New to REI and BP. Building FIRE.

[Victor Yap]

Hello BiggerPockets! My name is Victor Yap and I'm excited to get connected with this community. To be honest, I'm amazed something like this exists. I'm new to real estate investing but not new to FIRE (financial independence, retire early) AKA financial freedom. If you're near Austin, TX or Houston, TX (or anywhere), I'd love to connect and be friends, learn and grow more.

I love to discuss and nerd out about personal finance books and tech. The two most impactful books I've read are "Your Money or Your Life" - Vicki Robin. And, of course, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" - Robert Kiyosaki. If you have a book you recommend, please feel free to share it with me. An app that has helped align my finances towards my goals is YNAB (You Need A Budget). It may sound funny, but using it has gotten me out of debt and feel confident with my spending. (I'm not affiliated, I'm just trying to share what's helped me).

Anyways, would love to connect. Let's achieve our goals.

[Mark Sewell]

@Victor Nap welcome.  I agree.  Trying to invest in real estate with a great deal of personal debt, and/or having some less-than-optimal personal finance habits, is not going to work in most cases.  It is like going to the gym everyday but not managing your diet.  You cannot work-off a bad diet in the gym, and I think, likewise, you are going to find it really, really hard to flip/brrrr your way out of debt.  There was a time when I thought maybe I could, and I found out I couldn't.  Very humbling, but I get it now.