New and getting started with very little money

[Chris Lounsbury]

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself to the BP world with a quick about me and what my plans are.  I was born and raised in Orange County, NY, but am planning on making the move to Southern California in the summer.  (I know that isn't the ideal place to be for investing right now, but I am definitely a dreamer and California has been a dream of mine since the first time I ever visited.)  I recently graduated college, but during my time there it became increasingly clear that I was uninterested in following the beaten path of entering into corporate America and working for the next 40 years.  After gaining experience in multiple endeavors, I realized that my passion had been staring me in the face my entire life.  Since I was about 12 years old, my parents and I slowly tore down and rebuilt our colonial home into a very beautiful new colonial style home.  We did most of the tear down and rebuild ourselves, and I learned a lot about designing and building.  Thinking back on this, I began to look into real estate investing with the idea of getting into house flipping, but after exploring the different niches, I think I'm even more interested in owning rental properties.

My main problem is my desire to get started investing now, but not having the funds to do so.  Currently I am a server/bartender at a restaurant and bring home around 2000 a month.  I actually dont mind working in this field for now, mingling with customers and putting smiles on peoples faces each day, but the money definitely isn't great. I know that I could apply to jobs that would pay me greater and make it easier to begin investing, but at the same time I have told myself countless times that getting a "real job" may slow down my true dreams, and I cant imagine finding a salary job that I would enjoy doing.  I don't want it to distract from my motivation to make money in a different way than the majority of people that have told me to take the "safe route" and find a nice paying job. 

With that being said, I am at a loss of what to do next. I am humbly seeking any advice or encouragement from everyone on this site. I would greatly appreciate any comments on this thread and hope to connect with some like-minded people that are willing to share anything they believe will help my journey into the real estate investment market. Thanks to all who took the time to even read this far, and good luck to everyone on this site in their own endeavors in REI.