My Dilemma

Arnold

Arnold

www.alanarnold.co.uk
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Alright guys

Recent personal situation has changed, so now i'm 25, living at home (15 minute walk to work). Salary is quite good although i'm disliking my job and would like to get my own IT Support company up and running. Be my own boss etc. I'm paying pretty much 0 rent, so have few outgoings, but i'm at a bit of a crossroads what to do next.

My dream situation would be to have my own place, have my own company, and have a very nice car.. but not sure which steps to take first to achieve it all.

Do i stay at home and save up money from my job to try get my IT company up and running? Or do i take advantage of the housing market being a bit crap and try get on the ladder whilst prices are low, or do i take advantage of living at home and save up to buy the car first! Owning the corsa is pretty boring and i get such a grin going out in fast cars and stuff.

Any advice welcome!
 
In the immortal words of Tony Montana:

"you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women."

Substitute 'women' for 'cars' and I reckon that's the way I would go. It's all very well and good having a nice car, but I personally would always put my house first.

As for starting your own company, go for it. You seem to have the experience you need, and fortune favours the brave. You only live once!
 
"You only live once" and "lifes short" are the two things i keep saying to myself when i make decisions!

Save a bit, another year or so, then start to look at getting a company together, but bare in mind that you will probably need a house or flat of your own to put the business against or a nice loan...

But hey im 18 what would i know..
 
mate if you are able to stay at home then take full advantage of that, its the best way to save up your money. don't bother with a house right now, i have been looking at buying one and the morgage lenders are being evil and the houses are too up and down at the moment, give it a year i would. as for getting the company up and running you should talk to an advisor, it depends on what you are doing and how big you plan to be, if you are working from home or need a building and an accountant.

remember that most businesses don't make it because people are to scared to give it a go, but you have the perfect possition to try.
 
I'm 24 and bought a house, working hard and not regretting it.

If your still at home, it's cheap and your employed nearby I'd say stick with the job at for a bit, save up some money for the biggest deposit you can. Company wise, you don't have to hit the ground running. Found the company and look to do smaller jobs for people to start with and see if there is a way of making money out of it. If you set up business and find your not going to make it then it could be too late if you've already packed up your job.

That was slightly garbled but I think you get the jist. Stay at home, set up a company on the side before you rush into it.
 
micra_pete said:
personally I don't understand how people stay at home late in their 20's?
Click to expand...

I don't understand why people think there is a set age for leaving home, why leave at 18 to end up completely skint for the rest of your life cos your crappy minimum wage job won't let you pay off your debts long enough to move on
 
^^ lol ^^ I left home at 18, i certainly don't have a minumum wage job.

its the freedom, living with mom whilst cheap, will never be like having your own place
 
its on personal circumstances, it will effect you financally moving out, but it does give you more freedom.

if money is the issue DON'T move out,
if freedom is the issure then DO move out,

has nothing to do with age really, its about how your life is.
 
Yes possibly, i just wasn't sure if i should be trying to save up for the deposit or investing money into getting the company successful. Promotion/advertising, equipment etc.

Thanks for the replies though people. I would love my own place, i'd love to invite people round for dinner, or stay up stupidly late with mates and stuff like that. I will definitely start to save up the deposit.
 
Arnold said:
Yes possibly, i just wasn't sure if i should be trying to save up for the deposit or investing money into getting the company successful. Promotion/advertising, equipment etc.

Thanks for the replies though people. I would love my own place, i'd love to invite people round for dinner, or stay up stupidly late with mates and stuff like that. I will definitely start to save up the deposit.
Click to expand...

sounds like a plan, I recommend no matter what happens, save as much money as possible to open your options, try to avoid splashing out or anything like that and it won't be long til you have enough for a house or a company or both :D
 
I do get bored and start buying DVD's, MP3's, Vinyl's, Laser pens :p etc, but yeah i'm spending a lot less now than i used to, so i'm sure i'l be able to save up :)
 
buying a house now, wont be an investment, they,ve already dropped 10.9%, and they,re gonna drop another 20% :eek: imo
 
Arnold said:
I do get bored and start buying DVD's, MP3's, Vinyl's, Laser pens :p etc, but yeah i'm spending a lot less now than i used to, so i'm sure i'l be able to save up :)
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lol once the laser arrives you wont get bored lol, see if you can work out how to make it burn matches ;)
 
ill give you a call later mate seems quite a simple one for me.

cars= not important (material objects that can alwasy be replaced)

own place = less money to spend but hey who cares you can do whatever the hell you want!

