My financial plans for life. Will I make alot of money in my future?

Question

Hey everyone, I'm only 16 years old, but I already have my plans for makin money in the future laid out. I live in maryland right now and I'm gonna go to college and become an environmental engineer.

Then I'll go into the marine corps reserve, but aside from that I'll take a bank loan to open up a small community gym in a nice suburban area.

I think a gym is a money tree cuz u only have 2 buy the machines 1 time and maybe replace them like every 15-20 years and then the memberships just pour money in 2 ur pockets. also, a gym owner told me that running a gym, especially a small one in the suburbs, is pretty easy cuz its low maintenence.

Can I make alot of money when I grow up if I do all this? hopefully around at least $100,000 a year?

I want a lamborghini hehe

o and I'm opening the gym in an area where there's no gym very close by, so not much competition hee hee

Answer 1

You have great goals, that's a fabulous thing. But do keep in mind that you're 16 and most of your money making plans won't begin until you're 22. Almost everyone I knew in college (including myself) changed their mind on what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives.

You will certainly be able to make $100,000/year at some point, but not right away. In most major cities today, starting salaries out of college are around $40,000 (Probably $50,000 by the time you're int he workforce). You should move up the chain quickly from there and probably reach $100,000 within 10 years just from your career.

As for the gym, that is a very large risk. It could well be worth taking that risk, but know that your gym could fail and you could be easily be out $50,000. Most business startups do fail. To start a gym, you need a very large facility, advertising money, equipment, salaries (you can't run the place all by yourself every day), a lawyer, utilities... you can see that this is going to take alot of money. You'll need alot of members to succeed.
If you have to borrow $500,000 to get started (it could easily cost more depending on how much the facility costs), you'll owe around $40,000-$50,000/year just in interest. If the members are paying $40/month, you need 100 members just to pay your interest on the loan. Then you need alot more members to pay all the other expenses. It's not an easy thing to suddenly come up with a thousand members to make this a profitable venture. You will most likely be losing money for several years before you see a profit. But IF you do get to the point of seeing a profit, it will probably keep getting bigger and you'll be able to quit your day job (if you want). Quite risky, but could pay off very well.

Remember, you're only 16 :) Best of luck in your future financial endeavors!!

Answer 2

You're just being materialistic. He is happy should be all that counts, as long as he makes enough to make ends meet and still spend time with you. It's not how much money you have, it's what you do with it. You are supposed to want him, not his money. There were once these 2 women competing against each other like they were keeping up with the Jones. One went to college to be an accountant, one a doctor. the accountant works at the post office and the Doctor became a doctor yet the postal worker has classier things like a Lincoln Navigator and a 2 story house and several other things the doctor cant keep up with. Point here, you seem to have the mind of an accountant, just help manage the money. And one more thing, my grandmother didn't graduate from highschool and she made more money than some educated couples put together. She has two 401K accounts that she's collecting from now, and her house and BINZ are fully paid for.

Answer 3

$100,000 per year is a very low target to shoot for. But, I like your idea of setting goals ... I didn't figure this out until I was 35.

There's lots of competition in the gym business, so be sure to do something unique. Market yourself differently from others in your area.

Instead of a loan, begin saving 50% of every paycheck! Try to live as inexpensively as possible. Invest in high-grade mutual funds, and start doing this as soon as possible.