Post #13 - A Sound Plan for the Near-Term

Investors,

 I have a plan.  It's not necessarily an adventurous or glamorous one but it's the best one for me right now.

Since my first potential deal fell through, I've been hunting for the next prospect.  After some quality assessment and conversations with my mentors and wife, I'm not pursuing a purchase as hard as before.  There are several things that need attention at the moment: shift some retirement funds around, replace a vehicle, replace a furnace before winter, and so on.

With this said, I'm not totally sitting dormant when it comes to real estate investing.  I'm just not in gorilla buyer mode right now.  I've stepped up my reading and education on investing.  I've constructed a reading wish list of ~100 books (it's going to make a great Christmas list) and am still getting recommendations from fellow investors.  Additionally, I'm basically a podcast junkie (if you have a favorite educational/entertaining podcast, please tell me about it in the comments).  

I've also devoted more attention to networking but going to every REIA meeting in my area, trying to bring up investing in every conversation I have (when appropriate) which has turned out to be harder than I thought, following up with people I have talked to or used to talk to just to open up communication lines,  and I've started paying more attention to the types of people regularly interact with and the environments I spend my time in.  I've just finished Guy Spier's book "The Education of a Value Investor" and started using a habit of his which is to write 3 personal notes/thank you cards per day.  It can be for something as formal as an interview or something as casual as someone filling your coffee mug.  The idea of mindful thankfulness is something worth exploring.

The last thing I am doing is, of course, building up a pile of cash.  I know this can be used as an excuse to avoid further action but I have a specific amount I am going to save before punching the gas pedal again and beating the bushes.  And once I reach that amount, IT'S GO TIME!  I refuse to say, "I don't have enough money, I'll wait until I have $10k to buy a house" and then save $10k only to say, "I have $10k but I'm going to wait until I have $20k" and repeat the pattern until I give up.  No, that's not how this is going to work.  Just wait and you will see (and if you don't see it, then call my bluff and get me back on track).

There it is.  My plan for the near term:  learn, network, & save money.

See you soon,

Trent