Help for an aspiring REI

[Account Closed]

Hey everybody, not sure if this is the correct posting section, but my names Jake and I am a 20 yo aspiring REI. I'll start off with a little background. A year before I turned 18 my mother informed me of a large structured settlement I had due from a wrongful death suit involving my father. I receive a 50k check every year until I turn 25 and then I receive a lump sum for approx 1.2mil. I made quite a few mistakes in the first 1-2 years I began receiving my annuity payments and spent a lot more money than I should have. I learned the hard way how fast money can be spent and began training myself to save my money. I spent countless hours trying to figure out the best way to invest my money to 1. keep myself from spending it and 2. grow my money. About six months ago I caught the real estate bug and began trying to learn as much as I could. I've been lurking here on the site for the said six months and have also in that time finished reading four books.

These books include

- Complete Idiot's Guide To Real Estate Investing

- The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner (absolutely amazing book!)

- The Wall Street Journal: Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook

- Multi Family Millions

I have learned so much from these books and feel like I'm finally starting to get an idea of how I want to go about buying properties. I have typed up a 5-10 year plan of goals I want to accomplish and I also have a list of requirements I want my properties to meet. My reason for this post is mainly to receive tips/input from all of you forum members on my situation and the best way to proceed. I currently have close to 100k saved up and already own a 220k house I live in. I also have a job in public safety which makes me about 45k a year and have a 730 credit score. I can post more details about my goals/plan/situation if anybody cares. Thanks in advance for the help.

- Jake