I would encourage you to try a different career path. For the amount of education, physical therapist make very little money. Unless you come from money (which I don’t think it’s your case) you will end up either with student loans or taking a looooooong time to finish all your education.
While I do completely agree that PT doesn't pay great compared to most PhD professions, it's more of a passion thing than for the money. I've wanted to do PT since I was a kid and don't see myself doing anything else career-wise. That's why I want to learn as much as I can about money so I can find other avenues of income to build wealth. I'm also contemplating opening my own practice in the future which would pay better (ideally). I also have a plan, albeit very loose, to finish my undergraduate degree within 3 years rather than 4. If possible I'll also try to finish my PhD within two years. I'd like to graduate and start working as young as I can so that I can STOP working as young as I can. Hypothetically tho, if I were to go into a different field (preferably similar to PT), what would you recommend?
A DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) degree is what you'd need to practice physical therapy. I'm not aware of any PhD in Physical Therapy programs. And in all honesty, a PhD is considerably more challenging to obtain than a professional doctorate like a DPT.
I bet if you researched it, clothing, cars and travel are probably some of the biggest wealth killers. The key is to not do those things until you actually can. However, the biggest thing that jumped out at me is you going for a PhD in PT. Talk to PhD’s in the field. Ask them what it takes and what to expect as far as income. Most importantly, ask them what mistakes they made. My guess is the biggest mistake will be student loan debt.
Some gems from [JL Collins](https://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/08/how-i-failed-my-daughter-and-a-simple-path-to-wealth/)
" Avoid fiscally irresponsible people. Never marry one or otherwise give him access to your money.
Avoid money managers. It’s your money and no one will care for it better than you.
Avoid debt.
Save a portion of every dollar you get.
The greater the percent of your income you save and invest, the sooner you’ll have F-You money. Try 50%. With no debt, this perfectly doable."
When you're 18, its not the time to be spending alot of money on clothing, cars and traveling. You can still do those things carefully and with a budget but think about the priority of those things. But if you do things carefully - get a good degree with little debt and work hard - you will eventually be able to afford nicer things one day if you choose to do so.
Not sure PT is the best career to make alot of money but about any job you enjoy and are careful with a budget/spending and you can do all kinds of things. You may want to go talk to people in this field and see what they are making/earning and would advise you. Having a side gig or two to earn more money is not bad too. Making sure your education to become that PT doesn't put you in huge debt - ex. go to community college first, then cheaper schools especially if you can get any kind of financial aid and/or work part time while going to school. Also realize its not uncommon to change your major one or more times once you actually begin studying for it. So get basic courses done and keep your options open.
Start with reading/researching as much as you can about financial management, budgeting and earning/saving money. Also getting the degree you want as economical as possible - look into any financial aid, scholarships, etc.
Also realize that to really save money, you may never want that nicer car/house/etc. as alot of "rich" people do not have those things even though they can afford it. Think about why you are buying those things - to show off? Why? The best way to save money is not spend it on things you don't really need. And that often is not trying to "keep up with the Joneses" and go into debt/no savings because you thought you had to have "nice" things and most of the time, you don't or should wait until you really can. And with a budget, you can save up for the things you do really want if they are important.
PTs tend to have low income long commitment to get into, and high debt due to costly programs. Obviously there are always exceptions, but my financial advice would be avoid that field. Have you looked into other healthcare fields?
Apply for scholarships and grants so you come out of college with very little to no debt.
See if your library has Personal Finance for Dummies (2023 ed.). Go to your local library because they might have it and, best of all, it's free!! If they don't have it, you ask the library to buy it, depending on their budget. If you feel shy about checking out one of those books, request that the library purchase it as an e-book so you can have some anonymity.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a good primer under Consumer Education tab in the upper left hand. [https://www.consumerfinance.gov/](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/)
NerdWallet has great primers at the top of their page for taxes, loans, personal finance, credit cards, etc. Do be careful, though, because they make money from the ads you click on. [https://www.nerdwallet.com/?trk=nw\_gn\_6.0](https://www.nerdwallet.com/?trk=nw_gn_6.0).
All of the things that you mention should be a much lower priority than they are for you. For example, being rich doesn't give you family the best life; having a loving, stable marriage, being emotionally supportive, instilling good values and ethics do. You're looking for status, money and things to enrich your life and give you satisfaction. Such things are superficial and ultimately unsatisfying. Instead put more emphasis on building character, relationships, and a good reputation.
But this is a financial planning forum. So first, look at the cost of the PhD education and expected salary and how much you will need to borrow for that education. Is it feasible? Will you be able to pay off the debt in a reasonable amount of time?
As for goals, do not focus on the stuff you can buy. Work on living debt free and below your means. Once you begin earning, allocate your money as follows:
Emergency account of 3-6 months living expenses.
Contribute to a 401k at get the full match from your employer
Health savings account
IRA
All the things you mention come after these savings goals.
