Growing up?

[98chevy]

How fast where yall out on your own. I just turned 20 on the 20th of this month. I started and own a landscaping company that is growing great. I started it when I was 15. I live at home becuase its free(as long as the landscaping looks great) Im ready to buy a house and get out on my own. Every one thinks Im crazy and trying to grow up to fast though. I figure im 20 and its time. Ive payed for everything since I was 16 and bought all my trucks, boats, guns, bows, and rhino. Not becuase I had to but God blessed me with a talent that let me afford to. So i didnt see any need for my parents to. Even though they would if they could or I asked. Im just wondering would you leave a free ride, or did you want out as soon as possible

I love my parents and have no problems living at home. I dont do anything that I wouldnt do in front of them (which is why alot of kids want out(beer)) I mean im not rich and house would be a struggle but I could do it. I dont know just want some more opions. All are welcome.

If I get a house I was thinking of renting the other rooms out which would pay my monthly payments

[Shawn]

My parents are awesome! They always took care of me growing up and bought me bows, and guns, and cars and such. Free ride at home. Did i have to leave? Nope, I just wanted something that was my own. I worked two jobs for a year, saved up my money and now i've owned my own house now for a full year and im 23. Plus now im paying for things for my wedding next sept. Do what you feel is right. I could have still been at my parents with no prob. But its nice to say "My" house and mean i own it, and not just live there.

[stevebeilgard]

i've always eeked out my own living. some bad years, but mostly pretty good. as for a job, i've never really had one. i just do my thing.

[OJR]

I've left home when I was 17 and never looked back!

I've been on my own for so many years, I don't remember what a "free" meal at home was like! LOL!

[Guest Finn]

I joined the Air Force 3 months before my 19th birthday.

[CampRAGS]

I joined the army when i was 19 never looked back no regrets,,some tight times but made it through them all. So can you and you will. Set your mind to what you want and go for it....

[rhine16]

I'm still at home, and dont know when i'll be "out on my own." Just turned 18 back in August and started college this fall. I plan to have an apartment when i go to MS State the next 3 years, but i wouldnt neccessarilly say that i wont still call home home. Probably wont be on my own til I'm out of school.

As far as paying for my own stuff, I pay for gas, all my luxuries, and every meal i dont eat at home. My grandad bought me a new truck this spring so i dont worry with it, and my parents pay insurance. They also pay for cell phone bill, etc.

BTW-I run my own grass cutting business also, though it is on no where near as high scale as i think yours is. Been doing it for 6 years(13) now. I started off with 3 yards and have grown to ten now(including a cemetery and church yard). Dont make a ton, but enough to support me. I've already secured a few more yards for next year.

[wtnhunt]

Would set back as much as you can before you do move out, while it is easier to do it. There is no set age, go when you are ready. Is 20 too young, absolutely not so long as you are able to, could be building equity in a home and or property.

[Tominator]

Hmmm, well, I was on my own when I joined the service at 18, but then I lived with my dad for 2 years while I went to JUCO, then on my own again when I left for my undergrad degree, then back with my dad for 3 months, then on my own since being married at 27. Been out of my parent's house ever since.

[98chevy]

Thanks guys I like hearing what others have done.

And thanks to all who have served.

[DSGB]

I moved out of my parents' house when I was 17. I worked for my dad at the time (after school) and was tired of sharing a room with my brother that was five years younger than me (I also have two sisters). Sometimes I wish I would've stayed and saved some of the money I spent on an apartment, but I feel that I'm more independent because of it. My brother is 21 and still lives at home.

[MUDRUNNER]

I actually grew up here in Illinois,but after I graduated high school I decided to move with a buddy to Minnesota.(I love winter.)I ended up staying for 3 1/2 years and done a lot of growing up and had a ton of fun.Kinda sowed my wild oats,and moved back here in 98,met a girl,and the rest is history.

[craig mack]

If I was you, I would save alot of money and than save some more. Owning a home is really expensive, things can break at any givin time and usually at the worst time. Just try to have a hefty nest egg after you buy your house. And as far as renting the rooms out thing goes, I would try not to have roommates if you could. Trust me its better to not have roommates.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Moved out on my own at 18. I knew my parents would always be there if I failed, but fortunately I never really needed their support. I put myself through college with a combination of work, savings and student loans, combined with a healthy dose of frugal living. Got my degree, then went to work to pay off all of my debts. I've owned a house (several actually) since I was 19, and I became totally debt free at about 40. I'm 48 now and looking forward to retiring at about 55.

[Adjam5]

I was out of my parents home at 20 in my 1st apartment. Got into the electrical apprenticeship at 20, married at 26(after 5 years dating). 1st son born when I was 27, 2nd son at 29 and my 3rd and last son at 32. I'm 43 now. Bought my 1st home when I was 30, bought my 2nd home when I was 38.

