Help - advice for 19yr old

[daniel01]

Hi my name is Daniel,

I live in a small oil town far up north with my dad. He is not a very nice person and up here it is winter pretty much year-round. As I am gay, I ended up being forced to "come out" at school and ever since my life has been a living hell..

I worked my ass off to finish highschool faster then everyone else because I hated being teased. Then I took a one year course in vancouver to open a business related to naturalpathic cleansing (a subject I am very interested in). I see one-two people a day, and make a decent profit (about 200$ a day). I've saved $10 000 of my own money now, own a nice car outright (about $5000 in value) and a few medical machines I've payed off (about 10 000$ in value). I also payed off all my school loans and have no debt what-so-ever. I want to move badly but I'm afraid if I move somewhere I might end up broke b/c my business relies on having clients and it takes atleast a year and a half to get properly established.

Can I do anything with my $10 000 to generate enough income to live decently while I take more school and establish my business somewhere else? I don't have many expenses as I like to mostly stay home, exercise and meet friends for coffee somtimes. My ultimate goal is to have a house or condo in Maui and have enough of a business plan or way of making recurring income so I don't have to work so hard everyday.

Thanks for your advice

[jambo101]

Welcome to the forum daniel01
Vancouver BC is a nice town to live in is your Dad the reason you want to leave?
As you arent married with kids why not just work days and go to school in the evening.You are also young enough to change career if the route you are on looks like too much trouble.

[daniel01]

Hi Jambo, I live in Bonnyville Alberta, not Vancouver. I only took a course in Vancouver to clarify.

[W2R]

I don't know what to advise. A lot depends on your situation and how hard it is for you, and only you can assess that. If you leave with only $10K, I think life could be very rough for you. You can't really live on $10K; all it can do is buy you a little time until you can find work.

Personally I left home in 1968 at age 19, with $250 over my plane ticket to a large city thousands of miles from home. I knew nobody in that city and had no job lined up and little to no prior work experience, and no car. That has been 40 years, so I suppose that $250 would be maybe $4000 in today's dollars.

I won't lie to you. It was rough, and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. My home situation was pretty bad, though, and I am pretty independent (headstrong?) and determined so it was the right thing for me to do. I worked all night while putting myself through college, going full time during the day. I learned what poverty is all about (not to mention lack of sleep), but I also learned that I could survive anything if I had to. I also learned that there were some things I wouldn't do no matter how poor I was.

Rough times early in life are a great motivator later in life, because you know you don't want to go back. But are you miserable enough to be happy enduring a rough situation? Only you can answer that.

[daniel01]

I suppose that is an option, I could just fly off to maui and get a crappy job for 10 or less $ an hour. I've always thought "let your money make you money" so I was wondering if there is any investing I could be doing meanwhile ect.. perhaps forex?

There are some condos on the market down there for 100 k, since I have 10 000 and a few assets I wonder if I could get a morgage, that would be smarter then renting. I could always downgrade my car too (I suppose I would have to sell it anyway if I moved to the island).

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel01 I suppose that is an option, I could just fly off to maui and get a crappy job for 10 or less $ an hour. I've always thought "let your money make you money" so I was wondering if there is any investing I could be doing meanwhile ect.. perhaps forex? There are some condos on the market down there for 100 k, since I have 10 000 and a few assets I wonder if I could get a morgage, that would be smarter then renting.

I don't think that buying a condo in Maui with your only $10K at age 19 is a good idea, even if you could get a mortgage based on your earnings through your business (which I doubt, since you state that you don't earn enough to leave town). I would use the $10K to further your education or perhaps buy a condo in a town where you are working and can live in it. Or, you could invest it in Vanguard funds.

[daniel01]

thank you, I never though of that point. I have kept records the last 8 months but it wouldn't matter if I moved, as the business would cease to exist. How long would I need records of employment if I moved there? also as I am canadian would have to deal with an American bank for a morgage? do I need citizenship then?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel01 thank you, I never though of that point. I have kept records the last 8 months but it wouldn't matter if I moved, as the business would cease to exist. How long would I need records of employment if I moved there? also as I am canadian would have to deal with an American bank for a morgage? do I need citizenship then?