Job=its just a means to an end and tbh if you enjoy your job your a lucky bastid! i love mine but its taken me a good 5 years to get to this point.

own company=a good idea, and if you have an original and good idea run with it! its the best way to make big bucks.

if i were you (and i was in this situation 8 months ago so its still fresh!)

get another job, or activly look! your way underpaid for what you do and you could earn loads more doing the same job. just doing this will make everything else fit into place. i.e. more money means you can save more for a business venture get some good contacts etc. and generally be happier.

another piece of advise, sod women all together they just drain you back dry like vampires! and then ###### off with another bloke when youve run out of cash! (yes im bitter, deal with it!) :D

eiter way ill give you a bell later we can have a good old chinwag!

Speedle said:
another piece of advise, sod women all together they just drain you back dry like vampires! and then ###### off with another bloke when youve run out of cash! (yes im bitter, deal with it!) :D
Click to expand...

i meant drain your bank account dry!

frank said:
buying a house now, wont be an investment, they,ve already dropped 10.9%, and they,re gonna drop another 20% :eek: imo
Click to expand...

very good advice also pointless buying id rent if you want to move out
 
Speedle said:
another piece of advise, sod women all together they just drain you bank account dry like vampires! and then ###### off with another bloke when youve run out of cash! (yes im bitter, deal with it!)
Click to expand...

lol good advice :D (i am bitter too ;))
 
Well i'd probably prefer to stay at home than rent, as the money going on rent would go towards the deposit for my own place. If houses are still going down, then now is probably a good time to save up for the deposit so I'm ready to get on the ladder at the right time.

Have considered another job, but because it's so local (15 minute walk), there's no commuting costs, and my time is very valuable. I wouldn't wanna work in london or spend hours on a train getting home. Just not my thing!
 
funny that arnold im in a similar situation...

i am starting up a small IT business but at the moment to build up money im just going to contact myself out to other IT businesses in the area (quite lucky i got a few contacts)...

im living away from home its a ####ing knightmare the rent.. and ive got to find somewhere else to live in the next 20 days or im going to be living in my car :/

and as for fast cars... ive gotta stick with my micra at the minute becuase of money.. but its not too slow at least :)

id agree with that people have said.. if money is a problem, dont move just yet. rent and bills are huge holes in the wallett.
 
If you want to start an IT business, start it now, in your spare time whilst working your normal job. If it works out, quit your job and go full time. If not, you have the option of keeping it in your spare time. You wont be able to get a mortgage without proof of income. I know you could this time last year. So you wont be able to start a full time business and buy a house at the same time. If I was you, I would stay where the rent is lowest, stick with the day job and start your business asap. If you get busy, take a day of holiday pay to sort out your business commitments etc... IMHO that is the best way forwards for you.
 
Ok guys cheers for the comments. I hope you manage to sort something out Rlees85!

Speedle what happened to ringing me up :p
 
micra_pete said:
personally I don't understand how people stay at home late in their 20's?
Click to expand...

agree'd i had to move home after uni when i ran out of ALL money in the world. believe me i tried to avoid it. I was like a scalded cat!

I'd say, rent somewhere nice, really nice if you can even if its only for six months and see what you think from there. haviong a plush pad will change your attitude to life completely.

Leave buying for another two years. the housing market will keep going down for a while, when interest rates go back down then buy. you will kill yourself in iterest at the moment with interest as it is currently.

Start up your own business evenings and weekends then ween yourself off a full time job. basically do both untill it becomes impossible then pic which one you want to do.

My 2p
 
start the business first! if you think about it not owning your own place gives you an the advantage of having little outgoings, bare in mind that most people running a business are paying either paying a mortgage or rent, this and all other personal outgoings must be offset buy the earnings of the business. inturn making the overall outgoings of the business more, this must be factord into the price of the good/service they are selling. now as im sure you'll know less outgoings is a good thing, this will allow you to charge a low price for the good/service your selling. giving the current economic state this it will be important to offer as low a price to your customer as possible whilst still retaining a profit.
 
