Originally posted by JEDsContour:
Originally posted by Nkosi:
Heh, I actually live in Denton Texas now (I need to change that ), and it's not like I just have cash sitting around. I busted my ass ever since I was in high school trying to get myself into a good place. Now I am 18, with a job in sales making a six figure income, and I am happy with just rewarding myself a lil. I don't want to go and drop a whole bunch of cash on a new ride, I'd rather live below my means of income and invest most of it, buy a house in a few years.
Thanks for all yall's suggestions so far.



This is a waste of time post I know but here it goesâ?¦.

At 18 years old, the worst thing you can do is throw money and time away on a car. But since you are going to do just that, take Warmongers advice, buy his race-car (if you must) and get this out of your system long enough to put some important things in place.

You better tell us what youâ??re selling to pull in a â??six figure incomeâ? at 18 years old. My guess is that it's a â??projectedâ? six figure income based on a couple of good paychecks. Work on making this a lifetime situation by not neglecting your education.

Make sure you get some college behind you. Are your parents well off? Can they send you full time to college? Can you get scholarships? TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL OF THAT! Even just night school a couple of days a week is good. Pull that income for a year or so, save as much of it as you can and then get yourself into a full-time college. Just donâ??t wait too long.

This following is excellent advice: Cars are completely over-rated as a turn on for women. Real estate is natureâ??s aphrodisiac. Believe it. I bought my first home while attending college full time for a BS in physics. Did it with money I had saved for college but didnâ??t need due to scholarships I earned. Living off-campus in your own single family home is an experience not to be missed â??? especially when all your classmates are living two or three deep in dorm rooms.

Hereâ??s some damn boring advice. Do you work for a company or are you self-employed? Are you contributing the maximum allowable amount to your retirement plans (401K, IRA)? At 18 none of that seems important I know, but now is when any money you can put in tax-free investments has an absolutely amazing payoff.

In terms of buying things, save for the house first before you start throwing money away on your car.

Once you have completed a college degree, own a home and have an aggressive investment plan in place then you can start bragging about how much disposable income you have â??? and start disposing of it!

Itâ??s not what youâ??re earning right now that really counts - it education and what you have in the bank and in hard assets (college degree, property, investments).

Always, always, ALWAYS in your future stands an older man that you better start taking care of now. SMART hard work pays off




I respect all you have to say, and I am afraid I have not made myself clear.

I know full well that blowing a bunch of money on a car is generally accepted by people as a young person's way of ruining their future, ect ect. Right now I drive a '94 Corolla with one hubcap missing, and the paint chipping off the bumper. Don't get me wrong, its a fine car and very reliable, but at the place I am right now in my life, I'd rather be driving my CSVT. I already own the CSVT, it is in Florida with my dad, I didn't bring it out here to Texas with me originally becasue I didn't have the income potential I needed to make it work. What I would really like to do is buy a new '06 Z06, and it's not out of my price range. But because I am more responsible with my money, I am not going to do that.

As far as what I sell, I glossed over it a little earlier. Essentially what I sell is credit card processing services to startup online retailers through JP Morgan/Chase Bank. I have an extremely aggressive portfolio in options that I began with the first $20,000 I made, and I add another $5k to it every month, in four years I am looking at near $600,000 (of course being that I am a young man with no family or poroperty a fair portion of my portfolio includes high-risk investments).

As far as college goes: I have an associates at the moment. I got it via dual enrollment in high school, and community college classes after coming home from the military academy I attended. I got a 1540 on my SAT, I can get a full ride to near any school that I choose when I feel its time. Nothing lasts forever, and I know this job wont. You asked about a 401k, my company does a modified 401k program, basically they match every dollar I put into the account and it's vested at 25% over four years. and yes, I put as much as I can each month into my account.

Like I said, I appreciate all your advice, and it's very similar to my financial advisor's advice (whom I hired when I sold my web design firm), the point I'm trying to get across here it that for me to put $10,000 into a car I already own at this point is a prudent use of my money. Although I will admit I am still thinking about buying an '04 Cobra.

Ryan '98 T-red CSVT Spec Stage 1 Clutch, Drop in filter. Got an open spot in the stable, Warmonger knows what is going to end up there...