Newbie from Granite Bay, California

[Colten Unden]

Hello! My name is Colten Unden and I live in the greater Sacramento region. I'm an 18 year old bather at a pet grooming shop in Lincoln, CA. My long-term goal in life is to have a family and retire young so I can enjoy life with my family. Gradually, I'd like to replace my income while continuing to work as a bather and over time build my income to $10,000 a month solely on rental properties. 

Although I'd like to stay local in the beginning while I get the basics down, I plan on expanding to markets outside of my area and state due to amazing markets in other areas.

Two strategies greatly stand out to me, one being house hacking and the other being the BRRR method. Once I get the hang of it down, I'd like to turn the BRRR method into the BRRRR method.

I've purchased a good couple of great finance books, some being Rich Dad Poor Dad, Think and Grow Rich, The 4 Hour Work Week, and two BiggerPockets books which are The Book on Rental Property Investing and The Book on Managing Rental Properties. Rich Dad Poor Dad completely changed my mind about where I wanted to go in life. Before I read the book, I had no clue what finances were. I wanted my first car to be nicer and I was going to get a car payment once I got my license. After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, I got a good grasp on the difference between good debt and bad debt. Once I got my license I got a 97' Camry for $2850. This completely changed my whole outlook on all finances and investments. I was following the Dave Ramsey idea of never have debt because all debt is bad, avoid credit cards, and all of that bs. The book taught me that there is debt that is great to have. The BiggerPockets book The Book on Rental Property Investing is what really sent me down the path of real estate investing though. Ever since I read Rich Dad Poor Dad, I wanted to invest in real estate, but the BiggerPockets book was the rocket that sent me off to space. 

I'm very excited to be a part of this community, to meet new people, build connections, meet like-minded friends, and expand myself as a person. If anyone is in the area and would like to meet up or even just talk, send me a message! I'm always open to going out for a bite to eat or to get a cup of coffee. I also love fishing, so if anyone would like to go fishing that'd be fun also!

[Jon Catterson]

Sounds like you're on the right track @Colten Unden. There will probably be a meetup later this month in Folsom if you want to check it out. Here is the thread: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/846934-folsom-rei-out-of-bounds-brewery-meetup

You'll probably want to read the BRRRR book by David Greene pretty soon. He is a great writer, and it seems to me to be a very valuable book though I have yet to implement it.

Good luck!