Investing Outside of Wall Street – If I knew then what I know now, I would… (Part 2)

Nine years ago, I used a nearly-identical title as this month’s post. If I knew everything I have learned since when I started on this journey, I would do the following instead:

1. Focus on the passive income instead of earned income. In fact, if you’re following Robert Kiyosaki at all, this is exactly what he does.
   1. Focus on passive income from rental properties. Why?
      1. With passive income, once set up correctly, you don’t need to keep working to get cash flow. The property will generate cash flow for you.
      2. Better tax treatment.
   2. Focus NOT on earned income from wholesaling. Why?
      1. With earned income, the assumption is that you will always be in a condition to be able to keep on working to earn money. The problem is that none of us is invincible. You could get sick and end up being unable to work. Then what? It’s much better to focus on letting the property generate cash flow for you rather than you having to keep on working to create it.
      2. You pay more in taxes.
   3. Avoid paying over a couple-hundred-thousand dollars on training, which is what I ended up doing, albeit over a decade.
      1. When starting out with zero knowledge of real estate investing, as I did, you do need to be trained on what counts the most and how to implement it.
         1. Ignore all sales pitches by gurus on investment-training programs.
            • In fact, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have wasted time or money on any of the professional speakers.
            • A well-known guru, when asked, answered, “Only three percent of professional trainers’ students succeed in real estate.” Let that sink in before you open your wallet.
         2. Again, focus on just one method of investment – to generate positive cash flow through rental properties.
         3. Instead of listening to sales pitches of professional “gurus” and paying for their expensive training programs, seek out someone who owns rental properties LOCALLY who is willing to (1) take you in as an apprentice and (2) share with you proof of a CPA-certified income statement which shows solid positive cash flow for the last couple consecutive years, at least.
         4. Be willing to (1) show your proof of funds to the individual whom you will have chosen and (2) pay him/her liberally – but a fraction of what I had paid to “gurus.” After all, if done right, you are likely to be saving well over $200,000 in training fees. Instead, the majority of your funds should go to cash-flowing properties.

Happy investing!

p.s. A disclaimer: I am neither a financial advisor nor an attorney. The blogs on this website are merely reflections of the experiences I gained over time as an investor. Before you take any investment actions based on information contained within this and/or any future blogs, consult with a Certified Public Accountant; a fee-only, fiduciary-bound Certified Financial Advisor; and/or an attorney who is an expert on the specific investment instrument that you decide to pursue. You are responsible for your own financial destiny.