Recent College Grad Looking into REI

[Christian Solano]

Hello everyone! I am happy to have recently joined this community after much consideration.

I am eager to start this journey and like many of you, I assume, I have no idea where to begin. To give you guys some context on my situation, I recently graduated college and have a net worth of -$47k: -62k in student loans** +17k in savings, I got a 'W-2' job in a reputable company earning around $50k base with around $6k in bonuses, and I'm living with my parents in the Houston, Texas area (woohoo free rent and food) so I am able to save around 1-2k a month. 

REI is something I want to take on because I know that I'll never reach financial freedom moving up the ranks, or it'll simply take a lifetime to do so. In addition, the challenge and creativity that comes with REI are intriguing to me. I am ready to take the plunge and I am doing the research: listening to BP podcasts, reading some REI books, and taking notes.

My hopes are that I can get some advice on what strategy I should pursue; does a BRRR strategy make sense? perhaps an Airbnb rental? maybe rent an apartment while I save to buy a rental property? I would love to hear some advice on what strategies could help a noobie like myself, as well as what books I can buy to gain more knowledge for this journey.

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you ahead of time!

**It's important to note that my student loans are on forbearance until October of 2022 and the monthly payments will be around $125/month so I am in no rush to pay the loans. I'd like to take the additional income from REI to pay off the loans quicker, but seeing that the monthly payment is very low, I'd rather invest in real estate first rather than pay chunks of my loans right away (unless there's a better argument to do so)