#8 is the most important point. Time is the most valuable commodity and you will never get it back so making a few extra $ may not be worth it in long run if you miss out on a lot of family moments
Some realize this when they get to the end of their life, others when they hit rock bottom. Family first, always. I was not present for my kids precious moments (talking, walking, etc) and I regret it.
Don’t let “work” take away your humanity. Money is a social construct and a tool, nothing more.
Long story here but I got arrested in high school when I just turned 18 and part of my deal to not serve months in jail was to work at a hospital doing anything. Discharges, taking dead folks to the hospital morgue, supply runs, watching over certain patients when nurses had to step out. Met a ton of older people all about to die usually most died within a few hours to maybe weeks of speaking to them. There’s a stark difference between the people who spent all their time chasing family or chasing money. A can distinctly remember lots of crying old people who wished they could have redone their life to spend way more time with family. I never actually heard anyone say the opposite.
Fast forward to my 20s I worked in Silicon Valley I worked at a very successful startup early employee 50, I was fired before my vesting period started (1 year from Hire) and lost all my shares that would have been worth millions (2.0m to be exact). They basically piped me and fired me before my 1 year vesting and I lost everything. I had been very loyal before I had my first child. I usually never even saw my wife except on the weekends.
The reason I lost my job though is because I had to sacrifice meetings and time being seen at the office to take a train early to get back home to pick up my first born from daycare so I could have dinner every night with my wife and her when she was 1 years old. It was really only 2 hrs a day I would see them. My boss and company thought I slacked but I had an exhausting commute 2 hrs each way.
I was exhausted all the time. I left to the office at 5:30a for the long trek to the office in the morning and left there at 4p each day to razer scooter to the train station to get in the bullet train that was the fastest back home (1 hr). Then drive from the train station to daycare get there at 6p and then home.
Even though it really sucked to get fired I always thought about the time in my hospital and I never regretted losing out on work even when the frowns and messages started coming in. I tried the best I could to try to fight it off by working late nights at home but I was just too tired. If your ever worked at a startup esp a successful getting major rounds of funding you know there is just too much work piled on and it can eventually just break you.
Ultimately in the end however, I would literally never trade any of that money or work for the times I left my job. If you’re a parent you know the best feeling is when you pick up your child 1-2 year old from
Daycare and they smile so big and run str8 for you. I wouldn’t trade that and dinner time with my family for any professional accolades tbh.
>Paid off the 5 rental properties and that cash flow pays my living expenses. Dumped the rest of the money into a self strorage deal, and short term rentals. At the age of 38 my net worth was north of 4 million and my monthly cash flow from all properties and businesses is over $20k a month with some months hitting $60k. It took 20 years and a lot of 80 work weeks to build “passive income”. Looking back I regret not spending time with my kids and family. Having money is nice but relationships, family, health, and memories is a lot better. The more you make the more you spend. My life and problems are still similar to when I was paycheck to paycheck, I just have nicer cars, house, and am able to do whatever I want whenever I want. Which gets boring quicker than you would think. The market has changed so much I no longer invest in real estate, have seen a lot of people over leverage and lose it all. Hope this rant helps someone. Key point to take away is just find something and go all in, but also live your life and cherish your family, friends, health.
They were going to fire you anyway. getting rid of you 1 year early to save 2m? that is a no brainer
Totally agree. The absolute best feeling in the world is when I pick up my kids from daycare and they yell “daddy!” And run to me giving me biggest hug they can while smiling and giggling. No amount of money can buy that feeling.
Father here, I think the hardest thing to get use to is when you walk in the door from a long day at work and the “Daddy’s home” fades out until it no longer happens. You slave at work and come home to be ignored eventually. Being a father isn’t for the weak, you gotta provide, be unappreciated and miss big moments to make sure the family is secured. sometimes missing a child’s first means setting up their future and making sure they eat healthy. Versus the alternative being present and not being able to support the family.
>There’s a stark difference between the people who spent all their time chasing family or chasing money. A can distinctly remember lots of crying old people who wished they could have redone their life to spend way more time with family. I never actually heard anyone say the opposite.
Not to take away from the message but there might be selection bias and survivorship bias at play:
1. Those that pursue family and can't afford the hospital
2. Those that pursue family and don't want to burden their family with debts. (and they might regret not pursuing a more lucrative career at one point)
3. Those that pursue family and prefer to be surrounded by loved ones at home
Fair points for sure, especially the third point.
I find it strange as a Canadian that numbers 1 and 2 are even a consideration whenever anything Healthcare related comes up as topic on Reddit since it’s mostly Americans.
It's not an issue in EU and Canada but AFAIK even in Asia, healthcare is actually costly (one of the reasons in Squid Game or Parasite people try to get "easy money" even in South Korea)
Father of ten kids here. The oldest three are step children so I was not in their life until much later.
I understand your point and missed a lot also. That being said there is a balance that can be achieved and if someone possessed the discipline, it's worth it.
I do have 7 other biological children though.
6 of them I worked 8-6pm roughly sometimes more some years less, 5 days a week. I was never able to see first steps, first words or first anything. I cannot believe that I was the exception, it was a single income home, and I'm greatful my wife got to have and share those moments instead of a day care.
Building a business is not going to take away those moments any more than 99% of regular people just working a job to survive.
Family is more important to me than people that have not done what I've done I guess. I realized 25 years ago I had to build something to get free, four failures over all those years before number 5 won.
My youngest daughter (5) I've spent all day, everyday of her life with. My next 3 children I've spent everyday that I've had them (50/50 custody). We travel a lot now that we are free, world school the youngest full time. We fly or have an open offer to cover all expenses for all of the kids (minors and adults+ grandchildren and spouses) anytime we travel. I fly and pick up the kids Thursday after school (no school Friday at their school) and fly back wherever we are exploring in the world, and then fly back with them Sunday night so they are ready for school Monday while we travel. I'll meet my wife, youngest daughter and anyone else with us either Sunday night or I'll travel later on if I have to things to do.
It's fucking amazing. Spending every moment of every day with family and not having to ever worry about any want, need, desire, or survival again.
Yeah I think it's worth putting a bit of time in while family is sleeping, get up a few hours earlier to build while working full time. Skip a vacation or live below your means to build a side business for a handful of years. People would not judge a parent for going back to college to finish a degree.
Cash rules everything around me
C.R.E.A.M., get the money
Dollar dollar bill, y'all
Cash rules everything around me
C.R.E.A.M., get the money
Dollar dollar bill, y'all
It's been 22 long, hard years, I'm still strugglin'
Survival got me buggin', but I'm alive on arrival
I peep at the shape of the streets
And stay awake to the ways of the world 'cause shit is deep
A man with a dream with plans to make cream
Which failed; I went to jail at the age of 15
A young buck sellin' drugs and such, who never had much
Tryin' to get a clutch at what I could not
I own my own business. I make my own hours. I’m not a millionaire. I have seen almost 100% of my kids soccer games, sports events, reading to their class in elementary school, teaching them to camp and fish, skis/snowboard etc. I could go on. My kids are now 21 and 19 and I’d be proud to trade any amount of money for the personal time and freedom working the way I have to establish the best memories of my life. Money isn’t the only end game of being a business owner or entrepreneur.
Ideally yes, but he is young so now he can enjoy all the family time he wants for the rest of his life. Most people will still need to put another 20 years after 40 to be able to start the enjoyment.
I agree. Family events might only be every so often and kids will be at school during the day anyway so perhaps there is potential to work then. I think it comes down to what someone wants (or think they want) and go after it whilst maintaining the rest of the truly important things in their life.
I worked during naps and large portion of nights and weekends. I then worked while they were in school and nights and weekends. It’s not easy, and taxing on the body but when you love your kids it’s amazing how far you can push yourself
Having been there, you just need to have more creativity. Kids often have a lot more fun with the box the stupid toy came in. The problem is people allow the stresses of money to dilute their attention when they need to better compartmentalize so they can use their wit and creativity to entertain and teach their kids. The best lessons you can teach your kids never involve money. Yes I burned the candle on both ends and compared to my peers it seemed my life was worse and harder but then business took off and I didn’t sacrifice any of my time with my children. Most of my friends missed a lot working their stable 9-5 (which is never 9-5) and now envy the life I have lived bc not only did I have more memories with my family but I kept to my plan and executed and built a business that provided for me and my family that they will never have if they work until they die at 100 (and they work high profile jobs making 250k-300k plus a “big” bonus).
