All Forum Posts by: Robert Kirkley

Hey everyone!

I have been spending a lot of time researching the forums and listening to podcasts on BP, however, lately I was finding it difficult to decide where exactly to start on the financing side of things.  After continuing to listen to the Money podcast, I found myself on the MMM blog and have been hooked ever since!  This weekend I went ahead and paid off all of my credit card debt, and any other debt I had not including what I still owe on my car.  I will continue to pay that down until I am free of any debt, at which point I will start to save for my first property.  I am also looking for other work outside of my full time job to stash away some extra cash.  

After reading some of the MMM blog, I also purchased a personal hair cutter, which I may be more excited about than I should be.  Not only will I be saving about 3 times as much as it cost per year, but now I don't have to go when it is convenient and spend 30 minutes driving to a Great Clips for a 5 minute haircut.  

Do you all have any other little tips and tricks to help out someone in my shoes who is trying to increase their savings rate for investing purposes?  I would love to hear all of the ideas you guys have!

@Steve Vaughan wow congrats on getting your debt down that fast! You are on a roll with hitting some great goals. I only started with around 8-10k. I was lucky enough to have gotten through college without any debt thanks to my parents prepaid tuition. Unfortunately I don’t have a high paying job so it is a little hard to reach my goals as quickly as I would like. But, like you have shown, consistently working towards your goals will make it happen!

@Steve Vaughan Congrats on hitting your goal! Becoming a healthier and happier version of yourself can be one of the biggest hurdles to get over. I can promise you that you will continue to feel better as you stay healthy. Great job. Currently, I am just working on becoming debt free, only around 4K more to go!

Thank you @Stephen Akindona!  I will definitely double check with a lender, but that makes sense.  Sorry to ask a question on this post!

@Stephen Akindona Sorry if this is a basic question, but are the tax returns required to be from one company/organization only, or as long as you have 2 years of tax returns regardless of the company?

Hey Brian!  I just moved from Orlando after living there for 19 years.  It's a very hot market and most of the multifamily properties in the area aren't in the best of locations.  That is not to say that there aren't deals out there, but most of the MFH properties are either bought immediately or are way too expensive.  You may want to look into other markets in Central Florida that are growing, but not as hot as Orlando.  Most of the meetings I attend have investors who are local to the area and are looking in other markets for the time being, especially for residential MFH.  

@Randy Bloch I bet the 6br property did pretty well, depending on the amount of non-related people you were able to have in there at one time.  Thank you for covering that, being general gives me a good idea of what to look for.  I have my eyes on a couple types of properties in some areas, so I am hoping to pursue them shortly.  Your generalization of your markets is pretty similar to the ones that I am located in/near too.  Right now I am single, so I have a little more flexibility, but I know that house hacking will definitely bring more issues when starting a family.  Thank you for the wealth of advice!  I am not sure I will be able to completely cover the costs of the expenses and mortgage, but as you had said earlier, if I can cut down on a lot of those expenses, I will be able to grow my investment savings much faster.  

@Randy Bloch I’m glad to hear most people are saying to focus on one business. Spreading myself too thin would make things a little more complicated and could potentially push my goals farther down the road than I would like. You bring up a great point in that house hacking is a perfect way to start a small business. My initial plan was to house hack a property so I will stick with that, but I can build my business while house hacking, as you said, and increase the capital I can use to invest back into both the business and in real estate. What types of properties did you house hack?

@Mark Gauger Thanks for sharing that. The other business I am growing currently is my biggest passion, so you are correct. I am starting to really enjoy real estate, but it would be more of an investment that I would build to help me continue with the business I had started, as well as creating an FI future for myself and family. I will continue to look for deals I can house hack, but as many are saying, it seems that I need to focus on the business I know now. Really appreciate your opinion on this matter Mark!

@Tony Gunter I agree, but mistakes happen.  I choose to learn from them :) Just wish you could change the title of a post after you submit it! lol.