23 year old Newbie from New Orleans, LA

[Johnquel Jones]

    Hello BiggerPockets community, my name is Johnquel Jones. I recently graduated from a 4-year university-May 2016- with an Accounting degree. I even more recently-July-accepted a job offer and will begin working on August 8th of this year. I have plans to pass the CPA exam and become a Certified Public Accountant before May of 2017.

     As for my real estate background, it is nonexistent. I would like to expand my knowledge on the topic, take small, actionable steps and grow my background into one which does exist. My long-term goal is to acquire options-whether it be the option to stop working full time, travel, splurge, family vacations, you name it. This is not to say I will do all of those things, but it is worth knowing that you can.

    My BiggerPockets discovery may be one similar to another's. I stumbled upon it while looking for various podcasts in the investing world(stock, real estate, 401(k)s,IRAs, the works). I found several among the top involving personal finance and another which peeked my interest, BiggerPockets. Real estate is something I had always had an interest in and ,when I saw the podcast, I had to take a look. I was not sure what I would find or if it was going to make any sense. Lo and behold, I found an interesting podcast, with many aspects of what real estate entailed, that made almost no sense to me. However, I was not scared away but became more interested in the topic. Questions like, "How can I get started?" "What is there for a Beginner to do?" "How do I obtain my first property?", "Where can I learn the basics?", "If I go down this journey, will there be anyone to assist me?" quickly arose. 

Eventually, after listening to old and new podcasts, I decided to sign up for BiggerPockets. I was done taking the back seat with regards to my financial future. This REI journey would allow me to exercise control over my financial future and allow me to determine what risks I am willing to take. As long as I put in the work, I find that BiggerPockets, its community, and the knowledge everyone provides can be the gateway to a better future.

Forever Paying it Forward,

Johnquel Jones