Apparently the housing price crash will keep up until the end of next year and then prices will level off before starting to rises again early 2010 (not a guarentee obviously) so it would be best to stay at home, assuming your happy there, and save up then see what the market is like in a year or so you could get a larger place then for the same amount that you can by a small one now.

Business wise at the moment you may struggle to get a business loan as everyones getting set up for a recession, although IT is an ever expanding business so you will have a better chance than someone who wants to open a record shop or something along thoses lines. Or you could do as others have suggested and start your business in your spare time and see how things go, if it goes well you could build it up, get a part time job and eventually quit work. If things go pear shaped early on at least you will have your regular job to fall back on

Finally if your cash burns a hole in your pocket you can get accounts where you can only withdraw money a few times a year, i think its 6 times but not sure (my mums got one for christmas and birthday presents, not sure who its with though, sorry)
 
Ok from all the replies it's pretty clear that the opinion is houses will continue to drop, so I will save up a bit in preparation for jumping onto the ladder. I can't decide at this stage if I want to go for the bachelor pad setup or move in a 2 bedroom with a mate. Anyway, plenty of time to worry about that.

I'll get the IT thing up and running. I've already started with the website/hosting and a few other bits, but need to spend a bit more time on getting it launched :)

And finally, i still want a decent car! I'm not gonna go mad, but I think in the short term, i need to get something that's gonna put a smile on my face! The corsa is depressing!
 
Depends when i get the money back from Kristian. I'm also owed a couple of K from somewhere else, and I already have about 2K in the bank, So maybe around 2/3K approx.
 
I dont know how much you'd trust it, but FHM had a brief guide to settin up your own business (between the tits and arses...) I could scan it in for you if you liked? Just had a scan through and it seems quite good.

Alternatively, Kev could maybe help? For the financial side anyway.. Im sure the MSC is registered as a business...

Lemme know :)

Chris
 
.. I think people are missing out on a few important points..

My advice would be to pursue what you want to do career wise and everything else will catch up..

Houses and cars and women will always be there, but an good OPPORTUNITY is something that 'could' only happen once... Being your own boss is a very scary but rewarding thing.. and you may never be in as favourable position as this..

Im not saying its perfect, but on the bright side you dont have in excess of 1.2k 'out the door' on the 1st of every month..

Rent is dead money and a morgage will seem it for the 1st 20 years.. and who knows.. a good woman with a different position to yourself on the property ladder could be on the scene in the near future..

There's enough of them out there?.. maybe not this week.. or this year.. but they are there.

Ive dedicated my 20's to working my b*llocks off and hopefully by the time im 30 I can start to enjoy the position Im in...the house I have etc..

Times are tough for me personally at the moment, with the line of work im in and the death of the economy.. However..

This recession on such a backbone industry as mine will 'weed out' the weak and the lazy.. by the time this is over, the lads who have hung on will inherit the work, and the opportunity..



my 2p pal
 
to me the most important possession in life is perhaps a decent shelter. we need a place to settle down, start a family therefore we cannot stay at home forever.

You have to climb the property ladder eventually so if you can afford it stick it on a house. Not only it is a home for you but a sound investment.

If you intend to stick around in the same house who cares about recession or negative equity. Putting your money in properties is better than putting the money in ISA or any high interest bank accounts.

HOWEVER........not now cos as you can see the market will slump for a few more years at least.

Cars, which might sound obvious, is only one of the many types of transport. it's there to get you from A to B. it is the least important out of the three. wait till you get your company or your house, you will have extra money to spend on luxuries like that. (not implying you're poor but its better to spend on neccessities first before everything else that goes with it) :)
 
OK thanks for the additional replies.

I've had a bit of advice off Ed on setting up your own business, links and things, and i've been to the bank & they're sending me a setting up your own business pack with some advice on the financial side of things. She said I have very good credit score so that will help if i ever needed to borrow etc.

So now it's all down to getting it up and running, hard work and advertising etc. Did a job last week which was easy money, and also got a couple more jobs lined up from speaking to people at a wedding i went to. Word of mouth etc! One of them is over in France :)

& as you all have pretty much said, the decent car etc can wait, and i guess all this will give me something to work for! :) I still need something better than this Corsa, it's already got problems!
 

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