High Earning W2 people, what is your strategy?

[Alan Curry]

Hello BP!

I tried searching on the forum for someone in a similar situation, but I didn't find much. My life story starts when I got a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Finance so I would have a resume that would (should?) always be in demand. I've worked my whole career trying to work up the corporate ladder, just like my parents told me to do. So from day one, I put my nose to the grindstone to try to make me and my boss look good so I can get that next promotion. I managed to fight through multiple career struggles, whether it be a plant closure, Great Recession layoffs, company move/consolidation, and a "realignment" after a company sale. 

I finally got that promotion into management, about 6 months before COVID hit. My department was one of the few in the company that was considered essential, so I then spent the next 2 years trying to manage a team through establishing alternate work arrangements for social distancing, contract tracing, quarantine management due to exposure, isolation due to infection, reporting for OSHA requirements, teammates leaving the workforce, and trying to hire for the open positions. It was extremely stressful at times. All of this was considered expectations for my role in the company, so I never even got a "Thank you" while senior management worked out of their home. This got me to start thinking, "Maybe there are other options out there."

I starting searching online for alternatives to my current situation, and one that jumped out at me was REI. I did more and more research and found this site about a year ago. Since then, I have been trying to find which path would work for my current situation. I am a high earning W2 employee, but I am not considered to have Accredited Investor status. I can't write off losses as income is over $150k. The current W2 demand makes it hard to become a real estate professional without a drastic leap of faith. I have a family with kids in elementary school, but we are fairly frugal with our spending. The COVID shutdown moved us from frequent restaurant dining to only 1-2 times a week and vacations were shutdown until recently. We saved quite a bit during COVID. During the shutdown, my wife's company transitioned to be permanently work from home, so I want to find a solution that gives me more flexibility with my time and location. I think I can transition to a BP-type endeavor, but I am not sure what would be a good route for transitioning from your typical high earning W2 to Financially Independent.

I would like to connect and get feedback from people who transitioned from a high earning W2 job to a FI situation. What was your plan and how did you execute it? I would also like to hear from anyone else who has ideas that I can explore. I'm open to most ideas, but I am not interested in doing Wholesaling. I will also add that I spent some time in Sales and Marketing roles within my company, so I have experience in working with all areas of the corporate business world.

I you're still reading this, I appreciate your patience in reading this whole post and look forward to your feedback.

[Dan H.]

I had a high paying job that qualified me as an accredited Investor (now retired), but was making more most years from my REI.

However, my route was not passive. We did value adds. We acted as GC on all rehabs. On the BRRRR that were LTR (versus the STRs), we self managed and were active in every tenant turnover. This required sacrifices especially when I still had my W2 job. It worked as we are FI probably multiple times over.

I now have greater appreciation of more passive options. Syndications project ~20% annual return and some have historically out performed the pro forma. S&P 500 historically has produced close to 10% annual return over the S&P 500 lifetime. NNN is more passive than residential RE. There are many investment options that are more passive than residential RE.

Good luck