Living someplace affordable is the the key to being able to save to realize your dream of owning a home. It took me 5 years to save 30K to have 20% for a down payment. I got OUT and far as I could afford from NYC:D. Since then I have never looked back. The 1st 2 or 3 years are the toughest ones for the finances to settle (escrow ect.).

Buying a home is a GREAT investment and I wish you all the luck in the world in achieving that goal.

[johnf]

I lived with my parents through my first year of college, then I was pretty much on my own. I worked construction in the summer and lived with mom and dad while saving my check to live on during school. I lived poor through college and got out with very little debt. As long as you are getting along with your parents and aren't feeling the urge to leave, I would stay and save as much money as possible.

If you can buy realestate do it now while you are young, but be smart, don't buy something you can't afford. Build your credit and save as much as you can. If you can't afford something you would want to live in, buy it and rent it out. You can always sell it later after letting someone else pay it off for you. As far as the roommate thing, I would be afraid of that. It's one thing if you are renting it with someone, but renting to someone is an all-together different thing. There are a lot of "what if's" that WILL happen when you are renting to someone, especially friends.

[Newarcher]

Wanna hear the best advice you probably will not follow?

Step A before anything else:

Being self-employed, make SURE you are carrying a good long term disability policy. If you are permanently disabled without one, you are sunk. Disability is the number one cause of bankruptcy. Also, carry some good vehicle and business insurance. If you carry the minimum it takes to be legal and hurt someone in a car crash in the company truck, bye bye everything you own.

You may even want to put your company inside of an LLC. You can generally do it for under $150 and it allows you to retain flow through taxation to your personal tax return yet have the same personal and personal asset protection that a corporation does. Just an added measure of safety. In the event your company goes under or you are sued, the creditors cannot take your personal assets. Perhaps overkill at this point, I don't know about what assets you have or will have.

1) Create a very serious zero-dollar budget on paper each month before the month starts. Put your earnings at the top of the page and list your bills until you get to zero (being single you will probably have a large amount to send to savings). Then follow that budget. Cash a check for your monthly expenses and put that amount in envelopes for each expense (aka food out, clothing, groceries, etc.). When the money is gone, no more eating out or entertainment.

2) Save a $5,000 emergency fund (beginner fund). Invest it in a money market at the credit union and leave it alone.

3) Aggressively pay off your debts smallest to largest (pay minimum payments on the rest). As you pay off one, roll its payments to the next highest. Keep going until all debts are paid off.

4) Do not use credit cards for anything. Do not use ATM's they are budget killers.

5) Buy used vehicles only by paying CASH.

6) Expand your emergency fund to 6 months of your base expenses in case of a rainy day that is NEVER TOUCHED. Invest it in a money market at your local credit union.

7) Stay at home with mom and dad and pay them a little each month for utilities and or rent. Save the difference between that amount and what your house payment would have been.

8) Open a Roth IRA and a standard IRA. Figure out what 15% of your GROSS income will be and contribute that to your retirement accounts. Fund the Roth IRA (I think current year is $4,000) to its max and then put the rest (up to 15%) into the standard IRA. Invest in good growth stock mutual funds that have at LEAST a 10 year average return of 10+%.

9) Save up enough money over the next 4-5 years to pay CASH for your first home. First, you don't have a long enough track record in business to qualify for a prime interest rate with most banks, especially given the new credit standards caused by the mortgage meltdown. Second, lots can change in the next 4-5 years (marriage, job change). I know it will be hard to understand, but you don't know SQUAT about yourself right now. If I were able to go back to age 18 and see myself today, I would swear it was a different person. Something happens at about age 25 and I can't really explain it. It is like the lightbulbs go on and you suddently begin gaining wisdom and realize that those dumb people who were lucky to have kept you alive all those years aren't so square or dumb after all. Then, IMHO, are you prepared to begin making some solid life decisions. Plus, lots can change between now and then...perhaps you marry a career woman whose job requires a move. Maybe you get tired of landscaping and quit the business. Maybe the business quits you...I know several landscapers who I loaded up for years (I worked at a local flower nursery) that now work for Home Depot selling lawnmowers. The industry changed.

If you follow these very simple to execute yet hard to adhere to instructions, when you are 45-50 years old, you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams. If not, you will be an average joe.....broke and in debt so deep you can't sleep at night or digest a meal well.

I got married when I was 21 and bought my first home when I was 21. IT WAS TOO EARLY. Rushing things made me go out and make some mistakes with debt, trying to be NORMAL. Normal is BROKE and up to your eyeballs in debt.

Don't confuse responsibility with growing up. To me, a person with a solid five year plan that puts them in a paid for home with no debt is substantially more 'grown up' than someone who rushes into a subprime mortgage and into average just for the sake of being 'responsible'.

There you have it. Do with it what you will.

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