investing, engineering, real-estate
Today is now Sunday, Septetmber 8th, 2024. Four years ago I dreamed of the day I would pass my principal of engineering exam and enter the world of entrepreneurship. At the time, I wanted to immediately launch my civil engineering business. However, as time and opportunities came about, my desires changed. I still plan to build my engineering business. However, I started my entrepreneurial journey in real estate. Real estate has always been my original passion. The opportunity to purchase my first home with no downpayment, no closing costs, and no pmi insurance enabled this possibility. I actually finally decided to pursue purchasing a home through the NACA program due to a very crappy roommate situation. Even though that roommate eventually moved out, I had already started the home buying process. After growing very relentless and tiresome at my job, I decided I would quit the second I got an Airbnb booking. The year 2024 is the year the all-star game was hosted in Indianapolis, the year the eclipse was in full view from Indianapolis, and of course I bought during a time there were many events at the state fairgrounds. My home is walking distance to the fairgrounds so with all these factors at play, I had about 11k in bookings within my first 2 weeks of listing. This made the decision to quit my job much easier. The other reason I decided to quit my job is because I realized I had enough money saved to retire as long as I made around 36k/year the remainder of my expenses would be covered by the interest on my investments. This realization made quitting my job the most appealing option. Additionally, in the early fall of 2023, I was presented with the opportunity to finally pursue patent law through a free program called patent pathways. The program started in the summer of 2024. With my financing in order and so many new goals to pursue, I decided I would rip off the bandaid and become a full time investor. I ordered a high-limit 0% apr credit for my business expenses and bills. I did this to buy myself an extra year in case anything happened in my first year of entrepreneurship. It is very fortunate I made this decision because I ended up rupturing my Achilles tendon while on a cruise in May 2024 just 2 months after leaving my job. The craziest part about my accident is that it actually forced me to get health insurance literally two weeks before the opportunity to continue my previous employer health insurance ended. Likewise, I started a real-estate company with a focus on accessibility. I wanted my brand to be accessible homes for families, limited mobility folks, the elderly, etc. so my injury allowed me to experience first hand the needs of my future customers. My injury also pushed my initial point that accessibility is an important factor in short term rentals. No one ever knows when they will be injured or handicapped so making sure my investments accommodate all types of people is very important. The medical bills from my injury also forced me to get serious about my finances. As I said before, my investments were going to be a huge source income, however, my health situation changed this. I’m glad I experienced having to pivot because I can help others in unexpected or tough financial situations. Life happens, but that doesn’t mean it should be hard. After sitting on the couch for about a month, with limited mobility, I eventually started creating a financial system that would enable anyone to save money, and gain access to increasing amounts of capital (think cash) with little to no effort. I’ve used my system for most of 2024 and it has grown my investments even with my increased expenses. My current investments are my short term rental business and stocks/bonds. Something to note here is that both of my investments are appreciating assets. My parents taught me from a very young age to invest more in appreciating assets over depreciating ones (these are liabilities). Liabilities are like expensive cars, clothes, and just overpriced stuff in general that you can’t sell for more than you bought it for. Now, this isn’t to say that cars, clothes, etc aren’t important or can’t be an asset if you buy something that appreciates or generates income, but overall you want to spend the least amount of money on things that will not increase your wealth or well-being in the future. This ideology coupled with delayed gratification has shaped my financial personality. I have lived with roommates most of my adult life to save money and prepare to quit my job as soon as possible. This may not work for people for a number of reasons. Sure, I knew it was temporary for me, but for others who may want to use the private space to generate income in other ways or just for their personal well-being, paying extra to live alone could make more sense. However, refusing to have roommates out of pride or keeping appearances will most likely constitute a liability. Something I’ve finally grasped is that it will always be easier to make more money than to save more money. Saving is finite but money is infinite. I’ve also learned that money works harder than I ever could. These concepts have allowed me to become a full time investor. I now try to invest in the most expensive appreciating assets that can also generate income. I call this strategy “making money while you’re making money.” For instance, when you buy a rental property, you’re not just making money on the rental income, you’re also making money from the appreciation of the real estate (because real estate gets more expensive with time). The same applies to stocks. If you purchase stocks, they are considered assets. Similar to a home, stocks can be used as collateral for a loan. This means that you can spend the money/appreciation from your stocks without selling the stocks.
if you’ve read my first blog this long you deserve a treat. Here is a brief summary of how I become a full time investor.
- Delayed gratification for a few years to make life-long wealth
- Bought appreciating, income generating assets
- Letting my money work for me instead of working for my money
If your curious on how I let my money work for me, how and why I choose to delay gratification, and how I bought appreciating, income generating assets then feel free to check out my next posts. I also try to post Freedom Friday stories on social media for my weekly updates on my financial freedom journey.
Limelife 