s just a matter of doing something at all.
Yup! You can’t make a million without first making $1.00.
Big bucks Will! Nice job. I think I graduated with about $5,000 and thought I was doing pretty good haha.
What work are you doing now? The most I saved one year was about 80% of my after tax income. But I couldn’t sustain and settled in the 50-75% range for 13 years. You’ll definitely be FI in 6 years at your rate! When the time comes, the question will be whether you’ll be willing to give up the paycheck!
Sam
I’m a bank analyst for a large financial services company: http://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2014/05/my-job-is-to-make-banks-rich-heres-how-to-avoid-our-wrath.html
So right now I’m at a 85% savings rate but my lifestyle is pretty frugal. I don’t keep myself from enjoying life but I definitely cannot support a future family while saving what is currently 85% of my income. But my goal is to keep that savings rate even as my expenses get larger. …Off to make more money!
“Normal people are in debt and will never get out. Abnormal is a good place to be.” -Jason Cabler
As for your closing question, I think you already know the answer. People are lazy and don’t want to put in the effort. What may seem non-difficult to you, may look a huge deal to other people.
Most good money-making opportunities are hard for me to grasp at first. But then I figure it out as I go. A lot of people I think are just too scared to say ‘yes’ and figure it out later!
The most important thing you said about your earlier jobs: Must be fun, pay well, and look snazzy on my resume.
Keep this up. A lot of folks just go for the “pay well” part but they are miserable doing the job. What’s worse, they are not even close to having a 85% savings rate, which mean that they’ll be working in their miserable jobs much longer than they’ll probably want.
True, true, true.
Most people hate their jobs. That’s why they spend their Saturday mornings wandering around the mall searching for, “Something… I just don’t know what.”
Makes it hard to save money when your busy in ‘retail therapy’.
Wow, what an impressive post, I’m shocked in a good way, and pondering my choices at that age, which mainly consisted of having a good time :)
You’re still young!
I burst out laughing over the dandelions for 5 cents a head. What a great side hustle! While I did come out of college with what I consider a decent nest egg, your $100k puts me to shame. Major props sir. I’m off to read how you live off 15% of your income!
Ah, that was the best time ever! I remember sitting in the grass for hours – just pickin’ dandelions and listening to my Walkman.
*I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away*
Wasn’t that the theme song to Space Jam?? Haha…
Yes, sir! I think it was one of the most popular songs of ’96.
Wow you are awesome! I spent way too much money when I was in college. I’m jealous!
Good thing you graduated so quickly! :D
Damn Will, good for you! And you seem to have an amazing attitude, which I’m sure has served you well in your ‘hustling.’ Keep it up–I’m envious, but inspired!
Hey, Kristin!
I’ve always believed the money is out there, I just have to get my share. So I hustle lol.
Great piece Will. That’s good you learned quick and intentionally crafted your future. I made a ton of mistakes but eventually it still got me to where I wanted to be. I did for a quick minute wonder if i were a bit smarter with money how further along I would be but alas hindsight is 20/20. Kudos.
Thanks, Jason. At least you’re young yet!
Will!
Holy cow! I’m supremely impressed. It sounds like you have almost always been exceptionally motivated to achieve financial independence. Good on you for being able to save like you do!
Quick question that I was left with: Did you not have any help to fund a college education? How do you deal with the stress of such a busy workweek?
Awesome job.
Sam
Thanks, Sam!
1. College was paid in 5 ways… scholarships, grants, financial aid, help from parents, and my student loans. My student loans (private school) came to $16,000. I was stupid for racking up debt instead of applying for more scholarships. Had I not done that, my net worth would have been 116k at graduation. Live and learn. That was probably my dumbest financial mistake.
Didn’t mean to submit that yet.
2. I never use the word stress. Some people have real worries in their lives. Going to a private school and working jobs in air conditioned luxury did not make me one of them. I also never say I’m ‘too busy’ for something. There are people way busier than me who are getting more done than I am.
I try to steer clear of anything I didn’t enjoy. There a saying… “The line between work and pleasure is permeable.” I’m not someone who will work really hard just so they can go on a vacation right after and then repeat the cycle. I’d rather it all be fun. This keeps any potential stress away.
You’re amazing! I wish I thought that way back in high school and when I was younger. I would save money for the next item I wanted but I definitely spent money on useless items! Through college I saved but I didn’t really start til I got my first full-time job.
Thanks, Christine.
Sounds like you steered clear of debt though!
Honestly, the biggest thing holding me back from hustling more right now is my FT job, which I hate and would love to be free from in the near-ish future, that and the fact that I’m human so I have to dedicate some time to sleeping, eating, etc. :)
Could you imagine how much more productive we could be without having to eat and sleep??? Mainly sleep. It’s such a time-suck! I’m jealous of those people who can get away with only 4 hrs/night.
