Now allow me to walk you through my own personal financial journey. Approximately 25 years ago I became keenly interested in all things financial, especially with the various methods and techniques that everyday people could use to achieve financial freedom. The idea of financial freedom does not necessarily mean retiring early. Instead, it is the concept of having accumulated sufficient financial resources to pay for one’s day to day expenses, without having to depend on employment to keep one’s current way of living. One of the primary methods to accomplish this is to have passive income. Passive income is money that comes in regularly from sources other than an employer. These sources can be real estate, dividends, or even interest paid on one’s savings.
The idea of financial freedom motivated me to read every book I could find on the subject and to stay keenly aware of the financial news. I also began interviewing people who had achieved financial freedom to glean what I could from their experiences, challenges, successes, and failures. The learning curve I experienced was quite sharp, and it was fraught with many perils that had a costly impact on my financial health along the way. These financial missteps were painful, but they turned out to be great learning opportunities for my own personal financial growth. I have branched out into a broad range of financial opportunities, which mitigated the losses I experienced through many of my endeavors.
For me, investing began with day trading the small amount of cash I was able to put away each month into a Roth IRA. Over time, my day trading evolved into investing into securities with more of a holding strategy. This has allowed me to minimize the tax burden somewhat, as long-term gains have a favorable tax rate compared to short-term gains, which are taxed at your normal tax rate. Whenever possible it’s beneficial to harvest your gains after a calendar year of buying into the investment. Through my years of stock investing, positional trading has become my preferred strategy. I enjoy doing in-depth research on companies and watching their products come to market.
While continuing to enjoy positional trading, I kept searching for different and innovative ways to create wealth. I explored commodities trading, invested in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), and I even looked heavily at the Forex market (currency trading) and its inner workings. Simultaneously, I began investing into residential real estate that I could rent out to tenants. I’ve had both single family homes and apartment buildings. Each of these rental types had their own set of challenges, but both were profitable. I have never utilized the services of a property management company, but I see no problem in doing so if your profit margins allow for it. Based on my personality and my own personal preferences I have moved away from the residential arena and have moved into commercial real estate. I have found that the NNN (triple net) commercial market is the most fitting for my goals. Of the landlord-based real estate investment strategies, NNN properties require the lowest daily time commitment. The time saved has provided some freedoms, allowing me to continue exploring the investment world.
My search did not stop with real estate and stocks, as I wanted a broad understanding of the entire financial world. I have started and run several businesses, including a non-profit. There are additional businesses I look forward to starting when the time is right. I continue to do positional trading, as it reminds me of panning for gold. I have also invested in bitcoin miners and have taken small positions in crypto and meme coins (virtual currency). I have even looked into investing in NFTs, rental property in the metaverse, and other promising investment opportunities that are still in their infancy. I enjoy learning about and discussing all things financial.
Leave a Reply