Newbie in Austin Texas

[Josh Janicek]

Hi y'all,

I've been a member of Bigger Pockets for the better part of a year, but just haven't contributed yet.  My wife and I joined Lifestyles Unlimited a year ago as well because we became very interested in the financial freedom and passive income of real estate investing, and because we know pretty much zilch about it (we did what we comfortably feel is our due diligence on Lifestyles Unlimited, and I'm sure they're considered 'those other guys' 'round these parts, so I'm not really soliciting opinions or guidance on them as  we're simply diversifying our sources of knowledge and information among Bigger Pockets, Lifestyles Unlimited, other sites/articles upon researching certain topics, books, etc.).  We're seeking that personal hand-holding as we've now identified a 6- to 12-month investment horizon.  We've been sitting on the pot long enough.  Now it's time to....

Our plan is to buy & hold multi-family and possibly single-family investments.  As I type this I'm thinking we should go into multi-family as my goal is to cashflow $3,500 - $5,000 per month (and I have no clue if that's even realistic, feasible or doable for us as first-timers).  We could maintain a semblance of our current lifestyle on that.  We have some cash under our mattress that's got real estate investing written on it.

Most importantly for me, I want to buy myself time as I'm the financial provider of the household.  We lead a pretty moderate lifestyle.  We have a mortgage on our home, a car note, two children, pay the bills on time, sack some away, contribute to retirement, dabble in stocks/equities, etc. etc.  We make a fair pitcher of lemonade.  And I'm not going to sugar-coat it: I loathe just exchanging my time for money.  I have a day job.  Between the commute and time in the office, I'm spending 10.5 hours per day making someone else rich.

I learned the power and excitement of passive income 6 years ago when I started a little software company.  I had an entrepreneurial fire in my belly so I designed and outsourced the development of a little software application that serves a niche industry.  I though really hard on it, worked really hard on it, and built it in a such a way that it runs itself.  And I love it.  It's note a huge amount of cash (it nets 3-figures every month, but it pays some bills for us). I built another little piece of software the same way last year (doesn't net as much income, but still runs itself and is equally exciting).  I have another one in the works, and I've got ideas flying out of my ears that I'm dying to work on and bring to life.  However, alas, I have that 10.5 hours a day making someone else rich thing going on.  And I've a beautiful wife and beautiful children and a yard to mow and a dog to play catch with and things that *I* want to do with *my* life and my family.  I'm 40-years-old.  I went to college.  I've played the job game to the point where I want to pull my [remaining] hair out.  I'm ready to "retire."  I want the bills to get paid with passive income and buy myself the time to allow me to contribute to the world on my terms.  It's time for me to make my dent.

So, I don't know if that's the protocol for making my Bigger Pockets introduction.  I figured I'd just jump into the pool, bearing it all, so-to-speak.  I'm really looking forward to getting to know some new folks, amassing knowledge & guidance, asking lots of dumb questions, and starting on this new adventure in life.