Young and ambitious. Where do I begin?

[Haley Graham]

Hello! For a bit of background, I am 23 years old, single, and PREGNANT (I know, cliche.) I'm not a single mother though, I will have help from the father (that info plays into my money expenditures). I live in Eastern Iowa, working full time making about $30,000 gross a year. I have no college degree, I am in the Army Reserve, and I will be renting a room with a family member once their home is built. I will be paying around $400 month total for living costs (minus food & care), and $350 a month for daycare (YIKES). I only have one debt and that is a car loan I still owe about $8K on ($200/mo payments). I have plenty of money in a Roth IRA that I continuously max out, as well as a profit sharing account through my company, so I do have some investments started. I also have about $10K sitting in my bank waiting to be used on a smart decision. So HERE is my question... Where in the heck do I start? I am brand spanking new to the idea of real estate investment (reading, listening to podcasts, talking to experienced folk), and I'm having a hard time telling if a home is a 'deal' or not in my area. I know exactly where not to get a house, but I'm not sure I'm in the market at a good time right now. What would be the VERY first... And maybe second and third (hah) steps to getting into purchasing a rental? I've got contractors who would do work for free for me (connections, eh), so I am open to doing some dirty work (not necessarily flipping). I also like the idea of duplex's bringing in that double income. Or even, the house hack. I should mention, I have a couple great realtors already.

[Thomas S.]

Finance and real estate investing education is the absolute best investment you can make for now and probably till your baby is at least a year old. Having a baby is more than enough on your plate for now considering all that entails. Keep reading and learning. After the baby is born you can better gauge your time line. Flexibility will vanish if you invest now. Be realistic about what having a baby entailers. It will consume 100% of your time.

Getting into real estate investing at this point will be worse than having twins. It will take more time than you have and will negatively impact your family. Either your investment or your baby will lose out.