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All Forum Posts by: Tom Tijerina

Tom Tijerina has started 3 posts and replied 12 times.

Post: When to hire work? Anyone got a math formula?

Tom TijerinaPosted
  • Florida
  • Posts 12
  • Votes 8

I'm going to reply, not because I can directly answer your question but because I feel like I may be able to help give you better insights into it. 

I personally don't build things. I'm terrible at it and as a result it takes me a long time. Carpentry is a very weak skill and much of that has to do with never needing to develop it in my life. In general I've been forced to rely on others. Contrast that with mechanical or electrical work where I'm pretty good. I'm going to answer this from a mechanical perspective because I think it would relate best to your situation. I can personally, with the proper tools and enough time rebuild a motor. I've done it before. Today, I don't often change my own oil. 

When hiring somebody to do work you don't just get the work you hired out for. You get the start of a relationship. You get to understand the quality of work you can expect. You get to understand the person doing the work, and their capabilities. They get to know you, and understand where you are coming from. In a good relationship, all of these things will help ensure an even better one moving forward. 

When looking for somebody for a project I ALWAYS hire a higher skill set then myself. Often times much higher. This results in faster, cheaper, better work. Given how slow I am, how often I have to double and triple check things and how often I have to re-do some things as I've missed something. I often end up saving money or breaking even by hiring a professional for most things. That person often does a level of quality I simply can't be expected to do, at a pace that I can't compete with even if quality wasn't a concern. 

It is a gamble to hire somebody to do work for you, but at some point you will hopefully scale to where that is required. By hiring early when it costs are low enough the mistakes are low. For example, hiring somebody to replace broken dry wall isn't going to cost you much if they screw it up. Hiring somebody to replace an entire kitchen could get very expensive if it was beyond their skill set. 

Lets not forget, hiring is a skill. One you are going to end up developing if you scale. The earlier you start the better you will get at catching red flags. As previously mentioned if you can catch them earlier its cheaper. 

All of these arguments are making the assumption that you are playing the long game. That you will want relationships in the future and that you plan on scaling your business, but not your personal laboring. It is important to factor all of that in. 

Regarding an actual formula, here is one that I often use for most things. I figure out what I make hourly from my W2 job. I multiply that by 1.5. Then I factor in all of the hours, including travel time. I add in travel costs, lodging costs, etc. If I'm not able to work during the period of time then it is 2.5 my hourly rate. If this is a rush and I'm going to be working over 40 hours a week on this project I may add a penalty to that rate. 

You can contrast that by 'paying yourself' to manage the project, hire the person, etc. I usually don't add those numbers in, however I've not had to have work done at those distances before. 

Post: Nomadic Newbie in Florida

Tom TijerinaPosted
  • Florida
  • Posts 12
  • Votes 8

Where I'm from is a bit of a complex answer, so instead I'll just say that my (stationary) friends and family are on the middle western side of Florida between Holiday and Sarasota. Most of them are in Pinellas or Hillsborough county. This is both me and my home.

My home is an off-grid 'smart-bus'. I've been living as a nomad since 2017. Previous to this bus I had a plain ol' cargo van. 

The same things that drove me to living this way are now pushing me to ensure a stable income future. Currently I make decent money, and I can go to where ever a job may be. However 2020 has taught many that employers can't be trusted to have your best interest at heart. My main motivation is to ensure self sufficiency. For better or worse I've always grown up with the attitude that I have to be able to take care of myself without expecting help to get me through. I took advantage of a couple of good years career wise to build out a very comfortable home, but when looking for a fall back place to park long term if I ever needed it I wasn't able to find one in Florida. 

When I was younger I wanted to get into real estate, I almost did a few times. The last time I lost my job. I've tried again over the last few years but I keep hitting a psychological barrier. I seem to be afraid and self sabotaging myself. 

I'm mostly here to declare my intentions and hold myself accountable while I grow. I have many advantages that others would very likely be very happy to have and I feel like I'm squandering them. So, this is the year to buckle down and get what I need for my financial future. The last piece of the puzzle is to start a semi-passive income stream. My line of thinking is that I can find a decent home in my budget that won't impact my current life in any way shape or form. Use an FHA loan to purchase it and rent out other rooms to help offset the costs. This way I have a place to return to if I ever need it and I start gaining experience as a landlord.

As of this writing I have just shy of 3 out of 12k saved. Depending on my spending habits I can squirrel away between 2-4k a month. I'm also leaving Florida for an unknown amount of time until I have the money required. This will make it easier to save money. I spend a great deal more money when stationary in one area going to/from friends, entertainment, parking, etc. Traveling will entail me being camped out for a week or two at a time. With hardly any living expenses. 

TLDR: Slightly free-spirited, highly independent guy has been legally homeless for in excess of 4 years looking to purchase a house and start investing. 

I'm pretty sure I break the mold in more ways then one. Feel free to ask me anything! :)