First and format let me start out by saying everyones journey to retirement will be different. I feel a lot of people know this but do not take the time to self reflect on it. With that being said let get to it!
I started real estate investing back in OCT 2017 while I was still active duty enlisted scum in the United States Army. Sitting in Iraq on a deployment I had just sold my house the month prior and made 40k (lot of money to a E5 Sergeant at the time) I took that money along with some saving and bought a Cabin just outside of Gatlinburg TN for 71K cash and turned into an Airbnb. 10x the ROI for 4x the work of a long term rental I know now lol. When I got back from deployment I use my VA loan to buy a new construction quad and house hacked while I teamed up with a local GC and started flipping houses and got my Real Estate license in TN. While at a local meet up I met a now friend and teamed up with a guy he went to college with out of Nashville TN and did a joint venture to flip an out of state apartment complex just outside of Huntsville AL. All while getting promoted to Staff Sergeant and helping run a special operations communications team. Lets just say free time was not a thing!
Fast forward to Oct 2019 I was now out of the Army and a full time agent and investor! I had bought my neighbors Cabin in the smokies and did a full gut job and renovation on it to make my second Airbnb and also kept a SFH flip as a long term buy and hold to add to my portfolio. So at this point I have 7 investment doors. 2 Cabins 1 Quadplex and 1 SFH.
Now for the questions to ask yourself wether you have 1 door right now or 1,000 doors. Trust me I have a friends on both sides of the spectrum and happiness lies within yourself and not how many doors you have.
1) What is your money passive income number you want? Be realistic with yourself! I love asking people this question and have had answers from as little as $3,000 to as much $22,000 a month. Really dig into what you want to do with your time when you are in complete control of it. Factor in your monthly debit and all expenses associated with your portfolio.
2) Once you reach your passive income number what are you going to do with your time? Now its super easy to answer this question quickly and rattle off all the cool stuff you plan to do but seriously take the time to think on this long term. What are you going to do 6 months into retirement then what does 5 years from that look like.
This is just what worked for me and everyones situation is different. Some people have husbands, wives, kids, or even have taken on rolls they never thought they would. Regardless of where you live or who is in your life look at it as opportunity to grow and not as a set back. Your hardest critic is your brain and if you like to live comfortable and not push yourself mentally you probably won't retire till 60 if your lucky. Don't take action on everyones advice but always listen, they might have a different view on an investment strategy or know something that you can add to your tool belt. If I listened to everyone in my life I would not being writing this at 30 years old on a Wednesday afternoon in my house planing my next adventure! Just remember don't get so caught up in the hum-drum you forget what you are working towards in life and your time. I truly hope this helps someone on here and by all means feel free to contact me if you think I can be of any help. PS: Don't feel bad if I take a few days/weeks to respond, I'm retired lol
