Newbie from Florida's Spacecoast

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Hello World!

I stumbled on this site last week and am hooked! Really looking forward to getting involved. (BTW love the podcasts! they were my late night driving companion as we came back from vacation this week 😀).

I'm a twenty-something husband and father of 4 working full time as a software engineer at a non-profit. My purpose in life is my family, and I want to get to the point where I can incorporate my income earning with them (while not having to be tied to a desk). By 35, I want to be able to work only part time and supplement my income through my investments. I love the idea of real estate and am looking forward to learning all I can here to prepare for my first deal.

I've been blessed to have REIs as in-laws (they're out of state) and have learned a lot from them, even getting to help them better track cashflow from spreadsheets I designed.

This year we finally paid off my school loans so we're debt free (less our mortgage) and looking to start hard core saving / investing. Here's my current strategy...

1. Build up 30 days of expenses in checking account to handle short term fluctuations (following the YNAB rules). Complete
2. Put aside $5k in high interest (1.05%😢) for emergency fund. 50% complete
3. Max out IRA contributions ($5.5k). 18% complete
4. Save remainder towards purchasing my first deal. $2k saved

One question I have is what's a good starting goal to save before starting out? $10k? My goal would be to not need as much of a down payment by looking for distressed properties that would allow a low LTV. I know every deal is different and obviously various financing options but just wanting to shoot for something. My guess is I wouldn't seriously consider buying until next year, unless something changes before then. In the mean time I'll be saving and learning as much as possible.

My hobbies in addition to family (4 under 5) is urban homesteading, home projects, reading books (but I rarely find time), reading up on blogs (like Mr. Money Mustache). 

Nice you meet you! 

-Brad