21 year old new mustachion, hope you guys can get me started with FIRE

[Jeff_GXP]

A little about myself, i'm 21, live with my folks in san diego, i started a new gig as a BMW technician (apprentice) FT which started me at 18/h.
Since i live with my folks i have very limited expenses. i have my insurance which is about 1200 a year which i pay in full and i give my dad 250 a month for "rent". My other expense is my hobby, i have a mazda miata that i recently bought in full and it's my only car and daily driver but i also take it racing and upgrade it.

I'm pretty good about saving my money but not investing, dont really know where to start there. i have a savings account with my credit union which has a 1.0% interest rate on it maxed out at 10k and a regular savings holding 3k and 1k in my checking. i also have 1000 in a roth ira with the same credit union and am in my companys 401k with 2% match.
my original plan before signing up for this website was I was hoping to save enough to purchase a small 2br condo and have a roomate rent the second bedroom but they run about 200k here in san diego so i have a ways to go, but after that just invest in real estate. But also from the threads i've lurked in real estate doesnt seem the best way.

Am i stupid to want to purchase a condo and other real estate? or should i invest elsewhere? Any advice you guys can start me with would be great! thanks!

[marty998]

No not stupid, sooner you start the better however,

Taking on a mortgage and living in the place generally means you need to be quite settled. If you're 21 and still experimenting somewhat in what you are doing with your life, it might be best to buy a property, rent it out, and continue to live with your parents.

[Retire-Canada]

Am i stupid to want to purchase a condo and other real estate? or should i invest elsewhere? Any advice you guys can start me with would be great! thanks!

There is nothing wrong with buying real estate.

If you want something with less hassles/restrictions you could invest in the stock market. That would allow you to move or change jobs with no impediment or payments required to keep things rolling.

I think you've realized the major problem you have - that money sitting in a savings account isn't working for you.

Personally if I could go back and talk to my 21yr old self I'd invest every penny in the stock market and skip buying property. There are good rental deals to be had and you can always buy property with your investment equity at a later date.

-- Vik

[Retired To Win]

No not stupid, sooner you start the better however,

Taking on a mortgage and living in the place generally means you need to be quite settled. If you're 21 and still experimenting somewhat in what you are doing with your life, it might be best to buy a property, rent it out, and continue to live with your parents.

Also, if you are going to buy real estate for rentals, there's no law that says you have to buy them in San Diego.  Look into buying them in a lower-priced market that you can still get to in a half-day or less (to monitor your property, etc).  Your money should go further.  And you might end up with a place you want for yourself (eventually), again for less money.

Good luck.

[surfhb]

Real estate investing at at this point is a bad idea.    You're young, low income for the area and you don't have enough saved yet.    Btw.....200k will get you a dump in SD :)

Take advantage of this wonderful situation you are in to save and invest in low cost index funds.    You will soon be making better money and boatload saved.   

Check out the bogehead wiki and the j collins investing sites.

[2ndTimer]

Agree with the other folks who say not real estate right now.  Tomorrow you could meet "The One" and realize that the only way to survive the rest of your life is to go with them to the Arctic or you might get a job offer maintaining BMWs in the United Arab Emirates.  In those circumstances, it would be tough to manage a property in S.D. 

[jmusic]

Yup, no bones about it, SD is a tough market for rentals.  Most landlords in San Diego are either sucking up negative cashflow on appreciation plays, they've owned for 8+ years, or they have a six-figure downpayment...

[Retired To Win]

Agree with the other folks who say not real estate right now.  Tomorrow you could meet "The One" and realize that the only way to survive the rest of your life is to go with them to the Arctic or you might get a job offer maintaining BMWs in the United Arab Emirates.  In those circumstances, it would be tough to manage a property in S.D.

Yes, true, but... there are rental management agencies everywhere.  They'll take care of it for 10% of the rent.  And find you the renters for a fee equal to one month's rental.  So, there would be options.

[BlueHouse]

If I were very handy (like a mechanic), and young, I would very much be interested in buying inexpensive rental properties.  OP, have you considered signing on with a property management company as a side gig to get your feet wet in the business and see how they're run?  I'm sure with your skills, you could work office duties AND repair duties for some management company.  Might give you insight into whether it's something you want to pursue; provide experience in how to choose profitable investments; maybe even provide an opportunity to start investing immediately.