Plan to not fail.

[phlemboy]

Way to go RookieNYC! You go on wit yer bad self!

[soholingo]

You know it just dawned on my that I am lazy.  I am doing the bare minimum to survive and provide for my family.  To be honest, the more I think about it I am doing little more than rookie-nyc's friend who is fat and happy to stay on the couch.

Case in point:

I bought 5 laptops for $399.  I thought I could sell them for $499 or somewhere from $400 - $500.  Well all I have encountered are scammers and lowballers.  In other words I paid too much for the laptops.  I am now offering them for $395 so that I can get my money back.  I have two bites, one guy wants to buy two, and one guy wants to buy all four but at a discount.  And while I am going to call them, I should have called them by now.

I can only imagine how I would be performing if these were homes.  These are the things that I am coming to realize about myself.  I have been lazy, a slow/poor goal setter and a poor money manager.   The sad thing is I haven't always been this way, and its killing me to figure out why I am like this now.  At anyrate, I am just posting my revalations, nothing has changed other than I know myself a bit better.

Jay

[soholingo]

The other thought is that I could keep the computers and make $500 a weekend by teaching classes on them.  At least that's the vision.  I am a very good instructor, and now I have the machines to teach.  The "work" comes in finding clients, a location and a system to teach.

Thanks for listening...

j

[phlemboy]

Soho,

       If you give a "just enough" effort, you're cheating your family! I say that to myself all the time. Just ask yourself, "Am I doing the best I can to provide for them?" always put forth your best effort and you can hold your head up.Give yourself credit for recognizing your mistakes. What I see you doing is that you're easily distracted from your goals. You need a definititive goal and a plan with measurable results. I'm sure I suggested some good books that will show you some guidelines. aplan will guide you and keep you on track...  IF you keep yourself on course. Buying & selling laptops and/or teaching to recou the money is taking you so far away from your actual goal.. STAY FOCUSED!    Good luck man.

[rookieNYC]

To be honest, the more I think about it I am doing little more than rookie-nyc's friend who is fat and happy to stay on the couch

For what its worth that guy had lunch with me today and begged for his position back (which I gave to him)....

People can say what they want about money but the line that stays in my head is simple...Boiler Room and Wall street

They say money can't buy happiness? Look at the smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby.

Anybody who tells you money is the root of all evil doesn't have any.

Gordon Gekko: Greed is good. 

[Dave T]

You can buy 50 rental units with a positive cash flow of $100 per unit per month.  That gives you $5,000 per month.  Then, you do all the management and maintenance, which will earn you another $100 per unit per month. 

Mike,

Just confirming your numbers.  You are saying that the property cash flows at $200 per month if you self-manage and do the repairs.  Otherwise, outsourcing management and repairs reduces your monthly cash flow to $100.

Do I have it right?

[SignHerePlease]

soholingo, i think too much of your time is wasted analyzing where you're at and where you'd like to be. That stuff is good, however it is the physical act of doing that gets you places. you honestly talk too much. a good credit score and $100k are meaningless if you never go out and buy a place. stop revising your goals and start making some progress!

[phlemboy]

Soho,

        Here is what I suggest:

 1. Get disciplined with you finances. That includes saving money and fixing your credit. Do nothing else except education.
 2. Read " The Millionare Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller and " The ABC's of Real Estate Investing" by Ken McKelroy.
 3. Devise a goal and a plan to achieve it. Those books are good at guiding you to do that.
 4. Assemble a team to accomplish your goal. The books help you do that too.
 5. Start looking for your target properties.
 6. Buy your first property.
 7. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
 8. STAY FOCUSED DANIELSON!!!!

       This is turning into " The Neverending Topic" 

[soholingo]

Just checked my credit score, and its back up to 665, just 5 points off the high I had a few months ago, which means when I pay off these last open items my score will be VERY close to 700.  Thing that pisses me off, is this fiasco will cost me a year and probably 20k in savings...

[soholingo]

Thought I would report an update:

Well I have sold all of the computers I bought as an 'investment' and took  a loss on all of them.  But I feel better now that they are gone. 

I bit of introspection:

I was really on a streak a few months ago, it felt like money was pouring in and I could do no wrong.  Now my situation is only slightly better than it was before I started.  Why is that?  Well I looked at what I was doing back then, and the big key seems to be to have cash.  Not a lot of it, but just enough so that I know I always have that little bit sitting for me.  The bank numbers don't seem to do it for me, and as such when I keep the cash in my pocket low, I don't make any additional money. 

After selling the computers, I kept the cash I received, and rather than have it just 'slip away' like it would have had I put it into the bank, I kept it.  And almost like magic, it has grown.  And the ideas about money are coming back, etc...  So I learned something about myself, and I guess that's worth something.

Everyone is getting paid on time, my 401k is maxed, kids are getting their lessons, and slowly I am able to save some money.

Sometimes you have to sit and wait, and I guess that's what I am doing for now.

j

[Dave T]

How about an internet based business.  You don't need a product to sell, you can market information, or referrals.  Every site I see has Google ads.  I am sure Google pays these site owners every time a visitor clicks on one of the ad links.

Once you set up a site, the site makes money for you while you sleep.

[soholingo]

Anything is open, I have finally realized the RE is just one part of the financial picture.   But to really have that picture come into focus you need cash.  So that's what I am working towards.


jay

[abinvestments]

Anybody who tells you money is the root of all evil doesn't have any.

Actually it's THE LOVE OF money is the root of all evil.  But I feel where you are coming from.