Category: Real Estate Investing


Oct
2015

Why You DON’T Want to Invest in Real Estate

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money

A big part of me loves investing in real estate and it’s a big part of my plan for the future.  Yet, for some reason this was still one of the easiest posts I’ve ever written…because the truth is, I lose soooo much sleep over some of the worries that come with this type of investing (at least for buy and hold real estate investing).  It is not an easy thing to do and it is TOUGH work.  And not just the getting-your-hands-dirty kind of work (though it certainly can be that), but the dreadful how-the-heck-am-I-going-to-fix-this kind of work.  The kind of thing you think about all day and lose tons of sleep over.  And until you’ve really hit it big, it’s hard to tell if you’re even doing things right.

So before you jump head first into your first property (which I still hope you will consider!), make sure to read this carefully because real estate investing is not as glamorous as you think and it’s definitely not for everyone!

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Sep
2015

My Best Advice for New Home Buyers

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing

I am absolutely in love with the house I live in…most of the time at least. There have been things I never realized I’d love so much and others that I wish I would have considered more thoroughly.  Right now we’re planning to live here for quite some time, but I still wonder if we would do things differently if we had the opportunity to turn back time.

Hindsight is always 20/20 though, so in reality I’m lucky we had such great advice going into our purchase.  If it hadn’t been for our parents and a great realtor, God only knows where we’d be living.  So for those of you about to make this huge decision, here’s my best advice and some important things to consider:

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Jun
2015

7 Important Reasons to Pay Off Your Mortgage

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money
Why Paying Off the Mortgage is Important

For the most part, the classic American dream includes home ownership. A comfortable job, a vacation once a year, and a place to call home. What’s funny is that the vast majority of us are relying on 30-year mortgages to “own” our homes…but no one ever talks about the reasons to pay off your mortgage early.

So, in some sense, we really aren’t owning our homes – we just feel like we are. And it’s so commonplace to have a mortgage that nobody really second-guesses it.

To be fair, there are some benefits of having a mortgage. But does that really mean that it’s a good idea for everyone? Should it be the norm?

I’m not convinced. Here are some of the biggest reasons to pay off your mortgage early (and why we’re doing it):

Related post: How to Pay Off the Mortgage Early

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Jun
2015

How We Bought Our First Investment Property

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money

Investing in real estate is an amazing way to diversify your portfolio and ironically it is much easier than most people think.  In this day and age it can be nearly impossible to build wealth from a paycheck alone, so most of us need to think outside of the (career) box if we really want to live the comfortable lifestyle that we all dream of.

My husband and I purchased our first investment property 3 years ago and it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

We rarely even think about it nowadays, yet it is still making money for us behind the scenes.  We aren’t handy-types or real estate experts, yet it still was a great investment choice.  I

t is honestly something that anyone can do, as long as you make smart decisions in the beginning.

So here’s what we did to buy our first investment property:

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Apr
2015

6 Reasons You Should NOT Pay Off Your Mortgage

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money

I recently wrote about some quick and easy ways to pay off your mortgage early, but talking to everyone about that made me realize one important thing – there are some really good reasons to NOT pay off the mortgage too.

In fact, for some people paying off the mortgage may do more harm than good.  And for lots of people hanging onto the mortgage may actually help to grow their bottom line.

Here’s why:

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Mar
2015

8 Different Ways to Cut $100 in Expenses Every Month

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money
One of the best ways to build wealth quickly is to find big ways to save every single month. Check out this list to see if any would be easy for you!

Recently, I wrote about the plan my husband and I have to pay off our mortgage in the next 10 years.  Hearing all of your comments and ideas got me sooooo excited that I started thinking about how we could get it paid off in 5 years instead of 10.  So we started talking about all the different ways we could convert some of our expenses into making larger principal payments – easy ways that would at least cut $100 in expenses each month.

Well, we came up with some pretty exciting ideas! Here’s what we’ve got:


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Feb
2015

4 Quick & Easy Ways to Pay Off the Mortgage Early

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money
If you've ever considered paying off your mortgage early, you've got to incorporate different methods to make it happen. Here are 4 ways that can help achieve your goal!

 

Now that I’ve officially left the “classic” work force, I’m in a position where I need to be really creative with how to contribute to our income. More specifically, how to contribute to our disposable income. One way to do that? Cut out the largest (by far) monthly expense and pay off the mortgage.

Related article: How to Pay Off the Mortgage Early

I know it sounds crazy. With such a massive loan, it just seems pointless to waste time trying to chip away at it. But none-the-less, my husband and I have gotten ourselves excited enough that we’re endeavoring to have it paid off in 10 years. This will obviously require us to make some pretty large payments here and there, but we also came up with some pretty quick and easy ways to bring it down without even trying. (If you’re interested in everything we’re doing to pay off our mortgage early, check out this post –> 10 Things I’m Doing to Pay Off My Mortgage Early (and the One Thing I Won’t Do)

So here’s what we’re doing and what you can try if you’re up for the same challenge:

Related article: 7 Important Reasons to Pay Off the Mortgage

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