I'm Hac, a blue-collar worker from San Diego

[Hac T.]

Hello all! My name is Hac and I am from San Diego, California. I am 31 years old and have an Associate's Degree in Business. While studying for my associate's I also did some extra-curricular reading on business and real estate. Just to name a few books I've read: Buy it, Rent It, Profit... rich dad poor dad, the millionaire real estate investor, what every real estate investor needs to know about cash flow, fastlane millionaire, Emotional Intelligence, and many more. These books installed the belief in me that business was something that could be done without a degree. So about a year ago I set out a budget to save at least 1,000 dollars every month to go toward my first investment. And so far, I am doing awesome thanks to the support of my family and work (VERY cheap rent and I work at a restaurant so I get free meals)

I have never been so focused in my life; I use to blow my paychecks and live in the moment, neglecting what my future could have in store for me. Now, I find myself turning down beers with the fellas to stay home, in order to save money to bring me closer to my dream of financial freedom. Although I've read several books and got the gist of things, READing and DOing are two completely different things. With that said I am currently transitioning from reading about what i want to do, to actually DOING what I want to do. Joining this forum and introducing myself to you all is my actual first step in this journey. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by all the "big fish" I see contributing to this community.. but as of right now my plan is simple: keep saving and while saving, research my next and FIRST cash flow investment, so that when I have enough money saved up I will be ready to take action and become a DO-er for once! Which is where BP comes in.. I look forward to learning so much more about Real Estate Investing from you guys. Even more, I look forward to passing on whatever knowledge I acquire, and maybe even forming some partnerships and friendships along the way. Thank you all for your time and have a wonderful night!

[Justin R.]

@Hac T. Good for you, man.  That's awesome to hear - hat's off to you!

As you're figuring out what else you can *do* to get towards your goal, I would really, really, really suggest you keep looking for opportunities to learn in interact with people in the real world (not just here online).

If you stay behind your computer screen, you can learn about 10% of what's available to learn.  But, if you put yourself physically in situations where you're a little uncomfortable but able to soak up as much of what's going on around you as possible, that's where you'll stop feeling intimidated and start feeling empowered.

Before I bought my first rental property, I once attended a rental open house at a neighborhood apartment complex.  Not to look for a place to rent, but to put myself in the shoes of the landlord and observe how they were experiencing it ... try to imagine myself doing that.  It sounds super corny, but it was a free way to get close to someone doing what I was planning to do and change my mind from intimidation to "I think I could do this." 

And, join us for the next BP meetup on March 26th at the next rehab project if you're ready to meet some of the folks you see writing on here.

Good luck!