For most of us who used to work for corporations, the common sources of retirement income – Social Security and pension – are both under-funded. Decisions related to these fixed-income sources are being made by those whom we, recipients, do not know personally – much like those on Wall Street who enabled the losses of $2 trillion of retiree funds to disappear into thin air during the market crash of 2008 alone.
In my case, losses in 2008 – in absolute terms – were relatively minimal as compared to those in 2000, simply because the financial assets in my 401(k) had already dwindled to less than a third of what I used to have. The clear message was that the only person that truly cares about my financial wellbeing is myself. When this realization hit during the 2000 market crash, I was already 51 years old, fast approaching retirement age. Like millions of others, I was thrown into the rapidly moving funnel of the mixture of the old motto (“save for retirement in 401(k) via Wall Street”) and the new mantra (“you’d better understand every aspect of investment yourself”). As a full-time W-2 earner at the time, I wondered in dismay, “Who has the time and the know-how?”
In the macro-financial chaos in which I found myself, the best I could think of was to secure rental revenues. Simple, right? Well, not quite. As compared to the old system where all I had to do was to have a portion of my pay automatically allocated monthly into 401(k) to secure (?) long-term retirement funds, the work related to rental properties turned out to be far more involved.
Then I thought that all I had to do was to work with someone who was already making money in real estate. Shortly thereafter, at a REIA event, such an opportunity came from a nationally known, local “investor,” who was organizing a buying tour in a southern state. I naively thought that this was the ticket to buying all the rental properties I needed for retirement. To make a long story short, she did not teach us anything to help us make wise investment decisions. Worse, what she did was criminal – taking money from vulnerable “wanna-be investors” without regard to the consequences of her actions. She was sued by other investors who were in the same predicament as I was. As livid as I was, however, I chose to move on without wasting another minute related to her activities. My thoughts were that, regardless of what had happened, ultimately, I was responsible for my ignorance and consequent losses that I had sustained. Gulp…
Fast forward to today: This time, I’m working with a real-estate coach with whom I intend to work until my objectives are met. He is someone whose name I had heard before but did not know personally until May 2021.
I told him my goal upfront: i.e., to accumulate an additional 20, CASH-FLOWING rental properties by no later than the end of 2024 – so that I can truly retire and move on to the next phase of my life without having to worry about whatever may happen to my monthly fixed-income sources.
Unlike many other coaches I’ve had, he is hands-on. Not only does he teach concepts and techniques but makes himself readily available to answer any questions. The difference between him and any of the other coaches with whom I have worked is that everything he does shows that he truly cares about his students’ success.
The identity of my current coach will remain anonymous until such time when my specific goal will have been achieved. Let’s suffice it to say that I chose to work with him because he teaches exactly what I was looking for, i.e., how to analyze properties before buying – to make sure that every single property that we decide to buy will cash flow from Day 1. In hindsight, this is such an obvious goal. Yet, all these years, I did not think to focus on this single most important element – until I lost over $1 million in assets through a short sale. The price of ignorance is huge. Throwing money at the problem without understanding the fundamentals of investing in real estate can ruin your retirement, as it nearly did mine.
Enough about the past. From time to time, I will likely post here as to how I am doing toward my goal. With all other experiences I have gained along the way during the last 15 years, including having become my own broker, I expect to have no excuse not to succeed this time. When my current goal is achieved, my coach’s name will be revealed.
Happy investing!
p.s. By the way, unlike my other fixed retirement incomes, rental revenues will keep pace with inflation.
