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Unpopular belief coming at ya!
Corporate America is not there to take care of you.
Even if you love your job, that does not mean you aren’t subject to layoffs or the fact that the rise in inflation isn’t covering those yearly “merit increases”... if you are even lucky enough to get one!
I say this from experience myself. (Read below to see what happened to me 👇)
Ever hear the phrase, “Got to school, get a good job”?
I did all the time when I was younger…so I did just that. I got degrees from an Ivy League School, started a career in cancer research and was making 6 figures in my early 20’s.On paper, I achieved a lot, but I wasn’t happy at all.
The commute, sitting at a desk all day, forgetting my chair sweater before heading to a freezing conference room for another meeting that could have been an email…
Was this really what my life was supposed to look like until 65?
I felt trapped and when it came time to pay bills at the end of the month, my sacrifices were barely covering it.
So I left. I just quit. I was out.
But I had no plan. No back up money.
On a whim, I chose to move to Spain. (In your 20’s it’s easier to do something like that! 😂)
But I had no idea what I was doing.…Without doing much research……
or knowing any Spanish at the time…
or having any friends or family there…
But I didn’t let that stop me from listening to my inner voice that knew I deserved a more fulfilling life. I ended up starting a Tour Company in Spain and opened a bar in Portugal.
Although the tour company was wildly successful, I was stuck in the hustle world.
Always working for the next dollar.
Always afraid I wouldn’t have enough at the end of the month.
Always afraid I wouldn't have tourists for my tours the next day.
And one day it happened.
The guy I bought the bar from screwed me over and I lost my tour company, my bar and the 100k I invested in it. 🤦♀️
Now with ruined credit and an empty bank account, I swallowed my pride and moved back to the US and my parents house at 30 years old!
I felt even more lost than when I left the US. I was now in the same position but with no funds and no direction at all.
But I had to move forward….or should I say backwards?
I had to go back to the career I despised. I needed money. (And to get out of my parents basement)
And vowed at the time that I would find a way to become financially stable so I could leave the day job and never worry again about that ugly chair sweater! 😂
I never thought I would buy real estate or even my own home. I wanted to travel the world. I was just saving money at my soul sucking job to move back to Europe.
But I had met a man worth staying for and as an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Emilio had dreams of homeownership.
And then a lightbulb went off…. 💡
What if I could use real estate as my side hustle to speed up my ability to save money to quit the 9-5? This could be my key out! (See what I did there? 😉)
I suggested we buy a multifamily so we can live on one side and rent out the other.
We bought our first Duplex in Yonkers, NY and I was addicted... We got money for the tenants literally at the closing table!
I knew I hit on something and we had to do this again!
But everyone told me I couldn’t. They said I couldn’t buy again so soon. That I would have to wait to buy another rental.
I didn’t believe it. I knew there was a way to scale faster.
So I went all in and started... reading all the books, listened to podcast after podcast and picked everyone's brain I could.
But I realized the answer was not in a book or in some podcast.
The answer was in our own finances and goals. We needed to strategize and create a plan that would work for us with the knowledge we had learned.
Exactly 365 days later… BAM! We had another 4 family…and a parking lot (a big deal in NYC)
Over the next 3 years, Emilio and I would go on to buy 10 more doors in NY and DR generating 6 figures! Within 5 years, we have 16 rentals with 20k+ months and a portfolio worth more than 3 million dollars. With just that few properties in that short period of time, your life can change!
And I am lucky I did.
Cue back to Corporate America.
My pharmaceutical company had laid offs. I couldn’t even count the amount of people I have let go over the years. But this time was different.
My boss called a last minute meeting with our team of directors. She looked frazzled- her hair was a mess. Her eyes were puffy.
She called it “downsizing.” Said every department had to let go one director. People were infuriated. Yelled at her about how they were going to pay their bills, their mortgages, little Suzie’s gymnastics.
And that was when reality hit me.
These people didn’t plan ahead. They counted on this J-O-B. They were desperate.
But I wasn’t.
I raised my hand. I volunteered.
I didn’t need the job or the money by that point in time. My rentals more than replaced my 6 figure salary.
I had planned ahead.
The cash flow from our properties now funds the traveling lifestyle I always wanted.
We spend our winters in DR to live in constant summer sun. I haven’t set foot in the US this year.
PTO has a different meaning when you don’t have to ask permission. Maybe I’ll go watch the Olympics this year. Maybe I’ll do a road trip across the US. Who knows? And that is how I like it.
We take bucket list trips to places like the Maldives, the Great Wall of China, Australia. Who knows what’s next!
And we can wake up every morning taking care of ourselves first! Whether it's a gym class, walking the dog, or a quiet cup of coffee on our patio listening to the waves….we can do it!
And now it's your turn to prepare your exit strategy.Here’s my keys to success:
Chase YOUR dreams - The #1 mistake I see investors make is that they chase other people’s dreams. They get caught up in what other Lady Landlords are doing and try to duplicate their success. But you are you. Your goals are different. You finances are different. YOU are different. Don’t chase their dreams. Follow yours.
Consistency over dreams- Commit to consistency. Little steps lead up to big action. Real Estate Investing is the ultimate side hustle. When you focus in the right place, you will be able to make better progress in less time. Leverage your current life position to obtain your future.
Act. OMG. Take Action!!!- You did the work. You put in the time. STOP second guessing yourself. The biggest regret every successful Real Estate Investor has is that they didn’t start sooner. Picture this: Perfection is your old way of life. How many years have you wanted to invest in Real Estate? Make today the day that you do something about it!