My plan is to save up the money I will not be spending on rent anymore to hopefully buy a second duplex within the next year or two.

In the past my partner and I had always talked about the fact that we believed that the reason a lot of properties don't sell or spend more time on market than they should, is because of bad real estate agents.

On average I spend couple of hours a day on this website and listen to podcast during my commute,.

Even so, I'm in this thing for only $25k, and I've certainly done sillier things with $25k, and plus now I'm not paying rent and am now getting landlording experience on a cashflowing property in Southern California (though I know a lot of that cashflow will go toward maintenance...I'm not spending or investing any of the cashflow...keeping it all in reserve...who knows what the rains will bring with them?).  

I am spending part of my Saturday night reading through the endless helpful content on the site.

Find ways to encourage your difficult decisions and be selective of the people you spend time with. 

I'm sure others will disagree with that statement, but it's my opinion in what I have experienced in my situation.I think it is a viable option as long as you find a place that doesn't have high fees and are truly controlling their spending and you can see just that they are spending the fees on.

I'll definitely be spending some time reading through these articles and chatting in the forum.

All too often, new investors either overdevelop or spend their money too fast - both of these behaviors derail their plans and stops them woefully short.

I guess I am enlisting to Abe Lincoln's motto of "Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe."