If you had tp start all over again

[Dioney Navarro]

I want to start buying rental properties but I'm stuck on a fork on the road my wife wants us to get a house first before even starting to invest in real estate we have about 40k saved up how would you start investing, would you try to convince her and staying rent or would house hacking be the best option here thanks

[Greg M.]

That's a question of satisfying a want now vs investing for the future. Most people choose to satisfy the want now. Most people are also broke throughout their lives. 

A lot depends on your market and your age and financial situation. I'm going to assume that you're younger rather than older and 40K works as a down payment in your area. If that is correct, the home you'd be buying today is not going to be your forever home. So find a place you like, that will work good as a rental, put as little down as possible and live there a couple of years. At this point you will (ideally) have enough saved up for your next home and you can rent this one out. Repeat again in a few years.