Hey Sam, I just joined but wanted to make an effort to respond because your story is just so relatable I feel nostalgic. As for your circumstances, you're in the right place don't worry about it! You have quite a bit of time to get things sorted out and plan your dreams. I was in the same exact boat about 11 years ago as I just turned 25. I found Hagerty because I have two cars that I love like my own children and Hagerty is the only place I can insure them for agreed value until I turn 26 or with other companies until I turn 30 ... Technically there's Grundy so don't misquote me on that but I wasn't impressed with their onboarding process and customer service when I applied. When I was your age, I was drawing out a checklist of what I needed. This would include the basics like a Driver's License, Insurance, and of course means to secure a car. Personally a License is probably the most important because it plays a big role when you're looking at insurance policies. The most common question is how long have you had a Driver's License and the policy premium you are assigned is based on points awarded in accordance to your driving experience. I assure you that you would most likely want to find every legal loophole in your state or county to get one as soon as humanly possible. A Driver's License may even give you an edge when you're trying to get a job as some employers like mine require it. The next thing to build would be well ... credit. This requires a heavy amount of discipline as not everyone knows how to use credit effectively and life does get in the way sometimes. I find credit to be important as well because it not only determines how you pay for your cars and large purchases but if you live in a state where underwriters look at your credit to calculate your risk factor, you'll want the best credit score humanly possible. Now I can't tell you how to build credit properly because anything I say could be a bit tone deaf as I don't know your circumstances. What I can say is I skipped a stage of my adult life partying, hanging out with friends, being 20, being old enough to drink. But I think all of it paid off. I currently have a 2020 Jaguar F-Type, a 2000 Mercedes Benz e320 Station Wagon, and my daily driver is a 2017 BMW i3, and I bought all of these cars under my own name. Oh, and my first job too was at McDonald's!
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