First off, I would like to thank everyone for taking their time to weigh in. I believe I wasn't as clear as I could have been in my original post. My wife's biggest push back (read push back very loosely) wasn't the actual act of REI, but of figuring out how to save enough seed money with four kids. Which, I will admit, isn't going to be easy, but we will figure it out as we adjust our budget as necessary.
@Linda Weygant
…she's afraid that she and the children will be destitute and homeless if you get into real estate. She's supportive, but only if you can guarantee this won't happen. Since you can't guarantee that, then your choices are to either address her fears …
… instead of only talking about successes, talk about what the worst possible scenario …
Linda, I must say that after living a comfortable life with my wife and kids I too would be concerned about being destitute and homeless if we didn’t have the security of our current employment. I must thank you because I believe addressing those fears are exactly what must be done. By that, I mean we need to ensure our business model/plan contains contingencies.
@Joel W.
Welcome Weldon, I to have four kids and am Active Duty. I just got two duplexes under contract two weeks ago and have a short sale triplex I have an offer in, so by 12 June I will have gone from 1 SFR (rental) to 5 units in places I am not stationed at (SFR in Alaska, and duplexes in Cleveland). I had a hard time pulling the trigger because I've been deployed over 8 months every year for the last 5 years, and I just got extended at my current duty station, 1 more year sailing to Antarctica. We have no idea what will happen next. My successes have not come in the REI realm yet. I do look at our personal finances and feel like we have succeeded because we are living off of 50% of our base pay and BAH etc, my wife doesn't work. We have cut our family operating expenses in half by keeping to our budget and recording every expense, and if we are over we don't spend it. We have saved a lot of money over the last couple years. We are in a very good position because all cash flow from REI will be rolled back into future REI, as well we can add capital from my steady military pay. There will never be a perfect time, place, or situation especially in the military, so you really have to prepare and then take action.
Joel, Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for. What resources would you suggest when investing at a distance? My wife and I have been trying to narrow down the locale for our investments. Initially, our thought was to invest in whichever area we are stationed, but have recently began discussing the potential to invest in our hometowns or other areas.
@Steve Vaughan
…Think of the why and place it above immediate wants
Thank you Steve! This is a great way to think about it.
@Randy E.
…my wife doesn't understand how REI can work for the little guy… …She'd rather use her brain power considering other things in life. I am completely okay with that, and don't feel I need to keep sitting her down and explaining REI to her over and over and over……It's not about the understanding. It's about the m-o-n-e-y.
Randy, I think this is a part of my issue as well. She wants to be involved in REI in the sense of that is what we are doing, but is not quite as interested in the learning the minor details that I like to learn.
I would like to thank everyone again for taking the time to respond to this. My dear wife, without me pressuring her, even decided to create a profile here on BP. I look forward to getting her involved soon in the discussions here so we can build an even better knowledge base. @Brandy Malbrough