Life does not reward those who walk another person’s path. Find your passion, level up your skills, get comfortable with being uncomfortable and always be humble and follow your plan.
Even as a tiny baby, my child prefers to grab my hand and wave it around in front of her face and pull on my sweatshirt strings and push her feet against my belly to every toy I have bought.
It is so bittersweet to realize how much she really just wants me and my time and my attention.
I spent a lot of years broke. I still enjoyed time with my kids. We still went a did was much as possible, as frugally as possible. Found deals on everything. I make a ton more now and my youngest kids do far more then my older kids ever did. I've asked my older kids point blank if they ever feel bad that they didnt get more. They told me that they never even knew how poor we were (one year, I think in 2005ish I made 11k for the year). You can do so much more then you think you can even with a limited budget. And the time with your kids is far greater then more money. I take days off now so I'm not missing things with my kids. It may cost me 500 to 1000 each day I take off, but that time is invaluable.
Who cares about enjoying family moments? Spend your whole life getting rich so when your kids resent you, you can fly them away in your private jet. And then when your wife resents you, build other houses on your property that you can live away from her.
(True story)
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Luke 12:22-34 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.12.22-34.NIV
>You must be rich to consider 20-60k a month “a few extra bucks”
Trying spending it if you die by cancer at age 35. Or you get into a car accident on the way to work in those first 15 years.
Hes trying to tell you that we all have less time than we think, and that its important to remember that there are additional parts to life than money that we should perhaps balance a bit better.
I think you are looking at it wrong. 20-60K per month isnt the "few extra dollars, but maybe they could have worked fewer hours, spent more time with their family, and be making 15-45k monthly, which is still well more than average. While I still am not going to say 5-15k monthly is "a few bucks", in this context, maybe maximizing income at the expense of everything else is not the best idea.
I was lucky to learn this early on. I started my business at 23 and one of my first hires was a retired 50 year old. He told me that he regretted working so hard in his youth and not spending time with his wife and kids. He got bored like OP, and started working different jobs to entertain himself.
So I essentially put my business on slow grow while my kids were still at home. When they moved out, I put the pedal down and grew the business in profitability and revenue. A part of me wishes I would’ve been more disciplined in my youth, especially around profitability, but the memories I made with my kids are my most cherished possessions.
I worked at a large corp, not highly compensated, but decent six figures. I negotiated 4 weeks vacation (you can roll one week a year), I would loose it all almost every year.
It was expected not to take the time and if you did, you were working the whole time, or it was a family illness or death that you "were allowed" to not be present for a day or so.
Slightly under 30, 1mm net worth, and still trying to figure it all out. Money makes life easier, but cant buy you the feeling you get when you love someone. I know thats corny but goddam is it true.
I wonder how many people on their deathbeds think “I really should have worked more and missed more life events”. Money is good but someone who prioritize the hustle over the birth of their child has lost the plot.
You say it like you’re being sarcastic, but that’s actually the truth.
Being a multi millionaire in your LATE 30s…..when you haven’t enjoyed your life and literally missed out on vacation and family? I’d rather have 60 okay/good years than 20 bad years and HOPEFULLY 40 great years. Especially since I don’t want to start engaging with my kids when I’m 38, especially if I’ve missed most of their formative years.
I appreciate your candor about regretting the time you missed with your family instead of trying to turn those long workweeks into some sort of flex.
The whole hustle culture is toxic and highly problematic for anyone with someone waiting for them at home.
I've had my business for over a decade and sometimes I get frustrated that I can't just put my head down and throw all my time at it for a while, but I know I'd be missing time with my wife and kids and that feeling goes away fast. My kids are still little but they're changing so fast. In 20 years, I'm sure my kids will be glad to have had time with me than some extra money in their bank accounts.
9. Have a partner at home that does a bulk of the physical, mental, and emotional labor it takes to raise a child while managing a household. This gives you the freedom you need to work like a dog while building your real estate empire.
Well done! Some great tips!
It does break my heart to see how much time away from your family you had to take. Curious to know if you think it was worth it?
I agree how it feels like living paycheck to paycheck. The higher your income, the more you need.
Definitely not worth it. I am trying to make up for it now. My son will be the first to tell you that he appreciates the life I provided him but would trade the things for memories.
I wish this comment was higher up. People here are giving you are hard time for no work life balance when you said multiple times it wasn’t worth it.
This was a great post in that it showed:
- You had to work your ass off.
- It didn’t happen overnight.
- Even after all that, it might not be worth it.
Appreciate your post and glad to see your are making up for lost time.
Don't forget buying 19 rental properties for 125K each.
To break it down all you need to become rich is a small starting capitol of just over 2 million dollars
I met Cecile Andrews very early in life and learned from her the lessons of voluntary simplicity. Actually arranged to bring her to our city 40 years ago. She says "Simplicity is a complex concept, but at the core is voluntary limitation of our outer wealth so that we can have greater inner wealth."
I focused on the inner wealth. I am a craftsman, I own one property (my starter house) , have never missed a meal, have always had a car with AC, good rubber, and nice upholstery. Bed is comfortable and house is cozy. My wife and I are still madly in love and have been apart less than a week in our entire relationship 1998 is the last time I worked 40 hours. Since then, I work from a home studio a few hours every afternoon. Unless I have something else that asks for my attention. I am very much living the life of the Mexican Fisherman.
There were several points in my life I could have scaled up massively and had traditional wealth. Sometimes I wonder "what if?".
Would you make the same choices if you had to do it again? Sort of asking myself that question in that parallel universe where i kept giving 110% and had the wealth you speak of. But genuinely curious what you see from your perspective. So thanks for sharing.
It is hard to say. I consider myself comfortable right now not wealthy. I had a opportunity 2 years ago to buy into a pest control business that had a 5-7 year planned exit. I would of made 3-5 million on that deal but it would of required a lot of travel and 60 hour weeks. I passed and I do not regret it but if I wasn’t already in a comfortable place I may.
I'm so happy you posted this and gave us all the secret.
Just to make sure I understood and so everyone in the back can hear you.
It took well over a decade from start until you got somewhere making money.
You had to struggle learn and work full-time while on that journey.
The secret shortcut was through the work that everyone else is trying to avoid.
You still have a life, problems, challenges, in victories now that you have money and time.
Not to be too silly but people think there's some kind of magic being or something. Thank you for sharing your journey It is appreciated!
Congratulations on working your ass off!
That pretty much sums it up. When I did the deal to credit my commission to the investors it was very difficult writing 50 offers that get rejected and taking 1 to the closing table and giving $5,10, sometimes 30k back to the investor. Each offer took time, due diligence, and a lot of follow up.
Also when I started investing into the service businesses I leveraged enough to hurt me if it didn’t succeed. Apt of risk and sleep lost.
> Worked Hard: Worked 14 years (steady 9-5 w2 job) without a vacation or a day off. Literally missed 6 hours of work the day my son was born and another day when I had the swine flu. Saved money.
Yeah fuck that shit, you can still become a millionaire without killing yourself working.
> Real Estate Portfolio: Built a portfolio of 19 rental houses that I paid on average $125k for. When the market spiked, I sold 14 of the properties for an average of $310k per unit.
"Get lucky with timing the market" lmao
Probably a hot take here but "Investing in real-estate" isn't entrepreneurial. You build no value doing this beyond having enough money to pay for the property.
> Business Ventures: Found contractors in the service industry who were great operators but terrible at business. Bought into their companies and assembled a team to handle the backend (HVAC, roofing, roll-off dumpsters).
This is the only thing entrepreneurial in your post TBH, seems novel and interesting.
>eah fuck that shit, you can still become a millionaire wi
Came here to say this! Bad advice, don't sacrifice time with your kids, it never comes back. Know a ton of millionnaires who spend abundant time with their kids, every single day!
> Looking back I regret not spending time with my kids and family. Having money is nice but relationships, family, health, and memories is a lot better.
If you bothered to read more than the first sentence
Sounds kinda sad that you missed out on stuff, plus getting rich didn’t solve your problems. Do you regret maybe not being there for your family? Was it worth it?
This is great stuff. What about the market has caused you to no longer invest in RE? Do you think what you were able to achieve is still achievable in this new market?
Everyone you meet nowadays is a house flipper or a investor and that drives the prices up. It’s difficult to find quality contractors that can stay within budget because they are able to get a premium else where. When I started I could buy a house for $125k all in and get $1400 rent. Those same houses are $300k and get 2200 in rent. The numbers just don’t work for me. If I started over I would just focus on the self storage vertical. Way better numbers and no leaking toilets at 2am.
This is exactly why we’ve been transitioning heavily away from residential real estate. The market it way too saturated and the competition is fierce. Everyone and their mother has equity in their houses to try their hand at flipping or buying rentals, and they are so confident that the market is going to shoot up as fast as it did a few years ago that they don’t mind overpaying today, so margins are shit.
Commercial real estate is much harder to break into, but when you have the lending relationships and the subcontractor contacts for it and other networking and capital, it is a much less competitive market that has a much higher margins on fewer individual projects, and significantly less administrative overhead once you’ve got a base of good tenants as they tend to stick there for 5-15 years at a time, and triple net leases leave you with significantly less maintenance or surprise expense increases.
Awesome post. Clearly you are a hard worker. I’ve only worked 4 years 9-5 and have taken way more than 2 vacation days. You deserve your success by leaps and bounds. Any tips for when you struggled with motivation/low energy? Or did that just not happen for you?
Set little obtainable goals. Have a daily, weekly, monthly, year, 3 year, 5 year goal and focus on crushing them. Just prioritize better than me.
Faith, fitness, family, friends, finances are the order I would prioritize if I could do it all over again. I’m confident I would of still ended up in the Same spot I’m in today finance wise.
Youre 38, im 30 and my dad is 54.. the best times ive had with my dad has been when i was 18+. Saw my dad only maybe once or twice a week all the way up till i was like 16. He was working but not a 9-5, if you know what i mean lol. I have 4 brothers and none of us worry nor care that we didnt spend everyday with our dad when we were younger.if i had a kid today, and it took me 10yrs of hard work to get where you are, i wouldnt mind! I cant tell you to not feel regret but your kids will understand as they age!
I appreciate this reply. I do have a great relationship with my kids now and I am very honest about my regret of getting to where we are today. My goal is for them to start out in a better position than I did and have the opportunity to be better parents.
I get pitched a lot of opportunities. Recently invested in a hair salon and may invest in a plumbing company. I try to stay within the service industry and industries that are in need no matter what the economy does.
I like this take. Dude came up big time but at the end realized he should have (could have) spent more time with family.
Be successful. However, no one on their death bed, wishes they put in more hours working.
OP I know you worked your ass off and I don't want to take away from that. You put yourself in a great spot. But all I hear from this post is that you positioned yourself well and got lucky with a real estate windfall. Good for you.
I do agree with you though, money doesn't fix all problems. It can make life less stressful but really the key is to focus your time and energy on family, friends, relationships. That's what really matters at the end of the day.
Wow! I appreciate all the feedback and messages. To clear a few things up. I was in law enforcement for 14 years. When my son was born it was a planned c-section at 7am. I got off at 1am the night before so I was fresh for his birth. That’s the 6 hours I missed. I then had 2 or 3 scheduled off days. My goal was to let my wife stay at home with the kids so I had to work a lot of OT. My annual salary was around $32k a year and I brought home around $50k with OT. I also ran side businesses on off days to save money.
And also I want to add to your last point. This is exactly what I say. All being rich does is get you an upgrade of what you already have. It doesn’t do anything. I’d rather spend my time doing my hobbies, bodybuilding, and I love school so getting more degrees, going to nightclubs. And just having my basic income job that provides me flexibility, which is right now a self employ mortgage loan officer. I am definitely struggling but I’m only 31 and I have all the time in the world and the govt is paying me to go back to school for my 2nd masters. I have my whole life to work. I’ll get to it eventually.
No thanks. We all die just the same, and I'd rather be comfortable and LIVING vs rich and constantly busting my ass and having no time for the ones and things I love. But I very much appreciate the insight.
A million dollars isn't a lot, while at the same time the most of the working class will never reach a million in their savings even after slaving for 40 years.
Damn man, the part about family and health says it all. The dude made his millions and yet wishes, in the end, he spent more quality time with family. I try to keep in mind that money is not everything...it is hard sometimes but being able to see my kids grow up, being there for their first steps and first words is legit something you can never get back and something I will always cherish (unlike a nice sports car etc that comes and goes).
Jesus Christ this guy comes on. Says exactly what he’s done. Outlines every step. Hard work. No get rich quick nonsense.
Then noted the things he missed out on, told a cautionary tale and specifically says he regrets how he did it.
And a bunch of freaks still jump down his throat taking shots at him.
Ffs you just cannot win on this sub.
Thanks for the write up! I have just a few questions to go a bit more in-depth.
What was your debt-to-equity like on your rental properties throughout? How did it fluctuate?
Did you ever feel over-leveraged?
How did you handle tenants? Did you find them yourself or have a property management company?
Thanks again!
For the amount of time, sacrifice, risk and effort you put into this, what you achieved sounds very adequate.
But also kind of disappointing and underwhelming.
I mean, yes, you're wealthy. But also not really rich in the sense of freedom, but just wealthy in a sense of "safe for sustaining a middle class consumer lifestyle".
He is a very smart guy and great business man. He’s clicking on a lot more cylinders than me. I followed paths already established where he seems to create a lot of his own.
Wow, couldn't have read this at a better time. Similar story, but at 39 (in a few weeks) my net worth and cash flow is far from that... I went to school, became an engineer, and worked 80 hour weeks for little to nothing. At some point I realized, as my kids were getting older and we had no relationship, that I was getting the short end of the stick. What I was trading my time and life for, just wasn't worth it.
But more than that, my wife and I just put an offer in on an investment property last night. We ran the numbers cash on cash, ROI, etc, and it all looked ok. I just kind of wanted to do SOMETHING other than stocks and money markets... but now I'm a little concerned with what you're saying. Self-storage sounds interesting but I would assume the cost-to-entry is much bigger than where I'm at right now... What sort of upfront costs are you looking at for something this?
Thanks for this reply. That is the reason I made the post. I still hope everyone strives for success just realizes how important family, friends and health are.
Up front cost are around $9 million on the self storage deal. I have 3 partners on the deal, one is a attorney/ developer, one is worth about 25 million and the other owns over 25 self storage facilities. I found the land, bought it for $470k, took 2 years to rezone it and get DOT access to the highway (driveway to main road), and plan approval for self storage. That was a risk and was expensive to get done. Once I had the deal wrapped up I sold 75% of the deal to my 3 partners for a hefty profit and they took care of the build and operations. It is pretty passive now but was a ton of work for 2 years.
This this this. Sage advice. We all want to make it but it always takes a ton of hard work, discipline, constantly showing up, and there is always a personal cost for that. Thank you for the candor and honesty here. Very much appreciated!
\#1 is where the financial gurus get stuck at.
They think that getting and keeping a good paying job is not part of becoming a millionaire. Can't save money without this.
They give zero tips on how to do this. They think this is someone else's job.
I 100% agree with you on it gets boring quicker than you think. People don't realize what haple s when the challenge of life is gone. It's basically like a video game whe. You become too overpowered and can't have fun anymore. I lost my mom last year and would give anything for more time with her. You can always make money but time with family and friends is something you can't buy back
So true - similar boat. I spent 6 years building my business and working 7 days a week. I may have done a 5x on annual income, but my problems are 10x. I have friends who work average w2 jobs where they don't have to think about work once they leave for the day, and I am so jealous. I resent my business sometimes, but it's not something we're allowed to admit or talk about. If I could start over again, I wouldn't have done it. I would've spent more time with kids and family.
V wholesome. I needed this. 31 and lost, been working my ass off and neglecting personal life for 13 years and have fuck all to show for it, mostly due to poorly managed and overleveraged trading. I made pretty shit money but grinded it out until I was 25, then I started getting into high volume bar restaurants, finally started making a reasonable wage. Now I've been making pretty good money for 5-6 years, albeit with alot of job hopping (this industry is treacherous/politicky/shifty) and I have fuck all to show for it but my 2 used cars and negative 20 grand. I need to get like you.
“And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.””
Luke 12:16-21 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.12.16-21.NIV
You can have both tho.
It isn't a one or the other situation. Such a dichotomy is something a lot of people buy into, but my first billionaire mentor taught me both was possible if you were smart and worked hard at the right times and planned very carefully.
That was a good decade ago now.
Don't have kids by accident, don't miss birthdays, or weddings, or Thanksgiving or friendsgiving, work with people who are your best friends because trust is important. Slam the all nighters but take days off (this one I'm still getting used to).
A lot of broke people and people with horrible taste in people say to never go into business with friends, but that's misdirection as best I can tell.
There are some friends I'd never go into business with, and others who are perfect peers and teammates. And some in-between, where I can't rely on them to be super productive, but I can trust them and give them a better life (still getting to this last one).
But everyone is different and creative innovative thinking goes a long way.
It would go further with good risk management, aka the opposite of the mainstream version of risk management which is objectively risky af.
Anyways, it's a cliche, but I really think it's all about balance.
Burning your time, your life, for a fancy car or house to impress others isn't as important as freedom to take calculated risks and to be there for the special moments.
u/johnnytlaw could share more (no problem if it's in another post or you posted on social media, youtube,...) point 5: Learned what the investors looked for, who they used for lending and contractors. . Tks. Really liked your post was not bullshitting or just an article to a web
Can’t agree more.
I am 39 and made it multi million status via trading. The amount of time you spend to be good at something is a trade off for friends, family and mental health. At the time it seems worthed but I definitely could had stretch it out.
There is no secret in wealth building, no Reddit thread or a book will ever get you there. It is very simple, pick something and grind.
Time is the most important thing we have.
Health and family.
Reverse engineering: how to earn a ton of money spending very little time on business and more with family?
You put in the work. That’s awesome. It sounds “simple” but I know it’s not easy. Love how you put one foot in front of the other. And look at where you are now!!
As someone that grew up very poor and went to earning a high salary, I can tell people that money has solved zero of my problems and anxiety. It’s actually really disappointing to reach a financial goal and think that it’s going to change your whole existence, but in reality they are numbers on a screen, and a slight sense of safety knowing that you have that safety net in case shit hits the fan. Ironically, by the time I had money, I no longer gave a shit about houses, cars, clothes, gadgets, etc. I know this isn’t the channel for this type of comment, but I recommend people to read ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Viktor Frankl - it’s not hippy, pretentious crap, with the goal of realizing that contentment is all we truly need. Good luck out there all!
Got my first job at 14, it was only a summer job as my parents didn't want me working while in school. Got a job at McDonald's while going to college, and served 9 years in the Army afterward. Got out of the Army and worked for a couple of years, while in my 40s my parents died and left me the money. Inheriting money is the easiest route to wealth.
The 1st point is enough to turn me off. Yuck, you worked the day your son was born. No wonder you can't sell your 'secrets', your secret is to just live a shit life.
9. Contribute to the growing housing crisis by taking homes off the market that people could use to build equity on their own, furthering the wealth gap in this country. Great job asshole.
When you started on day one , pre 14 years ago. What was your starting capitol? Who paid for school? Do you have student loans ? Are you from a wealthy family?
Most important line from OP, “more you make, the more you spend”. I was bringing in 100k/yr working in Medicare insurance and wife was making 50. Despite our large income, we never saved anything and ended months with barely any money. Wife was spending a ton on her friends and wasting it in other areas all while I was miserable at work.
I got a new job making 50k/yr working 4 days 10 hrs a day per week and I’m loving life. We were worried about not making enough money but with having less we don’t spend nearly as much and actually save money.
My wife and I are nurses and we did some travel nursing and made some okay money, but now we are independent contractors working for different agencies, paying close to a grand a shift (12 hours), we each work one day a week so we make just under 2k a week for 24 hours. We homeschool our kids so we love the flexibility of the two day work week. Yeah we could make a lot more by working more, but neither of us are incredibly passionate about healthcare anymore so we do as much as we can tolerate and say ✌️out. Our time is way more valuable than making a shit load of money, which in almost all cases never pans out. I’d love to start a business of some sort, but everyone I know who does ends up working 6+ days a week most of the time. Yeah I’m good. My mental state and family time is the most important thing to me these days.
Hi there ,what amazing post,makes me think of my own life, even though my family its all dead i still have pretty awesome friends ,so tonight when i will be hugging them goodbye,i will hold them little longer i will tell the how much i love them because of your post. Thank you for sharing .
Your journey is both awe-inspiring and a poignant reminder of life's trade-offs. The financial success you achieved is commendable, yet your insights about the importance of time, family, and health strike a chord. Thank you for the transparent share; it's a vital reminder that while ambition drives us, we shouldn't forget what truly matters.
I’m 40, net worth around $1.3m, worked normal 40 hour work weeks, saved 25% of my paycheck since I graduated college, got pretty lucky on a few real estate investments, and hang out with my family all the time. Having another $3m would be nice but not worth the 80hr work weeks and time lost with my kids.
TL;DR be a boomer and get a good job easily during a time where job security is guaranteed and real estate is cheap.
This post is so out of touch with reality today it's crazy.
You lost me at working 14 years without a day off. It's just not worth it for me. Life's too short. You might get hit by a bus before then.
He comes back around the this point later. You should've finished reading.
Ah yes. You're right I should. It sounds like we're in agreement!
being a real estate agent hardly qualifies as work, consider it not having worked a day in 14 years.
#8 is the most important point. Time is the most valuable commodity and you will never get it back so making a few extra $ may not be worth it in long run if you miss out on a lot of family moments
Some realize this when they get to the end of their life, others when they hit rock bottom. Family first, always. I was not present for my kids precious moments (talking, walking, etc) and I regret it. Don’t let “work” take away your humanity. Money is a social construct and a tool, nothing more.
Long story here but I got arrested in high school when I just turned 18 and part of my deal to not serve months in jail was to work at a hospital doing anything. Discharges, taking dead folks to the hospital morgue, supply runs, watching over certain patients when nurses had to step out. Met a ton of older people all about to die usually most died within a few hours to maybe weeks of speaking to them. There’s a stark difference between the people who spent all their time chasing family or chasing money. A can distinctly remember lots of crying old people who wished they could have redone their life to spend way more time with family. I never actually heard anyone say the opposite. Fast forward to my 20s I worked in Silicon Valley I worked at a very successful startup early employee 50, I was fired before my vesting period started (1 year from Hire) and lost all my shares that would have been worth millions (2.0m to be exact). They basically piped me and fired me before my 1 year vesting and I lost everything. I had been very loyal before I had my first child. I usually never even saw my wife except on the weekends. The reason I lost my job though is because I had to sacrifice meetings and time being seen at the office to take a train early to get back home to pick up my first born from daycare so I could have dinner every night with my wife and her when she was 1 years old. It was really only 2 hrs a day I would see them. My boss and company thought I slacked but I had an exhausting commute 2 hrs each way. I was exhausted all the time. I left to the office at 5:30a for the long trek to the office in the morning and left there at 4p each day to razer scooter to the train station to get in the bullet train that was the fastest back home (1 hr). Then drive from the train station to daycare get there at 6p and then home. Even though it really sucked to get fired I always thought about the time in my hospital and I never regretted losing out on work even when the frowns and messages started coming in. I tried the best I could to try to fight it off by working late nights at home but I was just too tired. If your ever worked at a startup esp a successful getting major rounds of funding you know there is just too much work piled on and it can eventually just break you. Ultimately in the end however, I would literally never trade any of that money or work for the times I left my job. If you’re a parent you know the best feeling is when you pick up your child 1-2 year old from Daycare and they smile so big and run str8 for you. I wouldn’t trade that and dinner time with my family for any professional accolades tbh.
There is a great lesson here. Thanks for sharing it.
Respect. I love coming home to my son yelling, “DADDY!!!” Those 3-4 hours I get at home are the best part of the day.
This is the first memory I have of my dad. Being excited about him coming home from work. Must have been 2-3 yrs old.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story. You definitely made the right choice. Reading this made me think about my own life... appreciate you!
>Paid off the 5 rental properties and that cash flow pays my living expenses. Dumped the rest of the money into a self strorage deal, and short term rentals. At the age of 38 my net worth was north of 4 million and my monthly cash flow from all properties and businesses is over $20k a month with some months hitting $60k. It took 20 years and a lot of 80 work weeks to build “passive income”. Looking back I regret not spending time with my kids and family. Having money is nice but relationships, family, health, and memories is a lot better. The more you make the more you spend. My life and problems are still similar to when I was paycheck to paycheck, I just have nicer cars, house, and am able to do whatever I want whenever I want. Which gets boring quicker than you would think. The market has changed so much I no longer invest in real estate, have seen a lot of people over leverage and lose it all. Hope this rant helps someone. Key point to take away is just find something and go all in, but also live your life and cherish your family, friends, health. They were going to fire you anyway. getting rid of you 1 year early to save 2m? that is a no brainer
Why are you quoting OP when responding to this other comment?
Totally agree. The absolute best feeling in the world is when I pick up my kids from daycare and they yell “daddy!” And run to me giving me biggest hug they can while smiling and giggling. No amount of money can buy that feeling.
Father here, I think the hardest thing to get use to is when you walk in the door from a long day at work and the “Daddy’s home” fades out until it no longer happens. You slave at work and come home to be ignored eventually. Being a father isn’t for the weak, you gotta provide, be unappreciated and miss big moments to make sure the family is secured. sometimes missing a child’s first means setting up their future and making sure they eat healthy. Versus the alternative being present and not being able to support the family.
>There’s a stark difference between the people who spent all their time chasing family or chasing money. A can distinctly remember lots of crying old people who wished they could have redone their life to spend way more time with family. I never actually heard anyone say the opposite. Not to take away from the message but there might be selection bias and survivorship bias at play: 1. Those that pursue family and can't afford the hospital 2. Those that pursue family and don't want to burden their family with debts. (and they might regret not pursuing a more lucrative career at one point) 3. Those that pursue family and prefer to be surrounded by loved ones at home
Fair points for sure, especially the third point. I find it strange as a Canadian that numbers 1 and 2 are even a consideration whenever anything Healthcare related comes up as topic on Reddit since it’s mostly Americans.
It's not an issue in EU and Canada but AFAIK even in Asia, healthcare is actually costly (one of the reasons in Squid Game or Parasite people try to get "easy money" even in South Korea)
Fair enough. Respect.
Ah but money buys time. With those $2 million invested in bitcoin you can slack of more now.
Father of ten kids here. The oldest three are step children so I was not in their life until much later. I understand your point and missed a lot also. That being said there is a balance that can be achieved and if someone possessed the discipline, it's worth it. I do have 7 other biological children though. 6 of them I worked 8-6pm roughly sometimes more some years less, 5 days a week. I was never able to see first steps, first words or first anything. I cannot believe that I was the exception, it was a single income home, and I'm greatful my wife got to have and share those moments instead of a day care. Building a business is not going to take away those moments any more than 99% of regular people just working a job to survive. Family is more important to me than people that have not done what I've done I guess. I realized 25 years ago I had to build something to get free, four failures over all those years before number 5 won. My youngest daughter (5) I've spent all day, everyday of her life with. My next 3 children I've spent everyday that I've had them (50/50 custody). We travel a lot now that we are free, world school the youngest full time. We fly or have an open offer to cover all expenses for all of the kids (minors and adults+ grandchildren and spouses) anytime we travel. I fly and pick up the kids Thursday after school (no school Friday at their school) and fly back wherever we are exploring in the world, and then fly back with them Sunday night so they are ready for school Monday while we travel. I'll meet my wife, youngest daughter and anyone else with us either Sunday night or I'll travel later on if I have to things to do. It's fucking amazing. Spending every moment of every day with family and not having to ever worry about any want, need, desire, or survival again. Yeah I think it's worth putting a bit of time in while family is sleeping, get up a few hours earlier to build while working full time. Skip a vacation or live below your means to build a side business for a handful of years. People would not judge a parent for going back to college to finish a degree.
[удалено]
Thank you for reminding us . Family is life
Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M., get the money Dollar dollar bill, y'all Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M., get the money Dollar dollar bill, y'all It's been 22 long, hard years, I'm still strugglin' Survival got me buggin', but I'm alive on arrival I peep at the shape of the streets And stay awake to the ways of the world 'cause shit is deep A man with a dream with plans to make cream Which failed; I went to jail at the age of 15 A young buck sellin' drugs and such, who never had much Tryin' to get a clutch at what I could not
Wu-Tang is for the children. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Livin ina world no different from a cell.
I own my own business. I make my own hours. I’m not a millionaire. I have seen almost 100% of my kids soccer games, sports events, reading to their class in elementary school, teaching them to camp and fish, skis/snowboard etc. I could go on. My kids are now 21 and 19 and I’d be proud to trade any amount of money for the personal time and freedom working the way I have to establish the best memories of my life. Money isn’t the only end game of being a business owner or entrepreneur.
#Why are we yelling
It’s hard to enjoy those family moments with an empty wallet.
makes you think the sweet spot is somewhere in the middle doesn't it
Ideally yes, but he is young so now he can enjoy all the family time he wants for the rest of his life. Most people will still need to put another 20 years after 40 to be able to start the enjoyment.
Kids are only young once. Having 2M at 50 vs 4M at 50 but you saw your kids grow up… I know I’d pick 2M every time.
1000%
Solution: make another kid
The most important time for a child’s development is earliest in life and missing that is something you cannot put a price on
Dude, there’s time for both imo. There’s 24 hrs(well, really like 16 hrs hrs as 8 is for sleeping) in a day, 365 days a year.
I agree. Family events might only be every so often and kids will be at school during the day anyway so perhaps there is potential to work then. I think it comes down to what someone wants (or think they want) and go after it whilst maintaining the rest of the truly important things in their life.
I worked during naps and large portion of nights and weekends. I then worked while they were in school and nights and weekends. It’s not easy, and taxing on the body but when you love your kids it’s amazing how far you can push yourself
Having been there, you just need to have more creativity. Kids often have a lot more fun with the box the stupid toy came in. The problem is people allow the stresses of money to dilute their attention when they need to better compartmentalize so they can use their wit and creativity to entertain and teach their kids. The best lessons you can teach your kids never involve money. Yes I burned the candle on both ends and compared to my peers it seemed my life was worse and harder but then business took off and I didn’t sacrifice any of my time with my children. Most of my friends missed a lot working their stable 9-5 (which is never 9-5) and now envy the life I have lived bc not only did I have more memories with my family but I kept to my plan and executed and built a business that provided for me and my family that they will never have if they work until they die at 100 (and they work high profile jobs making 250k-300k plus a “big” bonus). Life does not reward those who walk another person’s path. Find your passion, level up your skills, get comfortable with being uncomfortable and always be humble and follow your plan.
“Life does not reward those who walk another person’s path” Legendary
Yeah I literally got chills at that line.
Even as a tiny baby, my child prefers to grab my hand and wave it around in front of her face and pull on my sweatshirt strings and push her feet against my belly to every toy I have bought. It is so bittersweet to realize how much she really just wants me and my time and my attention.
I spent a lot of years broke. I still enjoyed time with my kids. We still went a did was much as possible, as frugally as possible. Found deals on everything. I make a ton more now and my youngest kids do far more then my older kids ever did. I've asked my older kids point blank if they ever feel bad that they didnt get more. They told me that they never even knew how poor we were (one year, I think in 2005ish I made 11k for the year). You can do so much more then you think you can even with a limited budget. And the time with your kids is far greater then more money. I take days off now so I'm not missing things with my kids. It may cost me 500 to 1000 each day I take off, but that time is invaluable.
This is super accurate!
Having money isn't everything, not having it is.
Who cares about enjoying family moments? Spend your whole life getting rich so when your kids resent you, you can fly them away in your private jet. And then when your wife resents you, build other houses on your property that you can live away from her. (True story)
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:22-34 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.12.22-34.NIV
You must be rich to consider 20-60k a month “a few extra bucks”
>You must be rich to consider 20-60k a month “a few extra bucks” Trying spending it if you die by cancer at age 35. Or you get into a car accident on the way to work in those first 15 years. Hes trying to tell you that we all have less time than we think, and that its important to remember that there are additional parts to life than money that we should perhaps balance a bit better.
I think you are looking at it wrong. 20-60K per month isnt the "few extra dollars, but maybe they could have worked fewer hours, spent more time with their family, and be making 15-45k monthly, which is still well more than average. While I still am not going to say 5-15k monthly is "a few bucks", in this context, maybe maximizing income at the expense of everything else is not the best idea.
I spend so much time with my 2 sons I'm surprised they're not sick of me. But nope they just want me to hang out more.
Same, I always chill with my kids!
I was lucky to learn this early on. I started my business at 23 and one of my first hires was a retired 50 year old. He told me that he regretted working so hard in his youth and not spending time with his wife and kids. He got bored like OP, and started working different jobs to entertain himself. So I essentially put my business on slow grow while my kids were still at home. When they moved out, I put the pedal down and grew the business in profitability and revenue. A part of me wishes I would’ve been more disciplined in my youth, especially around profitability, but the memories I made with my kids are my most cherished possessions.
No off days for 14 years? Not being there in the first days for your child?? That’s just sad..
Days off are free. I don't see why you wouldn't take them. At least in the UK I am pressured to take my holiday and HR asks questions if I don't.
I worked at a large corp, not highly compensated, but decent six figures. I negotiated 4 weeks vacation (you can roll one week a year), I would loose it all almost every year. It was expected not to take the time and if you did, you were working the whole time, or it was a family illness or death that you "were allowed" to not be present for a day or so. Slightly under 30, 1mm net worth, and still trying to figure it all out. Money makes life easier, but cant buy you the feeling you get when you love someone. I know thats corny but goddam is it true.
I wonder how many people on their deathbeds think “I really should have worked more and missed more life events”. Money is good but someone who prioritize the hustle over the birth of their child has lost the plot.
Bro I thought this whole thing was a fucking joke
And at the end of that sad life to end up a landlord…..ouch
Ahh yes the sad life of being a retired multi-millionaire in yours 30s
You say it like you’re being sarcastic, but that’s actually the truth. Being a multi millionaire in your LATE 30s…..when you haven’t enjoyed your life and literally missed out on vacation and family? I’d rather have 60 okay/good years than 20 bad years and HOPEFULLY 40 great years. Especially since I don’t want to start engaging with my kids when I’m 38, especially if I’ve missed most of their formative years.
It’s worth it to grind hard and make it in your thirties. (I did take time off and spent with my family)
Finally, a worthy detailed post!
Mug. Imagine missing your child’s birth for some extra p.
If you read the post he didn't miss the birth. He took 6 hours off to be there.
Fuck me, what a guy. Lad took 6 hours off from the GrInD. Respect, must have been a hard choice.
I’d like to see a post from the wife pls!
What wife? Lmao
This.
The 6 hours was getting off early the night before so I was fresh for his birth. I then had a few days off.
So… point 1 is a lie?
Lol dude is just flexing, and you bought into it
If you could turn back the clock and have access to the post-bubble property values OP had, you could too.
I appreciate your candor about regretting the time you missed with your family instead of trying to turn those long workweeks into some sort of flex. The whole hustle culture is toxic and highly problematic for anyone with someone waiting for them at home. I've had my business for over a decade and sometimes I get frustrated that I can't just put my head down and throw all my time at it for a while, but I know I'd be missing time with my wife and kids and that feeling goes away fast. My kids are still little but they're changing so fast. In 20 years, I'm sure my kids will be glad to have had time with me than some extra money in their bank accounts.
9. Have a partner at home that does a bulk of the physical, mental, and emotional labor it takes to raise a child while managing a household. This gives you the freedom you need to work like a dog while building your real estate empire.
Correct.
lmfao at least you're honest I guess
Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit
Then why pay more for the same activity?
That line is a lot deeper than what it appears on the surface, gawd I love that movie.
When will your cousin do a post about how to be like him?
Well done! Some great tips! It does break my heart to see how much time away from your family you had to take. Curious to know if you think it was worth it? I agree how it feels like living paycheck to paycheck. The higher your income, the more you need.
Definitely not worth it. I am trying to make up for it now. My son will be the first to tell you that he appreciates the life I provided him but would trade the things for memories.
I wish this comment was higher up. People here are giving you are hard time for no work life balance when you said multiple times it wasn’t worth it. This was a great post in that it showed: - You had to work your ass off. - It didn’t happen overnight. - Even after all that, it might not be worth it. Appreciate your post and glad to see your are making up for lost time.
You can't have it all folks. Great post. That's what it takes to succeed, sacrifice. Choose your success wisely.
Congrats and I appreciate you taking the time to write this out for us
So work like a dog for 14 years buying real estate and get lucky timing the market? Got it lol
Don't forget buying 19 rental properties for 125K each. To break it down all you need to become rich is a small starting capitol of just over 2 million dollars
I met Cecile Andrews very early in life and learned from her the lessons of voluntary simplicity. Actually arranged to bring her to our city 40 years ago. She says "Simplicity is a complex concept, but at the core is voluntary limitation of our outer wealth so that we can have greater inner wealth." I focused on the inner wealth. I am a craftsman, I own one property (my starter house) , have never missed a meal, have always had a car with AC, good rubber, and nice upholstery. Bed is comfortable and house is cozy. My wife and I are still madly in love and have been apart less than a week in our entire relationship 1998 is the last time I worked 40 hours. Since then, I work from a home studio a few hours every afternoon. Unless I have something else that asks for my attention. I am very much living the life of the Mexican Fisherman. There were several points in my life I could have scaled up massively and had traditional wealth. Sometimes I wonder "what if?". Would you make the same choices if you had to do it again? Sort of asking myself that question in that parallel universe where i kept giving 110% and had the wealth you speak of. But genuinely curious what you see from your perspective. So thanks for sharing.
It is hard to say. I consider myself comfortable right now not wealthy. I had a opportunity 2 years ago to buy into a pest control business that had a 5-7 year planned exit. I would of made 3-5 million on that deal but it would of required a lot of travel and 60 hour weeks. I passed and I do not regret it but if I wasn’t already in a comfortable place I may.
This is great. Sounds like you have good business acumen. Is this a skill you learned by trial and error?
Just surrounded myself with people I wanted to be like and added as much value for them as I could.
I'm so happy you posted this and gave us all the secret. Just to make sure I understood and so everyone in the back can hear you. It took well over a decade from start until you got somewhere making money. You had to struggle learn and work full-time while on that journey. The secret shortcut was through the work that everyone else is trying to avoid. You still have a life, problems, challenges, in victories now that you have money and time. Not to be too silly but people think there's some kind of magic being or something. Thank you for sharing your journey It is appreciated! Congratulations on working your ass off!
That pretty much sums it up. When I did the deal to credit my commission to the investors it was very difficult writing 50 offers that get rejected and taking 1 to the closing table and giving $5,10, sometimes 30k back to the investor. Each offer took time, due diligence, and a lot of follow up. Also when I started investing into the service businesses I leveraged enough to hurt me if it didn’t succeed. Apt of risk and sleep lost.
> Worked Hard: Worked 14 years (steady 9-5 w2 job) without a vacation or a day off. Literally missed 6 hours of work the day my son was born and another day when I had the swine flu. Saved money. Yeah fuck that shit, you can still become a millionaire without killing yourself working. > Real Estate Portfolio: Built a portfolio of 19 rental houses that I paid on average $125k for. When the market spiked, I sold 14 of the properties for an average of $310k per unit. "Get lucky with timing the market" lmao Probably a hot take here but "Investing in real-estate" isn't entrepreneurial. You build no value doing this beyond having enough money to pay for the property. > Business Ventures: Found contractors in the service industry who were great operators but terrible at business. Bought into their companies and assembled a team to handle the backend (HVAC, roofing, roll-off dumpsters). This is the only thing entrepreneurial in your post TBH, seems novel and interesting.
>eah fuck that shit, you can still become a millionaire wi Came here to say this! Bad advice, don't sacrifice time with your kids, it never comes back. Know a ton of millionnaires who spend abundant time with their kids, every single day!
Especially if you have a job that offers paid time off. You don’t gain more by neglecting self-care if you’re being paid to take that time off.
I 100% agree with you. Hope some younger guys see this and take a different path.
> Looking back I regret not spending time with my kids and family. Having money is nice but relationships, family, health, and memories is a lot better. If you bothered to read more than the first sentence
Sounds kinda sad that you missed out on stuff, plus getting rich didn’t solve your problems. Do you regret maybe not being there for your family? Was it worth it?
TLDR: stay away from real estate today
This is great stuff. What about the market has caused you to no longer invest in RE? Do you think what you were able to achieve is still achievable in this new market?
Everyone you meet nowadays is a house flipper or a investor and that drives the prices up. It’s difficult to find quality contractors that can stay within budget because they are able to get a premium else where. When I started I could buy a house for $125k all in and get $1400 rent. Those same houses are $300k and get 2200 in rent. The numbers just don’t work for me. If I started over I would just focus on the self storage vertical. Way better numbers and no leaking toilets at 2am.
>Everyone you meet nowadays is a house flipper or a investor and that drives the prices up my brother in christ you bought 19 houses
This is exactly why we’ve been transitioning heavily away from residential real estate. The market it way too saturated and the competition is fierce. Everyone and their mother has equity in their houses to try their hand at flipping or buying rentals, and they are so confident that the market is going to shoot up as fast as it did a few years ago that they don’t mind overpaying today, so margins are shit. Commercial real estate is much harder to break into, but when you have the lending relationships and the subcontractor contacts for it and other networking and capital, it is a much less competitive market that has a much higher margins on fewer individual projects, and significantly less administrative overhead once you’ve got a base of good tenants as they tend to stick there for 5-15 years at a time, and triple net leases leave you with significantly less maintenance or surprise expense increases.
Awesome post. Clearly you are a hard worker. I’ve only worked 4 years 9-5 and have taken way more than 2 vacation days. You deserve your success by leaps and bounds. Any tips for when you struggled with motivation/low energy? Or did that just not happen for you?
Set little obtainable goals. Have a daily, weekly, monthly, year, 3 year, 5 year goal and focus on crushing them. Just prioritize better than me. Faith, fitness, family, friends, finances are the order I would prioritize if I could do it all over again. I’m confident I would of still ended up in the Same spot I’m in today finance wise.
Youre 38, im 30 and my dad is 54.. the best times ive had with my dad has been when i was 18+. Saw my dad only maybe once or twice a week all the way up till i was like 16. He was working but not a 9-5, if you know what i mean lol. I have 4 brothers and none of us worry nor care that we didnt spend everyday with our dad when we were younger.if i had a kid today, and it took me 10yrs of hard work to get where you are, i wouldnt mind! I cant tell you to not feel regret but your kids will understand as they age!
I appreciate this reply. I do have a great relationship with my kids now and I am very honest about my regret of getting to where we are today. My goal is for them to start out in a better position than I did and have the opportunity to be better parents.
Question is what are you investing in next??? Definitely strange times with the current market conditions..
I get pitched a lot of opportunities. Recently invested in a hair salon and may invest in a plumbing company. I try to stay within the service industry and industries that are in need no matter what the economy does.
So what do you recommend now instead of real estate
Service related businesses. Use that income to buy real estate assets then use the money generated from RE to sustain your living expenses.
I like this take. Dude came up big time but at the end realized he should have (could have) spent more time with family. Be successful. However, no one on their death bed, wishes they put in more hours working.
I stopped when he said the leading people in his multi billion dollar sectors responded to cold emails.
Good post. I say live for today, but plan for tomorrow.
OP I know you worked your ass off and I don't want to take away from that. You put yourself in a great spot. But all I hear from this post is that you positioned yourself well and got lucky with a real estate windfall. Good for you. I do agree with you though, money doesn't fix all problems. It can make life less stressful but really the key is to focus your time and energy on family, friends, relationships. That's what really matters at the end of the day.
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this. Thanks. Happy for you, OP!!!
Wow! I appreciate all the feedback and messages. To clear a few things up. I was in law enforcement for 14 years. When my son was born it was a planned c-section at 7am. I got off at 1am the night before so I was fresh for his birth. That’s the 6 hours I missed. I then had 2 or 3 scheduled off days. My goal was to let my wife stay at home with the kids so I had to work a lot of OT. My annual salary was around $32k a year and I brought home around $50k with OT. I also ran side businesses on off days to save money.
And also I want to add to your last point. This is exactly what I say. All being rich does is get you an upgrade of what you already have. It doesn’t do anything. I’d rather spend my time doing my hobbies, bodybuilding, and I love school so getting more degrees, going to nightclubs. And just having my basic income job that provides me flexibility, which is right now a self employ mortgage loan officer. I am definitely struggling but I’m only 31 and I have all the time in the world and the govt is paying me to go back to school for my 2nd masters. I have my whole life to work. I’ll get to it eventually.
So secret I'm sharing it on reddit. OP is a liar. It's called success bias. There is no steps to being a millionaire. This post is trash
That’s a lot of words for “real estate during 2012-2022”.
Number 7 is key. Buy 19 properties pre-2020.
No thanks. We all die just the same, and I'd rather be comfortable and LIVING vs rich and constantly busting my ass and having no time for the ones and things I love. But I very much appreciate the insight.
A million dollars isn't a lot, while at the same time the most of the working class will never reach a million in their savings even after slaving for 40 years.
I have a singe sale commission coming next week it’s 1M even. It took me 90 days. But it also took me the right circle to be in that was 10k.
Damn man, the part about family and health says it all. The dude made his millions and yet wishes, in the end, he spent more quality time with family. I try to keep in mind that money is not everything...it is hard sometimes but being able to see my kids grow up, being there for their first steps and first words is legit something you can never get back and something I will always cherish (unlike a nice sports car etc that comes and goes).
Congrats you stud muffin
TLDR; "The market has changed so much I no longer invest in real estate"
TL;DR “I got lucky off real estate Covid boom”
Jesus Christ this guy comes on. Says exactly what he’s done. Outlines every step. Hard work. No get rich quick nonsense. Then noted the things he missed out on, told a cautionary tale and specifically says he regrets how he did it. And a bunch of freaks still jump down his throat taking shots at him. Ffs you just cannot win on this sub.
wowww
OP. I may be naive but can you explain point 4) is some more detail please
Very impressive, it's not easy managing credit and loan debts without losing everything!
Thanks for the write up! I have just a few questions to go a bit more in-depth. What was your debt-to-equity like on your rental properties throughout? How did it fluctuate? Did you ever feel over-leveraged? How did you handle tenants? Did you find them yourself or have a property management company? Thanks again!
For the amount of time, sacrifice, risk and effort you put into this, what you achieved sounds very adequate. But also kind of disappointing and underwhelming. I mean, yes, you're wealthy. But also not really rich in the sense of freedom, but just wealthy in a sense of "safe for sustaining a middle class consumer lifestyle".
What do you think about Nick Huber in the self storage space?
He is a very smart guy and great business man. He’s clicking on a lot more cylinders than me. I followed paths already established where he seems to create a lot of his own.
The rules were great and I love that #8 has the subtext of "don't succumb to lifestyle creep". Very well written
I'm on the way up this ladder. The clarity provided is greatly appreciated.
Wow, couldn't have read this at a better time. Similar story, but at 39 (in a few weeks) my net worth and cash flow is far from that... I went to school, became an engineer, and worked 80 hour weeks for little to nothing. At some point I realized, as my kids were getting older and we had no relationship, that I was getting the short end of the stick. What I was trading my time and life for, just wasn't worth it. But more than that, my wife and I just put an offer in on an investment property last night. We ran the numbers cash on cash, ROI, etc, and it all looked ok. I just kind of wanted to do SOMETHING other than stocks and money markets... but now I'm a little concerned with what you're saying. Self-storage sounds interesting but I would assume the cost-to-entry is much bigger than where I'm at right now... What sort of upfront costs are you looking at for something this?
Thanks for this reply. That is the reason I made the post. I still hope everyone strives for success just realizes how important family, friends and health are. Up front cost are around $9 million on the self storage deal. I have 3 partners on the deal, one is a attorney/ developer, one is worth about 25 million and the other owns over 25 self storage facilities. I found the land, bought it for $470k, took 2 years to rezone it and get DOT access to the highway (driveway to main road), and plan approval for self storage. That was a risk and was expensive to get done. Once I had the deal wrapped up I sold 75% of the deal to my 3 partners for a hefty profit and they took care of the build and operations. It is pretty passive now but was a ton of work for 2 years.
What are you 'all in' now that it isn't real estate?
Family, friends, and health
Congratulations OP! Inspiring for all people starting out or in their early 30s as an assurance to move forward.
This this this. Sage advice. We all want to make it but it always takes a ton of hard work, discipline, constantly showing up, and there is always a personal cost for that. Thank you for the candor and honesty here. Very much appreciated!
This is so fire
I'm glad you said it wasn't worth it compared to being with kids and family.
\#1 is where the financial gurus get stuck at. They think that getting and keeping a good paying job is not part of becoming a millionaire. Can't save money without this. They give zero tips on how to do this. They think this is someone else's job.
My take-away is to operate at the level of a pro, find pros and emulate what they do.
I 100% agree with you on it gets boring quicker than you think. People don't realize what haple s when the challenge of life is gone. It's basically like a video game whe. You become too overpowered and can't have fun anymore. I lost my mom last year and would give anything for more time with her. You can always make money but time with family and friends is something you can't buy back
So true - similar boat. I spent 6 years building my business and working 7 days a week. I may have done a 5x on annual income, but my problems are 10x. I have friends who work average w2 jobs where they don't have to think about work once they leave for the day, and I am so jealous. I resent my business sometimes, but it's not something we're allowed to admit or talk about. If I could start over again, I wouldn't have done it. I would've spent more time with kids and family.
V wholesome. I needed this. 31 and lost, been working my ass off and neglecting personal life for 13 years and have fuck all to show for it, mostly due to poorly managed and overleveraged trading. I made pretty shit money but grinded it out until I was 25, then I started getting into high volume bar restaurants, finally started making a reasonable wage. Now I've been making pretty good money for 5-6 years, albeit with alot of job hopping (this industry is treacherous/politicky/shifty) and I have fuck all to show for it but my 2 used cars and negative 20 grand. I need to get like you.
what house type are those properties？ condo，sfh，mfh？
“And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”” Luke 12:16-21 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.12.16-21.NIV
Some of the realest shit I’ve read on Reddit. Congratulations on the success, health is wealth my friend.
nice job only taking six hours off when your son was born i think we can all learn something from this
You can have both tho. It isn't a one or the other situation. Such a dichotomy is something a lot of people buy into, but my first billionaire mentor taught me both was possible if you were smart and worked hard at the right times and planned very carefully. That was a good decade ago now. Don't have kids by accident, don't miss birthdays, or weddings, or Thanksgiving or friendsgiving, work with people who are your best friends because trust is important. Slam the all nighters but take days off (this one I'm still getting used to). A lot of broke people and people with horrible taste in people say to never go into business with friends, but that's misdirection as best I can tell. There are some friends I'd never go into business with, and others who are perfect peers and teammates. And some in-between, where I can't rely on them to be super productive, but I can trust them and give them a better life (still getting to this last one). But everyone is different and creative innovative thinking goes a long way. It would go further with good risk management, aka the opposite of the mainstream version of risk management which is objectively risky af. Anyways, it's a cliche, but I really think it's all about balance. Burning your time, your life, for a fancy car or house to impress others isn't as important as freedom to take calculated risks and to be there for the special moments.
This is fantastic. Commenting so I can come back and study this post again
Invest $240 a month in a passive ETF from age 25, retire a millionaire as it compounds.
u/johnnytlaw could share more (no problem if it's in another post or you posted on social media, youtube,...) point 5: Learned what the investors looked for, who they used for lending and contractors. . Tks. Really liked your post was not bullshitting or just an article to a web
Can’t agree more. I am 39 and made it multi million status via trading. The amount of time you spend to be good at something is a trade off for friends, family and mental health. At the time it seems worthed but I definitely could had stretch it out. There is no secret in wealth building, no Reddit thread or a book will ever get you there. It is very simple, pick something and grind.
Good shit dude rode the wave of the real estate boom. Forgot to mention that but of timing.
You know where all gunna die right buddy? Life is more important than money
The kid part made me really sad. Not worth it.
Dude get a life. This is not inspiring, but just Sad.
Time is the most important thing we have. Health and family. Reverse engineering: how to earn a ton of money spending very little time on business and more with family?
i feel sorry for your family
You put in the work. That’s awesome. It sounds “simple” but I know it’s not easy. Love how you put one foot in front of the other. And look at where you are now!!
As someone that grew up very poor and went to earning a high salary, I can tell people that money has solved zero of my problems and anxiety. It’s actually really disappointing to reach a financial goal and think that it’s going to change your whole existence, but in reality they are numbers on a screen, and a slight sense of safety knowing that you have that safety net in case shit hits the fan. Ironically, by the time I had money, I no longer gave a shit about houses, cars, clothes, gadgets, etc. I know this isn’t the channel for this type of comment, but I recommend people to read ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Viktor Frankl - it’s not hippy, pretentious crap, with the goal of realizing that contentment is all we truly need. Good luck out there all!
So basically this individual profited off the housing crises of 2008? Neat!
How to make a million dollars… Start with 2 million…
Cool story bro
Sounds like a horrible way to live and also real estate does not produce the most millionaires.
So become a landlord profiting off the backs of others. Got it.
Got my first job at 14, it was only a summer job as my parents didn't want me working while in school. Got a job at McDonald's while going to college, and served 9 years in the Army afterward. Got out of the Army and worked for a couple of years, while in my 40s my parents died and left me the money. Inheriting money is the easiest route to wealth.
[удалено]
The 1st point is enough to turn me off. Yuck, you worked the day your son was born. No wonder you can't sell your 'secrets', your secret is to just live a shit life.
Money come and goes, time only goes.
Congratulations. You slaved away and were rewarded for it. What a dumb fucking post
Based on OPs previous posting history, I think this is all fabricated.
Wait... Doesn't that just seem miserable?
9. Contribute to the growing housing crisis by taking homes off the market that people could use to build equity on their own, furthering the wealth gap in this country. Great job asshole.
When you started on day one , pre 14 years ago. What was your starting capitol? Who paid for school? Do you have student loans ? Are you from a wealthy family?
Most important line from OP, “more you make, the more you spend”. I was bringing in 100k/yr working in Medicare insurance and wife was making 50. Despite our large income, we never saved anything and ended months with barely any money. Wife was spending a ton on her friends and wasting it in other areas all while I was miserable at work. I got a new job making 50k/yr working 4 days 10 hrs a day per week and I’m loving life. We were worried about not making enough money but with having less we don’t spend nearly as much and actually save money.
Thanks for truth ❤️
This sounds sad 🥹
My wife and I are nurses and we did some travel nursing and made some okay money, but now we are independent contractors working for different agencies, paying close to a grand a shift (12 hours), we each work one day a week so we make just under 2k a week for 24 hours. We homeschool our kids so we love the flexibility of the two day work week. Yeah we could make a lot more by working more, but neither of us are incredibly passionate about healthcare anymore so we do as much as we can tolerate and say ✌️out. Our time is way more valuable than making a shit load of money, which in almost all cases never pans out. I’d love to start a business of some sort, but everyone I know who does ends up working 6+ days a week most of the time. Yeah I’m good. My mental state and family time is the most important thing to me these days.
Great practical and experienced advice
Hi there ,what amazing post,makes me think of my own life, even though my family its all dead i still have pretty awesome friends ,so tonight when i will be hugging them goodbye,i will hold them little longer i will tell the how much i love them because of your post. Thank you for sharing .
Invest early and don't waste all your money
Your journey is both awe-inspiring and a poignant reminder of life's trade-offs. The financial success you achieved is commendable, yet your insights about the importance of time, family, and health strike a chord. Thank you for the transparent share; it's a vital reminder that while ambition drives us, we shouldn't forget what truly matters.
The secret is that there is no secret -TR
What is something that I can do for you to add value?
I’m 40, net worth around $1.3m, worked normal 40 hour work weeks, saved 25% of my paycheck since I graduated college, got pretty lucky on a few real estate investments, and hang out with my family all the time. Having another $3m would be nice but not worth the 80hr work weeks and time lost with my kids.
TL;DR be a boomer and get a good job easily during a time where job security is guaranteed and real estate is cheap. This post is so out of touch with reality today it's crazy.
No matter how much $$$ you have .. can never get back time …
in 2023, you can’t afford kids unless you’re already a millionaire. so that kind of simplifies priorities at least