Are my goals even realistic and achievable?

Question

I’m currently 16 and having a rough time between pursuing my investing goals or going to college. I get that it is possible to do both at the same time but I find great joy in analyzing stocks and analyzing real estate deals on Zillow. I could spend 24 hours of everyday analyzing stocks or analyzing real estate deals but I cannot stand school. Would it be a terrible decision to not go to college? If my goal was to make 20k in passive income, is it unrealistic of me to think that I can do it without a college degree?

Daniel Johnson · Answer

@Joe Villeneuve great advice! I couldn't agree more.

Vincent Maniquis · Answer

@George Lay I recently switched up my classes for the incoming school year and I’m taking college accounting, ap macroeconomics and a bunch more that is more in line with what I want to do for my future so I actually find this incoming school year to be exciting. Thanks for the response!

George Lay · Answer

@Vincent Maniquis schooling will increase your baseline. I was never a good student mostly because I wasn’t gifted with a great memory and I filled my days with a lot of subjects that weren’t that interesting to me and in that respect it was a waste of time. But there were a few classes like accounting that I did find interesting and and I still use the stuff I learned 20 years later. Not as an accountant but in running my businesses.

20k passive income in my opinion is certainly realistic and if you’re thinking 20k at 16, the number will easily become 200k as you grow. Whether you continue your studies or not it’s the art of lifelong learning that you should develop.

Vincent Maniquis · Answer

@Katie Miller I appreciate that advice, I started journaling and definitely will write down milestones along the way. Regarding passion, I’ve been learning and doing stock trading for over 2 years and have made decent money and is something I definitely would love to pursue and don’t mind doing a lot. I’ll talk to more investors in my area to get a clearer perspective. Thanks so much!

Katie Miller · Answer

I definitely agree with Joe, too! Additionally, I pursued higher education because I was passionate about a specific subject (journalism) and wanted to explore that further. I wouldn't have gotten the jobs I did without my college degree and networking from my school -- and ultimately that made me 10x more income than if I didn't go to school at all.

But if you ultimately decide school isn't your thing (you're also only 16 so you have a few years left to find your passion before deciding on college!) I'd figure out a concrete plan to getting to that $20k of passive income with specific goals to hit along the way so you stay motivated!

Joe Villeneuve · Answer

Sure, you can make millions of dollars if you don't go to school.  I bet you could make more, faster and easier if you did though.

I think a major problem in the world regarding school is an understanding of why you go to school...and it isn't to pass tests.  The reason why you study to pass tests is to advance to the next level of classes.  The reason why you want to advance to the next level of classes, and the main reason why you go to school, is to "learn how to learn".  Every level you advance in school teaches you more advanced ways of learning.  This is important because the vast majority of what you learn comes "After" you graduate, and the degree of which you have learnt "how to learn" in school allows you to solve the more advanced problems in life.. not the least of which includes REI.

Are my goals even realistic and achievable?

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