It All Starts With “Why?”

Be Intentional

Everyone should seek to gain financial freedom–this is often referred to as “retirement.” Unfortunately, most people are pretty uninvolved and nonchalant in their plan to get there. Instead of unintentionally placing your money in retirement accounts or trying to beat the market , which is the traditional mindset, why not set your financial goal first—determine your financial freedom number and financial milestone purchases (i.e. wedding, house, car, epic vacation, kids’ college, etc.), then work backward to set your investing goals? This is being intentional about your future.

Spend some time doing research on the costs of these milestones, what your financial freedom number is, and take advantage of retirement calculators, net worth worksheets, and other resources to get a clear picture of your individual financial needs. Think in short term goals, long term goals, and include a nest egg or emergency funds in your figures.

The next phase is to research the investment options out there. I’m not a financial planner, but I believe diversification across multiple investment strategies is a great way to mitigate risk to your whole portfolio. Some of the investment vehicles to look into are:

Real Estate
401(k)s
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) IRAs and Roth IRAs
Mutual Funds
529 Plans
Stocks
Life Insurance
Bonds
Annuities
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

This can take some time, but this is YOUR future we are talking about! It is never too early to start, I sure wish I started much earlier.

Real Estate is the Golden Child, and Apartment Syndication is the Unicorn

Real estate is arguably one of the most profitable investments you will find. Every dollar invested in real estate goes to work in more ways than one. Some of the greatest benefits are cash flow, appreciation, tax benefits, leverage, and equity. You can read about the 16 reasons here.

You Don’t Have to Go it Alone, but you do Need to take Responsibility

Taking responsibility for your financial future gives you the power to design it, change it, and adapt as life throws you curve balls. Follow these steps to start your financial freedom journey:

1. Set Investment Goals

Investment goals will enable you to think about the milestones you must meet as you go along the stages of life. Start with your “why,” because it will keep you motivated. Next, determine your financial freedom number, and what your net worth goal is, then reverse-engineer the returns you would need from your investments year by year. Consider compounding interest and compounding investments! You will save less in the beginning, but it will snowball into larger returns as your principal deployed grows. Set your goals and plan to get there, set a budget, and start living out your plan. Make adjustments as you go along, and continue to track your progress (ie. net worth and passive income).

2. Get Educated!

You need to invest some time in your research so you have a background knowledge about your choice investment strategies.  When you have at least a basic knowledge of investing, start looking for mentors or partners who have experience and a track record who can help guide you. The key markers I look for when investing are the operators—the team offering the investment, the market the project is in, and the deal itself. You can do your own market research pretty easily, but a local expert is always nice because some cities may pencil out, but one neighborhood can be the bad exception to a great city. You can learn to underwrite a deal, or you can hire a professional to underwrite on your behalf. I also have a mentor or coach to bounce ideas and deals off of, and that person can change as you progress.

3. Invest!

It is time to find an opportunity and make your move! Select your partner or team carefully, fully vet the market and deal, and start seeing the passive income roll in.

My Favorite Passive Investment Strategy is Apartment Syndication

If you are looking to invest passively with favorable returns in a risk-mitigated asset, I highly recommend learning about apartment syndication. A syndication is when investors pool capital to purchase a larger property that they would not have been able to acquire on their own. This real estate investment strategy has a low barrier of entry, and an investment as low as $25,000 can get you started.

If this investment strategy seems interesting to you and you would like to learn more, join the investor club so we can reach out to you to talk about your individual needs and get you started on the path to financial freedom!

Are you still looking for the best way to attain to the level of financial freedom? There are quite a number of opportunities out there to choose from. But do you want to get there in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of hassle? If so, there is one in particular that you need to know more about.