At what point did you quit your day job?

[Kat Hussey]

Hi there! I'm a newbie still in the "learn all you can" phase. I'm working a 9-5 day job and I don't love it (big surprise...I know). So I'm looking at real estate investing as a way to break free of that. However, I want to set my expectations at a realistic level. So I thought I'd ask here:

At what point did real estate investing become more than just a side hustle for you to the point that you could quit your day job?

[Ujwal Velagapudi]

@Kat Hussey it took me 5 years after starting my full time job right after graduating from college. It was not all real estate, but REI provided me the backbone for my cash flow to invest in other businesses as well, which eventually all allowed me to quit comfortably. I think I could have done it 2 years sooner if I was to live at a frugal level but at the time I just wouldn't have known what to do with all the free time. When I had quit I had it just didn't make me happy to continue working since my interests always were in entrepreneurial pursuits. Financially I was more than fine living off of my business/REI income for my requirements so I felt comfortable to walk away without looking back.

My personal advice would be to use your 9-5 as much as you possibly can, milk it. If you have lean operations, you'd be surprised how much you could still do while working your day job. If your current job isn't flexible, or relaxed, then find something that does have the flexibility as you slowly start to spend more time on RE. You should have an idea of what the financial goal is for you to be able to walk away. It also may not hurt to quit a bit after your target goal is met either to build an emergency fund since being a full time entrepreneur can have its ups and downs without a consistent paycheck.