I would try to get out of that full-time job ASAP. About the scariest thought I can imagine is being on your death bed with a mind full of regret.
As a relatively young attorney with a mountain of law school debt, I must say I am highly jealous! Great post and I think this is absolutely mandatory reading for all high school seniors headed off to college.
Have any ideas on making this article go viral?? It would be nice to get it out there to high schoolers. I aim to get in touch with more of them in the future. Whether to get them started hustling or to support them in their current hustles. Someone needs to show them they can go incredible things even at a young age!
That’s amazing the vision and clarity you had at such a young age – it took me until my mid-20s to figure it out, but like the old Chinese proverb says: “The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
So true. Reminds me of the Warren Buffett saying, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
That’s pretty rad Will. I wish I had the mind to get out of college with savings instead of debt.
Most people don’t even consider it an option. But it always is!
I’m impressed.
While I know that it’s really a possibility (and one that youths nowadays should think about working towards), I sat there and thought and mulled and never did much about it (whether intentionally or not).
I’m consistently been reading up as much as I can about personal finance so hopefully I gain more confidence in doing more about my money. Recently I decided to share what I’ve read so the next person doesn’t have to spend as much time (efficiency and all that). Hopefully you’ll find my introductory posts informative!
http://www.financebookblog.blogspot.sg
Thinking about and learning about making money is easy. The hard part is actually doing something. I like how all your posts are action-oriented. Knowledge without actions is like a car with no engine – what’s the point?
Great article. I wish I got into personal finance much earlier than I did (mid 20’s). That’s one thing I really want to impart on my son. I want him to be financially savvy early. Now i just need to get rid of my student loan debt.
Way to lead by example. Preaching isn’t worth much to kids – or anyone for that matter.
It’s why blogging is so huge on the internet. It’s not a bunch of well-intentioned information. Good bloggers show what their knowledge has done for them.
OMG you’re just 24 and doing all these stuff. How about your girl friends? Have time for them now?
Just joking, I wish students take a note of this and come out of college with no debt.
There’s still time for girls. Gotta stay well-rounded!
That comment was confusing. What I meant to say is yeah, I still had time for girls back then and now. Not as much as most people though – but that’s fine. Keeps me out of trouble!
Very motivating story, I was an Army Captain and know all too well the adrenaline rush you’re talking about during your internship! It’s glad to hear a success story from a young man such as yourself. Kee up the hustle!
Thank you for your service.
I gained a lot of respect for the service men and women after serving on base that summer. I think there’s too much mention of guns and tanks in the news and not about the amount of intelligence there is within each branch of the military. And it’s PRACTICAL intelligence. Men and women are putting their intelligence to use by propelling the world forward. It’s inspiring.
85% savings… holy hell, that’s insane! I’m aiming for retirement at 30 but it sounds as though you’ll be retired well before then. Kudos!
85% sounds crazy until you put things into perspective. A percentage is meaningless in and of itself. The more money you make, the easier it is to achieve this rate. So if you want to save 85% it’s really just a matter of earning so much that it’s (fairly) easily attainable.
But I haven’t reached that point yet but I will soon. For now it’s a lot of focusing on income and living a frugal (yet enjoyable) life.
BTW, I don’t plan on inflating my lifestyle once I reach FI. My income increases each year but I still live like I did in college (I’m 25). That 85% number will grow.
Motivating and entertaining as usual, Will. My oldest, who will be 15 soon, just came to the realization that her dream of moving out and buying a ranch comes with a huge price tag, and that achieving this by 18 is going to take a heck of a lot of work. As such, she’s become a saving machine in the last couple of months. I think I’ll show her this post so she knows what’s possible with hard work and smart savings. :-)
Haha… a girl on a mission!
Tell her to go for it!!! I know it’s cliche but anything is possible! I would encourage her to create her own streams of income asap rather than working for others. Much of my $100k came from trading hours for money. That’s really not a great arrangement.
Has she read this post? I can email her if you’d like. I’m all about people getting started ASAP! :)
Wait,
How did you get your professors to get you A’s.
What did you exactly do to hack through college?
:)
It’s a long story which I should write a post about. But this gives you a hint… latch onto your professors. Make them like you. As with anyone, they will want their friends to do well. They will help you.
Thanks for this post Will! Really impressive what you did there – I am graduating college with $50,000 and hope to be able to save at least 50% of my income (I’m married with one child, so expenses are a bit more)
Love hearing your story – very inspiring. Would love to connect with you sometime, if you’re up for that? Shoot me an email?
Nicely done man!
I’m not sure if Will is still in the blogging game or not (it’s been a few years since he posted this, and haven’t heard from him in a while?), but let me shoot him a note w/ the email I have on file for him and see if he’s interested in linking up. If he is, I’ll have him reach out :) (and if you don’t hear anything, it means he’s m.i.a. haha…)
Regardless though, keep on hustling!! I had about $5.00 to my name by the time I graduated college – hah.