I don't know about citizenship. Probably?

I think two years of steady employment and income on Maui would be plenty. Maybe less would do.

[daniel01]

thats true, I could buy a condo here but I'm kind of a afraid as no one seems to want to live here, they mostly just rent... I would have a hard time selling later if I wanted/could actually move. The weather is also horrible, you can't do much outside, sunlight is important to me.

My main reason for leaveing though is my dad and the rumors spread throughout the town have made people homophobic of me or something so I don't have many friends and cant seem to makes new ones .

My best bet might be to rent something in maui, get a job (I have a decent resume so hopefully shouldnt be a problem) and do schooling in the evening (perhaps online). Long term, I would want to open my business again, own property and get a degree, perhaps as a nurse incase I can't get clients (though I doubt that).

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel01 .. perhaps forex?

Yikes! Unless you are a highly skilled gambler professional investor, find something a little less risky as a place to park your small nest egg.

[Purron]

Hi Daniel,

It's interesting you found this board as a place to seek advise. After all, most of us are much older than you. This being said, we were all your age once. I also left home at 19. I married my high school sweet heart and we are still together after all these years.

My first years were a real struggle. After working at lower paying jobs for awhile, it dawned on me that most of the interesting and better paying jobs required an education. My husband was in the same boat, so we devoted a number of years to working and going to college. It worked out well for us and we were able to save for retirement.

The trick to saving for the future is simply spending less than you make. Save whatever you can and resist the temptation to buy stuff you don't really need. Your savings is pretty impressive for someone your age, but sure wouldn't last long if you didn't have a regular paycheck coming in. Even if you invest it well, you can't expect to get more than about 10% income without taking on a lot of risk of losing the whole thing. At 10%, your account would only generate about $84 per month.

My advise is to focus on investing in yourself first with a quality education. Start slow, with perhaps just one class, and go to a community college or other inexpensive school where the credits will transfer toward a four year degree.

Best of luck to you.

[Notmuchlonger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron Hi Daniel, It's interesting you found this board as a place to seek advise. After all, most of us are much older than you. This being said, we were all your age once. I also left home at 19. I married my high school sweet heart and we are still together after all these years. My first years were a real struggle. After working at lower paying jobs for awhile, it dawned on me that most of the interesting and better paying jobs required an education. My husband was in the same boat, so we devoted a number of years to working and going to college. It worked out well for us and we were able to save for retirement. The trick to saving for the future is simply spending less than you make. Save whatever you can and resist the temptation to buy stuff you don't really need. Your savings is pretty impressive for someone your age, but sure wouldn't last long if you didn't have a regular paycheck coming in. Even if you invest it well, you can't expect to get more than about 10% income without taking on a lot of risk of losing the whole thing. At 10%, your account would only generate about $84 per month. My advise is to focus on investing in yourself first with a quality education. Start slow, with perhaps just one class, and go to a community college or other inexpensive school where the credits will transfer toward a four year degree. Best of luck to you.

I tend to agree. Take that 10k and invest in yourself. Get educated should be your primary goal.

[daniel01]

Thank you, I appreciate the advice! I agree, unless I had a few years experiance with forex trading it isnt worth my time, the risk is also very high.

I might just use the money for an apartment, line up a job and continue with a more realistic degree. I may beable to get a job meanwhile in the healthcare system but I would need to do some research on that.

Getting citizenship will be a hurdle I expect as well.

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel01 I may beable to get a job meanwhile in the healthcare system but I would need to do some research on that.

I hear healthcare is a growing and profitable profession. After all, someone needs to take care of all us old geezers! Seriously though, a friend of mine has a daughter about your age. She is a very bright young woman and has done a lot of research on this. I was impressed by how many opportunities there are in healthcare. Do some research of your own, and if possible, talk to people who are currently teachers or workers in healthcare for some good realistic advise.

