Jul 24, 2017

If you really want to get ahead in this world, you have to own real estate, and it all starts with planning.

I read a statistic the other day that said people spend more time planning their vacations than they do planning their retirement, laying out their goals and parameters, and generally just living the lives they want to live. A half hour later, I heard a radio story about how wealthy people have similar traits in how they live their lives.

What does one have to do with the other?

Making money is not the end-all, be-all—but if you have money, it takes away a lot of stress in your life and gives you the freedom to do what you want. What are some of the traits wealthy people have? There are four that stand out:

1. They’re constantly learning. Whether it’s reading books or watching Youtube videos, they’re constantly learning. When you’re constantly learning, you’re always growing.

2. They exercise daily —not just in a physical sense, but in a mental sense as well. They’re developing ideas that lead to businesses. They know how to win. It’s easy to get addicted to winning. Many wealthy people played competitive sports all throughout high school and college, and this allowed them to learn how to win.

3. They’re planners. They plan their lives, their investments, and retirements. You can control all these variables, but how much do you plan for them? Did you spend more time planning your vacation than living the life you want to live?

I’m not a vacation guy, and I don’t spend a lot of time planning my vacations. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the world, but my trips are usually pre-planned where all I have to do is write a check and show up.

Here’s my point about planning, though. Before the Internet came along, the No. 1 creator of wealth was real estate. If you really want to get ahead in this world, you have to own real estate. You need to own the home you’re living in instead of rent it. Owning is a default investment that will make you wealthy.

“BEFORE THE INTERNET CAME ALONG, THE NO. 1 CREATOR OF WEALTH WAS REAL ESTATE.”

If you do own your own home, your next step is to buy an investment property. I’m not the smartest guy in the room, but the multi-millionaires I know all made their money in real estate. It wasn’t with stocks or some crazy, complex algorithm. It was by doing something simple like buying a multi-family property, taking care of it, renting it, and enjoying the tax benefits and cash flow it provided every single year. At the end of 15 or 30 years, you have a tremendous asset that has paid for itself.

Think about what you want in life and how you will plan for it. If you decide that buying real estate is a part of that plan, I’d love to sit down with you and show you how it can make you wealthy.

If you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you.