All Forum Posts by: Jess White

I’ve heard so many different opinions and paths when it comes to diversification in finances. So people believe real estate is the best way to make money and invest, and that’s all they do.

However, some people have their 401k's, IRA's and own a diverse stock portfolio in addition to real estate.

I feel that if I where to utilize some of my IRA money I could sky rocket my real estate portfolio. Yet I'm fearful of doing that and becoming less diversified.

What are some thoughts for me on diversification? Should I utilize some retirement accounts to propel my real estate career? Is it worth it? How are you diversified?

@Jian Lin Yes. The book of massive action by @Jian Lin. Books are awesome, I love them and think highly of them. Just remember this amidst the fog of knowledge. “Action trumps knowledge every day of the week.” Get out there and do, and make mistakes.

@Doug Phillips I personally max mine out to the 19k per year, then turn around and take out 401k loans when I need them for REI. It’s a great ATM machine, however a mediocre long term investment product. I do it partially for that, and for the fact that I need every tax write off I can get.

@Rahul Handa The reason everyone doesn’t do it is simple. The average net worth of a middle aged American is around 150k, not 1M. They are surviving and spending, not thinking about saving for retirement. 4% rule is great, some people don’t want to do real estate and only do things like index funds. That’s okay, real estate isn’t for everyone. I think a great way to utilize that principle would be to use the 4% rule, as well as house hack, and work one day a week on a job you enjoy. You get the best of it all.

@Kelly I. That’s what I like to call a an abundance mindset, and you are a winner. Pessimism and fear will always keep people from taking action. I think being cautious is fine, but reading fear driven articles on MSNBC will very rarely get anyone ahead. Yield curve, or whatever measurement is being used, no one knows when a market will correct.

@John Hunt You may not have a lot of money, but you have what older people don’t. You are a time billionaire and time is your friend.

@Jim K. Come on dude, of course people are surfing the forums and posting after a beer or two. Just like people are at home watching tv, reading a book, or surfing social media after a couple beers.

@Jim K. Well that got dark quickly.

@Randy Bloch That’s the cool thing about personal finance, it’s personal. It’s case by case. However, I like to think that someone can learn more from reading and applying ten personal finance books, vs. going and getting a 4 year finance degree. At the end of the day it comes down to what you and only you want. I do have strong beliefs and values on this, mainly because I feel like most people truly limit themselves to that idea of a degree. I realize people disagree with me as well and that is completely cool. Why limit learning to a structured university? True education and growth happens outside of the classroom.

@Frank Jiang This is assuming college is the only way he can make 45k. Which to me seems pretty arbitrary and delusional. That kind of money is simple to make without a college degree and crushing student loans. If he knows what he wants to do, why not just stop at that? 20’s are the optimal years to invest in Real Estate. Who cares about some excel spreadsheet of numbers. This is about happiness, fulfillment and finding a path that works. College is a one size fits all path that is incredibly broken. As long as we are looking at spreadsheets to plan our lives and making decisions based on statistics, life will likely become pretty miserable. I rarely meet someone that was successful in real estate that is really glad they went to a university. They typically say something along the lines of, I wish I would’ve started REI earlier.