[nuisance]

From your initial post, it sounds like your top priority should be to get out of your life-is-living-hell position. I recommend you save up enough money so that you can move to a place in Canada where there is a gay community, and where you don't quite have perpetual winter. Vancouver probably fits that description. Moving to a different country is a lot more complicated, and costs a lot more money.
How much money is enough is hard to say. Enough to live cheaply for 6 months is probably enough, especially if you can work on establishing your business while you simultaneously work a crap job to get some extra cash. As others have posted, it's been done with far less than that. It all depends how badly you want to get away versus how scared you are of going broke.
Enrolling as a full time student somewhere might be another solution, if you can get some financial aid.
Whatever you choose, realize that there is a life you can enjoy in Canada, without having to emigrate. You can always do that later, if you want.

Good luck.

Tim

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron The trick to saving for the future is simply spending less than you make. Save whatever you can and resist the temptation to buy stuff you don't really need. Your savings is pretty impressive for someone your age, but sure wouldn't last long if you didn't have a regular paycheck coming in. Even if you invest it well, you can't expect to get more than about 10% income without taking on a lot of risk of losing the whole thing. At 10%, your account would only generate about $84 per month. My advise is to focus on investing in yourself first with a quality education. Start slow, with perhaps just one class, and go to a community college or other inexpensive school where the credits will transfer toward a four year degree.

I will second Purron. To save, you must spend less than you make - that's grade-school arithmetic and I'm astonished at the number of people who can't do that. I think you're a smart guy to be thinking ahead as much as you are.

Working a crappy job isn't that bad - as long as you know it's temporary, you're doing it for a reason, and have a clear goal in mind, which you seem to have. Starting in high school, I worked pumping gasoline in service stations for years back when there were full-service gas stations, I unloaded tractor-trailer trucks for a department store, I was a call-taker for a home appliance service center, and I was a heating & refrigeration service technician.

The last one was important - it gave me a "fall-back" trade that paid enough to support myself if things didn't work out the way I wanted/expected, and that would give me time to recoup and find out what else to do. I sure didn't want to make a career of it, but it would buy me time.

I didn't really like any of those jobs, but they gave me some spending money while I was in a 2-year college, a sense of some independence, and they gave me work experience that was invaluable later on. I can fix my own furnace at 1:00 AM when it's zero outside, which I once did. Later on I finished the BS degree on my own.

So, maybe take a crappy job where you are for a while and see if you can stand it for a couple of years while you go to school and get yourself established in Maui, and then decide - is it worth a year or two or three in a job you don't like to get the one you do?

It was for me. "Your mileage may vary."

[jambo101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel01 Getting citizenship will be a hurdle I expect as well.

That wont be easy if you dont have a viable career or a serious job to go to,and before you get U.S citizenship you have to immigrate as a resident alien first then after 5yrs as a resident alien you have the option to become a U.S citizen,at this point I would put your odds at successful immigration as slim.
When i immigrated to the USA to take over my Dads company it took me almost 14 months of back and forth paperwork before i got my green card.
You would do well to Google some forums devoted to Canadians wanting to immigrate to the USA. Good luck..See if you qualify US IMMIGRATION - Immigration - Canada to USA - Green Cards

And here's another site US Immigration | Green Cards

There are lots more sites but these will give you an idea of how high the hurdles are going to be.

[AzDreamer]

Please, forget about the forex trading. This is an area where profits equal losses, a zero-sum game. Someone is always on the loosing end, and most likely it is the person with limited experience.

Your best use of $10k is education, even if it's not in a field you plan to stay in. Just having a degree, any degree, will give you a big boost in income, which gives you the freedom you currently lack.

[Zipper]

This all sounds kind of weird to me?

Quite a few things don't add up.:confused:

[meekie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel01 My best bet might be to rent something in maui, get a job (I have a decent resume so hopefully shouldnt be a problem) and do schooling in the evening (perhaps online). Long term, I would want to open my business again, own property and get a degree, perhaps as a nurse incase I can't get clients (though I doubt that).

Something like this really seems like the best option to me, but don't get hung up on Maui. There's plenty of other friendly places in the world that you could be happy and find friends.

I don't know anything about naturalpathic cleansing, but maybe you can find someone else that's got a business going and needs help, then eventually branch out on your own.

In order to get out of town though, I see a future of some jobs that'll help you make ends meet, and it probably won't be too fun. It's up to you if you're that unhappy at home.

As far as where to park your cash, I'd look into some of the high yield savings accounts that are floating around.