My wife was the one who told me one morning I didn't need to go to work anymore based on the fact our passive income more than eclipsed my 6 figure AFTER TAX W-2 (plus expense account).

@Pyrrha Rivers , @Flavio Zanetti @Sundeep Amin @Andrew Davis Working to make 2015 eclipse these numbers.  

You are right about HML, it may not make sense to buy and hold due to the monthly payment eclipsing the cash flow of the property.  

John is right (of course:)  The interest expense for a married couple must eclipse $11,000+ per year to be of any benefit.  

Maybe when your education and experience bring you to the level where your part-time earnings eclipse your current job.

That is the Portland,OR story.WEst coast tends to start off negative or neutral generally then rents rise and the next thing you know your positive as long as you dont massively increase your debt.. and then the prices rise now you have a true IRR investment that will eclipse the cash flow today and no appreciation tomorrow investments most every time. 

Bill Gulley  one has to Join the board of Realtors if they want MLS access... its a RICO act violation but we don't need to go there.at my pace of contributions my post numbers will eclipse yours..:)  But as I stated above after a year now..

And did you catch the solar eclipse today? 

For us the answer was most certainly yes, and after a couple of years building our business, it has completely eclipsed the income potential we were earning at our day jobs.

We  live in a high cost of living area, and the investment potential in our area is eclipsed by the entry prices and costs.