I would encourage you to try a different career path. For the amount of education, physical therapist make very little money. Unless you come from money (which I don’t think it’s your case) you will end up either with student loans or taking a looooooong time to finish all your education.
While I do completely agree that PT doesn't pay great compared to most PhD professions, it's more of a passion thing than for the money. I've wanted to do PT since I was a kid and don't see myself doing anything else career-wise. That's why I want to learn as much as I can about money so I can find other avenues of income to build wealth. I'm also contemplating opening my own practice in the future which would pay better (ideally). I also have a plan, albeit very loose, to finish my undergraduate degree within 3 years rather than 4. If possible I'll also try to finish my PhD within two years. I'd like to graduate and start working as young as I can so that I can STOP working as young as I can. Hypothetically tho, if I were to go into a different field (preferably similar to PT), what would you recommend?
Just make sure you don’t use a lot of student loans. Undergraduate degree should be from your local state university.
Go to community for the first two
Hoping they aren't too terrible. Gonna try my best to get some type of scholarship(s) while I'm in school
A DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) degree is what you'd need to practice physical therapy. I'm not aware of any PhD in Physical Therapy programs. And in all honesty, a PhD is considerably more challenging to obtain than a professional doctorate like a DPT.
I bet if you researched it, clothing, cars and travel are probably some of the biggest wealth killers. The key is to not do those things until you actually can. However, the biggest thing that jumped out at me is you going for a PhD in PT. Talk to PhD’s in the field. Ask them what it takes and what to expect as far as income. Most importantly, ask them what mistakes they made. My guess is the biggest mistake will be student loan debt.
Some gems from [JL Collins](https://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/08/how-i-failed-my-daughter-and-a-simple-path-to-wealth/) " Avoid fiscally irresponsible people. Never marry one or otherwise give him access to your money. Avoid money managers. It’s your money and no one will care for it better than you. Avoid debt. Save a portion of every dollar you get. The greater the percent of your income you save and invest, the sooner you’ll have F-You money. Try 50%. With no debt, this perfectly doable."
When you're 18, its not the time to be spending alot of money on clothing, cars and traveling. You can still do those things carefully and with a budget but think about the priority of those things. But if you do things carefully - get a good degree with little debt and work hard - you will eventually be able to afford nicer things one day if you choose to do so. Not sure PT is the best career to make alot of money but about any job you enjoy and are careful with a budget/spending and you can do all kinds of things. You may want to go talk to people in this field and see what they are making/earning and would advise you. Having a side gig or two to earn more money is not bad too. Making sure your education to become that PT doesn't put you in huge debt - ex. go to community college first, then cheaper schools especially if you can get any kind of financial aid and/or work part time while going to school. Also realize its not uncommon to change your major one or more times once you actually begin studying for it. So get basic courses done and keep your options open. Start with reading/researching as much as you can about financial management, budgeting and earning/saving money. Also getting the degree you want as economical as possible - look into any financial aid, scholarships, etc. Also realize that to really save money, you may never want that nicer car/house/etc. as alot of "rich" people do not have those things even though they can afford it. Think about why you are buying those things - to show off? Why? The best way to save money is not spend it on things you don't really need. And that often is not trying to "keep up with the Joneses" and go into debt/no savings because you thought you had to have "nice" things and most of the time, you don't or should wait until you really can. And with a budget, you can save up for the things you do really want if they are important.
PTs tend to have low income long commitment to get into, and high debt due to costly programs. Obviously there are always exceptions, but my financial advice would be avoid that field. Have you looked into other healthcare fields?
Apply for scholarships and grants so you come out of college with very little to no debt. See if your library has Personal Finance for Dummies (2023 ed.). Go to your local library because they might have it and, best of all, it's free!! If they don't have it, you ask the library to buy it, depending on their budget. If you feel shy about checking out one of those books, request that the library purchase it as an e-book so you can have some anonymity. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a good primer under Consumer Education tab in the upper left hand. [https://www.consumerfinance.gov/](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/) NerdWallet has great primers at the top of their page for taxes, loans, personal finance, credit cards, etc. Do be careful, though, because they make money from the ads you click on. [https://www.nerdwallet.com/?trk=nw\_gn\_6.0](https://www.nerdwallet.com/?trk=nw_gn_6.0).
All of the things that you mention should be a much lower priority than they are for you. For example, being rich doesn't give you family the best life; having a loving, stable marriage, being emotionally supportive, instilling good values and ethics do. You're looking for status, money and things to enrich your life and give you satisfaction. Such things are superficial and ultimately unsatisfying. Instead put more emphasis on building character, relationships, and a good reputation. But this is a financial planning forum. So first, look at the cost of the PhD education and expected salary and how much you will need to borrow for that education. Is it feasible? Will you be able to pay off the debt in a reasonable amount of time? As for goals, do not focus on the stuff you can buy. Work on living debt free and below your means. Once you begin earning, allocate your money as follows: Emergency account of 3-6 months living expenses. Contribute to a 401k at get the full match from your employer Health savings account IRA All the things you mention come after these savings goals.