All Forum Posts by: Mehran K.

@Shawn Ackerman, @Tristan Cortez, and @Hector Sapinoso, Thank you all very muchf or your kind words. I hope you share the success of your journey with the rest of the community as well!

@Hil HernandezThank you very much. Wishing you well also!

@Hersh M.Thanks! I have found that with most goals I set, they come to reality much sooner than I plan. I don't know if you've noticed that as well or not? Can't complain!

I have no problem digging in a little bit with the numbers. I made around $90k/year gross at my w2 and have about $3k a month in expenses here in California. My original goal was to replace my gross income with cash flow before I retired. I make about 3.5k gross give or take in cash flow from my REI business and I've supplemented the rest of my goal with my E-Commerce earnings.

Also, I recently took a trip to the Philippines where I realized I could live pretty darn well for about $1k/month and do all of my online work (REI and E-Commerce) and just live it up and travel. That made a big decision on me leaving my job ASAP.

To dig more into the exact question you're asking from a business perspective, I feel that the time I spend at my w2 job now is actually COSTING me money in dollars. I'm at the point now where if I spend 8 hours a day building out my REI and E-Commerce business, I will easily make more than I am paid at work. I'll be building my business and I can do it from anywhere. When this became a reality, and I believed it, I had to quit.

I hope that helps!

@Brian PayneAnswered Healthcare topic on the post above yours. Hope that helps!

@Michael NotoThank you!

@Eric SztanyoThose are all the things that I want so this should be good hahah!

@Nick HarveyAwesome man! When I first joined there were similar posts to this that got me motivated to start. One day your story will be the one that gives hope to newer investors. Keep the circle of life going and make it happen :)

@Tapiwa WakatamaGot your PM and responded. Thanks for the congrats and congrats to you as well on your first deal! I remember that feeling, cherish it, then replicate it!

@Chris GhemmThanks for your congrats and nice comment. I hope you achieve everything you're striving towards as well.

@Anthony J PiscoAwesome man! Can't wait to hear about your full-time ventures in flipping, very exciting stuff.

@Jo-Ann LapinI don't know about brave, just hungry :) Thanks so much Jo-An! I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without the help and connections I've made here on BP. We're all in the right place

@Arjay VergaraSweet :) I remember talking with Brandon and he had a feeling that the topic of our episode would really resonate with a lot of investors in areas like yours. I'm glad you find inspiration in it. Don't hesitate to ever reach out if you need to! Can't wait to see more of your story as it unravels.

@Marcell Z.Thank you Sir! The past few years I've been chugging away like a work horse. I'm really hoping to get some time to relax, reset, and really plan the next steps wisely. 

I hope to soon see your success story post then Jerry :) I love this community and I am planning to stick around.

As far as health insurance goes, for the next 18 months I'm able to elect to use COBRA coverage maintain the same exact coverage my employer provided me, but at a fee now. If the cost is reasonable, I will keep that. Otherwise I am going to be applying for the same coverage, but through California's version of the Affordable Care Act Marketplace (Covered California). I think my insurance through my desired plan provider (Kaiser Permanente) would be around $300/month. 

Because of the new E-Commerce business being setup as an LLC w/ an S-Corp Taxation election, I have hired myself as an employee and I there are tax benefits as far as healthcare reimbursement or self employment health insurance deductions.

See the following LINK for more details. Obviously more details and discussion with a CPA should be made about that!

@Micah Dickson@Gautam VenkatesanThank you very much!

@Eric TanThank you as well. My other business venture is in E-Commerce.

@J. MartinThanks man! I might take you up on that pitcher when I come up there one day! I heard about your summit this coming weekend. Unfortunately I have a prior engagement down in San Diego, or I might have tried to make it out. I'll see about the next one!

@Michael BlumI can already feel the freedom and I know it's been worth all the effort. I know thigns won't be all smooth sailing, but I'm ready for the challenges the future brings. Thank you!

@James MasottiThank you, and that would be interesting!

@Ethan PeytonThanks man!

@Dawn AnastasiYes Indeed!

@Ramon JenkinsWe've continued to work together because of how well you do what you do. Thank you sir!

@Garry C.Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you're enjoying that episode. I met my income needs by supplementing with my E-Commerce business as well. They say business is for liquidity and real estate is for long term wealth building. I plan to keep building my business and my portfolio at the same time, but now full-time! :)

Thanks all!

 Online E-Commerce. Thanks man!

Thanks you guys! @Account Closed :)

It's been a while since I've made a post on the forums(for many reasons). I'd thought I'd give an update on this since I mentioned as my main goal on the BP podcast #73. I'm finally leaving my W-2 job this Wednesday (Feb 24th) and I'll be fully self employed then. I'm really looking forward to be more in control of how I spend my time, as it was the main purpose of all my investing in the first place!

Although I did not reach retirement income requirements through REI cash flow alone(started another business venture as well), my portfolio is a big part of why I feel comfortable taking this step. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more deals and having a lot more fun!

Big thanks to @Dawn Anastasiand @Ramon Jenkinsfor all the hard work they've do on the ground in MKE! Thanks everyone for helping me on this journey. 

I'm hoping, now that I have about 8-10 more hours of each day during the week available, I'll be able to be a bit more active on the forums.

Thanks @Brandon Turnerand @Joshua Dorkintoo :) By the way Josh, I fired that bad PM and that property is smooth sailing now!

Still just working in WI only right now Wendell!