April 2014 was a wonderful month in more ways than one.
First, both David and I celebrated our 65th birthdays. Accordingly, effective the first day of the month, we had our health-care coverage switched from our former-employer-sponsored one to that of Medicare. Thanks to Chrysler, who provides a third-party support for retirees, the transition went quite smoothly. From early retirement to switch-over of the responsibility of health care, Chrysler has been handling every step with great care. I am grateful to those who have been responsible for ensuring that retirees’ needs were to be met with dignity and respect.
Second, a decade since my departure from the corporate world to devote full time to our investments, our private-investment company has finally begun generating some revenues in April. Although it took much longer than what I had anticipated, I am proud that we stuck to the original plan and NEVER gave up – even during one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression.
Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, symbolizes someone who became a huge success at a mature age. In fact, according to ColonelSanders.com, he was 65 – my age – when he devoted himself to developing his chicken-franchising business. His real success came less than ten years later. Taking a cue from the Colonel, my goal is to make our investment business salable by 2024. I have a lot of work to do between now and then. I have a hunch that I will continue to enjoy every step of my journey to that destination.
The Colonel’s legacy has been a great source of inspiration to me because of my own age at which I was shocked into having to get my act together in terms of securing steady income when I’m older. Since the market crash of 2000, my biggest goals have remained constant all along. They are to not having to rely on Social Security and pension payments; and be able to pay for medical expenses out of pocket.
When I started on this journey to figure out how to remain financially free and independent, I was a scared-to-death 51-year old. It took me 14 years to get to where I am today in terms of the level of real-estate knowledge and confidence. Finally, I am confident of my ability to remain financially free for the rest of my life – so long as I am mentally and physically able.
When I left Chrysler a decade ago, I never imagined that I would be in the business of wholesaling real estate. Yet, as of this writing, this is my primary focus. With everything that was happening in the economy and how it impacted our financial picture, about a year ago, I began taking wholesaling seriously because I NEEDED to improve our cash flow. Wholesaling is usually recommended highly for those who are just getting into real-estate investing because it enables you to generate cash quickly. It is one of many tools available to us, investors, who choose to remain financially independent through our own efforts.
Just because we begin generating revenues does not immediately translate to securing net profit – although, obviously, that is our goal. As soon as our goal of cash-flow stabilization is completed, we plan to shift our primary focus back to accumulating income-producing properties. A decade ago, when I was just starting out investing in real estate, the buy-and-hold strategy of real-estate investing seemed so easy and straight forward. Today, I know better. I have learned what to do, what not to do, and how to do it right so as to secure a certain return on each investment.
For the sake of cost savings, and because airfares having skyrocketed since Delta took over Northwest, we stopped flying for the most part. Instead, we began driving to and from many of our destinations. This enabled us to visit many places where, ordinarily, we would not have thought to stop by. Whenever we drive down south, usually to Florida to learn more real-estate investing techniques, we make it a point to stop at Corbin, Kentucky, the birthplace of the original KFC. Every time, I get inspired by the Colonel’s entrepreneurial spirit. He is proof that it is never too late to start a new business at any age.
Happy investing!
