What to do when you have 0 money!?!

[Dillon Lopez]

See my first post for more about my goals! But...Simply put, what would/have you do or done if you were starting out with what you're currently doing now with NOTHING! Could you do it, what would you need to do what youre doing now and how would you do it!?

[Russell Brazil]

16 years ago (ugh Im getting old) I was $100k in the hole after finishing school, having credit card debt, a car loan and crappy credit. Im in a much better position now. This was my path. 

1) Learn to attack my debt

2) Became obsessive with personal finance. (I lived in a $400 a month studio in a basement in the ghetto, then when I moved to DC my rent was $500 living w 3 roommates)

3) Focused on growing my career. Most people overlook this. I made $30k out of college. Every 4 years or so Ive about doubled that, and while Im not doubling anymore, Im still focused on growing it a good percentage. NownIm focused on 25-30% growth. (Doubling my income now is much harder at the higher incomes)

4) Picked up a side job (real estate agent used to be my part time job)

5) As my debt shrank, learned to invest in stocks and save.

6) Savings exploded once my debt was gone

7) Kept living frugally and funneling all my new savings (and my earnings continued to grow too) into investing 

8) Then finally started investing in real estate.

9) When I built my rental portfolio enough, then became a full time investor and agent. (Honestly I should have done this sooner, but I was scared of not having a paycheck every 2 weeks)

Real estate investing shouldnt nessecarily be step 1. Learning to save, growing your income so you can save, learning to invest all should come before real estate.