Replace salary in 5 years

[Michael Wilson]

So I've been thinking a lot about why I actually want to start investing in real estate. Obviously we all want to create an awesome lives for ourselves and our families but I wanted to start thinking specifically FOR ME what do I WANT. Here is what I have come up with. I want my wife to be the most free woman on the planet! I want her to be able to do what she wants, to travel, to stay at home with the kids, work, or not work, whatever she wants to do. I want her to have the choice of what she wants to do with her life. I don't want money to be the thing that drives her decisions.  I don't want her to have to work to work to help provide for our kids. We got married last May and are in our early 20s. 

So the reason I am beginning my real estate adventure is to do that. In the next five years, when we start having kiddos, I want to have replaced my wife's salary with passive income through real estate investing. My goal is to pull in about $4,000 of passive income a month in 5 years.

If you were in my shoes, where would you start? I currently own the house we live in Clemson, SC and have about $30,000 in equity. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!