Best way to start out

[William MacBride]

Hi,
I figured I'd just ask straight out what the best way for me to get started in real estate investing would be. Here's the situation: I've lost like 25 grand in the stock market and I only have around 3 thousand dollars total now in the world. I do handyman/carpentry work and also woodworking but I just got back from a long trip overseas and spent some dough. My girlfriend is all psyched to get into real estate but unfortunately her approach has been to buy every program on it she sees an informercial for, rather than just start out slow and get the basics down. To date she's sunk thousands of dollars, literally, into all kinds of coaching programs, investor lists, real estate systems, blah blah blah despite my earnest pleas for her to stop, and not hooked up a single deal or made a cent.
So I figured I could be a better coach than some dude in India, or Indiana, or wherever, paid 12 bucks an hour if I just LEARN about it the right way.
So how do you think somebody in my situation should get started? I still have a need to get clear who the real "players" in it are. I don't even have good credit and My g.f. doesn't even have a high enough income right now, for us to get a loan from a bank to buy something. So that leaves us in the position I assume of having to be some kind of "finder" or get into the middle of the deal process in some way.
So I'm just asking what somebody would recommend. We're short on money and experience, but big on interest, goal setting, and spirit. That's why I've been thinking "bird dog." But what other kinds of ways to get into it would anybody recommend?
I've already found an investor group meeting. We're gonna go to it this week. I guess just to get our feet wet because we really don't have too many properties to peddle yet. A few here and there from craigslist and stuff.
Anyway you get the picture. I'd love to hear anybody's step by step type thing of what they'd do in my situation.

Thanks a lot,
Will :mrgreen: