My name is Matt Tinney and I plan on achieving financial freedom (where passive income equates to expenses) within the next 2-4 years because of my real estate strategy. In part 1 of "My Experiences as a Real Estate Investor", I will explain to you what I've done and learned in real estate to date.
Since May 2006, I have been investing in real estate and I have not looked back since. I am aspiring to be financially free in 2-4 years, a rather steep but achievable goal for me and my situation.
My life and perspective on managing my financial success is forever ingrained in my thinking. I have educated my soul first, by reading Millionaire Mind, and learning how to first managing the money I had. It is really remarkable what happens when you learn how to manage your money. It literally starts to flow to you because you know to manage the money you got.
As my team told me from the start, it is a process, one foot in front of the other. The key is to just start doing it. This is not one of those get rich schemes, put in 10K and then hope for the best. That is risky.
Of course you will always want to:
1. Develop a financial STRATEGY. I devised a 1-3-5 year strategy and I am continuously (again process) updating it. What I did was develop an income statement and balance sheet from the cash flow game and plugged in my numbers. When I find an opportunity, I work with my team and plug in the numbers. I know exactly what I can and cannot afford. This is so important because deals come and go and you need to always on top of your game.
2. Understand where you are going and stick to one thing that interests you. For me, I just feel in love with real estate. I literally feel into it after buying a condo in Shoreline in August 2005. I learned the mistakes that first time home buyers can make. I almost got into a deal that would have made no sense for my financial future. That is history for me now but it is a good reminder about where I came from. However, I don't look back and dwell on mistakes. It is really easy to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for yourself, which leads me to my third key.
3. Be selective in who and what you tell others, particularly in the beginning. This might come to a surprise to you, but if you are reading this, you are not like the general population. Your thoughts on money go against the grain and when that happens, you can create conflicts of interest. I am very selective in who I share my financial freedom and strategy with. I learned that it is difficult enough for me internally to digest what I am doing let alone have others tell me I am wasting my money. I get the comments such as "your young, SPEND YOUR MONEY or oh honey what are you doing with your money in real estate, THAT'S RISKY". Well, news flash here, it’s only risky because of the lack of education. If you are educated in a subject such as a real estate AND you have the proper team behind you, then the risks subside substantially. The biggest hurdles are those internal to one's self. There are several classes available on understand why you think the way you do (landmark seminar is one), millionaire mind is another but it is a conference and there is also a book)
4. Work with people that you love to be around and trust. There are many people in the real estate industry that do not own properties themselves. I found it hard for me to take their advice and then I realized I want to learn from those that are actually doing this stuff. I am a very hand on, roll up my sleeves and get busy person. And so is my team. Vicki and Marya are my core team and I wouldn't be here without them.
5. Play cash flow. You might be asking, "Well, what is cash flow?" Cash flow is a board game that was developed by Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. This game teaches you what happens when you get out of the rat race and into the fast track of financial freedom. It teaches you what an income statement is, and how decisions you make affect the numbers on your financial report card (income statement, and balance sheet). Every time I play cash flow, I learn something different. Playing cash flow has also given me a lot of interesting ideas, one of which is looking to start a small business to generate additional cash flow. Cash flow is also interesting because when you look back at how you played the game, it is an indication into how you are in real life. We have cash flow ever month and I recommend it to everyone.
In my next article, I will talk to what I learned works and what doesn't work in renting out a unit, screening tenants, preparing the unit, etc.Thanks for reading and as my motto goes "Impossible is how you perceive it"!
-Matt Tinney
