Low Income Rental Property Investing

[Frank Connelly]

Hello, all!

I'm a teacher in Central Texas, and am completely new to rental property investing. I've read some books and I've listened to countless hours of podcasts; however, I am obviously green as hell. In an attempt to garner the most genuine advice, I'm going to attempt to maintain 100% transparency about my (less-than-ideal) financial situation.

I don't make much money. After taxes, I personally pull in $4,000/month. $400 of that goes into a 457 Roth IRA. $1,200 goes to my biggest liability: the house that I provide for my wife and daughter. The rest goes to utilities, food, etc. I probably have around $200 that I could save per month. I only have about $500 saved in my emergency fund, and about $100 saved in my "down payment" savings account. Like I said, I'm green as hell.

I have a TON of liabilities. Including my house, college loans, and auto loans, I have close to $190,000 in liabilities. My goal is to gravitate towards more assets. 

My goal is to break the chain of lower-middle class living that my family has so blissfully perpetuated through multiple generations. Is my goal to become a real estate investor too farfetched? Do I need to pull in more money first? (My wife goes to college part time, and makes about $1,400/month. I'd prefer to be able to operate independently from that money.) 

Thank you in advance for your insight!

-Frank