Work overtime to pay down debt or work overtime to invest?

[DJ Allen]

Hey everybody, I am brand new to the game and keep getting torn on which direction I should go. I discovered Dave Ramsey last year and ever since then I have been busting my butt in overtime trying to pay off all of my debt except for my house. I have been on the search to do something else with my life for the past few years so I can spend more time with my family and not have to worry about a 9-5 schedule, or in my case 6-6. It feels backwards because I am working 60 hours every week just to be able to not work hardly any hours eventually. I am really confident that I want to invest in Real Estate as my passive income path but now I'm wondering if I should save money to invest in real estate now or keep paying off debt and invest afterwards? I have $1,000 in saving and every bit of my extra money goes to the debt snowball. I can be debt free in a little less than 2 years with the exception of my house. My house will be paid off in 5 years with the debt snowball. I am starting to talk with my local credit union so I can possibly get a HELOC on my primary to start my first deal. I am stuck in the analysis paralysis stage with reading books, listening to podcast, and watching videos. I want to try and learn every part of the process and play it out in my head so I am better prepared. I do not want to get halfway through the process and hit a brick wall because I did not do the right thing prior. Any advice would be appreciated and I would love to have somebody that I can message and bounce questions off of now and then and not have to worry about sounding dumb. Thanks BP!

[John Leake]

I'd be happy to be a resource for you, I started off a few years ago and found a 4 unit that needed a lot of work and now have several properties. I self manage all my units, am currently working on a flip, and looking to build a storage unit here this year! Bigger Pockets podcasts are the way to go for information. I probably listened to them all 3x before buying my first deal playing them nonstop in the background of everything I was doing. I would recommend focusing on any higher % interest debt you have first rather than just the smallest amount. The only nice thing about doing the smallest first is that you get some gratification out of that debt disappearing off the books. Dave Ramsey's advice is great for 95% of people, but lots of those folks don't invest in real estate. If you can invest the money rather than pay down debt and make a better return then your money is better off working to make you more.