New Member Introduction

[Brandon S.]

Hey Everyone!

I'm just introducing myself to the community. I've been reading a lot of financial independence type blogs and all of that has lead me to Bigger Pockets. 

I'm currently working as an engineer and am looking to eventually reaching FI. I currently have 132k in student loans between my wife and I. We could pay that off in 3 years if we continue with the same payments we have right now. We rent right now and I'm considering either one of two options. 

1) move into a really cheap apartment unit. It seems like we could get a decent 2br for 60-80k in our area (Western Chicago Suburbs).  This would allow us to live cheaply and pay down our loans quicker. I

2) Buy a duplex/triplex and rent out the other rooms to tenants. This would involve taking out a larger loan, but would also get me into the buy and hold rental property business, which is what I am really interested in doing. 

Any thoughts?

I'm also looking to  do a lot of reading on this before I start. I have been going to Meetups to meet with people, but I want to start deepening my knowledge. Any book recommendations?

I look forward to learning and contributing with everyone.