25 year old saving for first property - advice appreciated

[Account Closed]

I work 50-60 hours a week as a construction manager for a large company in NYC, but I want to run my own business doing flips and BRRR in northern or central NJ. What is your advice for shrinking my expenses and raising my income?

Below is a summary of my personal finance situation today as I'm nearing my 26th birthday.  What the arrows in the diagram are meant to show is that I'm using my left over income to invest in stocks, and using the income generated from stocks to invest more.  I'm planning on selling the stocks when they are enough to purchase real estate, but not touch my retirement account which will stay diversified.  

At this rate I will have $43000 in 2 years (assuming there is no major stock market crash) to make my first investment.  Will I be ready with that kind of money?

Here are my ideas for 2 years down the line  What are your ideas for me?

Idea #1 - House hack using an FHA loan in a 4 family home, maybe in Jersey City. I would rent out the studio I already own.

Idea #2 - Keep living where I live now because the payment is cheap, and begin to flip homes in the cheaper areas of NJ where I can afford.

Idea #3 - Keep working at my current job.  I am on track for a promotion and pay bump of about $1200/mo after tax income and can use the money for very passive investments that will allow me to keep my current job.

Cheers and thanks in advance for the advice.

[Andrew Morris]

Hey Thomas!

Have you read Set For Life by Scott Trench? He was on one the BP Podcasts recently. Episode #223 or around that number. I just finished Scott's book and it covers a lot of the questions / scenarios you bring up in great detail. It is a fantastic book than I am having my wife read now since it is one of those rare "perception changing" books you only come across every few years or so. Scott covers house hacking and really goes into detail on cutting expenses and raising income through some pretty intelligent ways. Set For Life also covers retirement/401(k) accounts and his recommendations on how to use them best for real estate and early financial freedom. Best of luck to you Thomas!