Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights.
If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics.
This interview took place in July.
My questions are in bold italics and their responses follow in black.
Let’s get started…
OVERVIEW
How old are you (and spouse if applicable, plus how long you’ve been married)?
I am 45 years young and DH is 47.
We’ve been married for 8 years, together for 19 years (Yes, we were still getting to know each other after 10 years of dating), if anyone is doing the math. Haha.
Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?
We have one son who is 6 months old.
I’m an older momma as we encountered fertility issues and the last and final round of IVF was successful.
What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?
We live in the suburbs on the West Coast.
What is your current net worth?
According to Personal Capital, our current net worth is $5.3M, down from its high earlier in the year with the downturn of the market.
Growing up, $1M felt elusive and unattainable. I feel blessed every day and am a firm believer that living in America is the land of opportunity. Anything is possible!
I am a first-generation immigrant who came to the US when I was a toddler from a war-torn country and consider myself lucky that we escaped with our lives and my nuclear family mostly intact. Sadly, others weren’t so lucky.
What are the main assets that make up your net worth (stocks, real estate, business, home, retirement accounts, etc.) and any debt that offsets part of these?
- $4.7M: Rental Properties (10 SFH and 3 duplexes in multiple states)
- $750K: Taxable brokerage accounts
- $888K: Primary residence value
- $450K: 401K
- $219K: Annuities
- $200K: Cash
- $95K: Roth IRA’s
- $50K: Real Estate Syndication
- $20K: iBonds
- $9K: 529 (I don’t count this as it is for our son)
- Liabilities: $1.7M Mortgage Rental Properties and $307K primary residence (2.875% interest rate, we pay our mortgage as if it were a 15-year mortgage but invest the difference), no other debt
EARN
What is your job?
I work in accounting.
DH works for a MegaCorp in a supportive role.
What is your annual income?
Our annual W-2 income is $235K combined.
The rental properties have netted approximately $140K annually depending on expenses. We’ve had to replace numerous A/C units in recent years so that has made a significant dent in returns. The supply chain shortage hasn’t helped the situation.
Tell us about your income performance over time. What was the starting salary of your first job, how did it grow from there (and what you did to make it grow), and where are you now?
I started working as soon as I was legally able to, 15 ½ in my state. My very first job was through my high school career center. I earned $4.25 an hour working at a bank assisting the tellers and anything else the bank needed.
Various other part-time jobs followed throughout college. At one point, I was working three different part-time jobs while taking a full load at university and taking several classes at a local community college so that I can earn enough credits to graduate quicker.
I wish I had the same level of energy I did then. I’m exhausted from working just one full-time job. My first full-time job out of college was for a relatively small firm. I started at $23K a year and felt “rich” because I finally had health insurance. I left that company after seven years.
This job led to better-paying positions as I job hopped every few years to increase my salary.
My husband has been with the same company for over 20 years and has received the standard pay increase of 1-3% every year. He has managed to survive the numerous rounds of lay-offs the company has gone through over the course of his tenure there. He enjoyed the low-stress aspect of the job and did not have any desire to move into a Director role. Our salary is split almost evenly down the middle at roughly $117K each.
What tips do you have for others who want to grow their career-related income?
Hard work is key and also learning as much as you can in your role and outside of your role so that people are forced to come to you for all the answers. This is job security at its finest.
A majority of large salary increases have been a result of job-hopping in my 20s and 30s. Now that I’m in my 40s, I’m not looking to make any significant moves as I am hoping it will be the last years of working before early retirement.
Although I am not very good at it, I’ve found networking to be very important when trying to grow your income. I’ve seen time and time again, that colleagues get recruited to other firms from networking or having worked with someone at a prior company. If you leave a good impression, people will remember you and want to work with you again as they grow their careers.
Find a career you enjoy doing. It will feel less like work if you’re having the time of your life doing it.
What’s your work-life balance look like?
My work-life balance is great. I work the standard full day without any overtime.
My husband is always home for dinner so it is nice to enjoy at least one meal in the day together.
It didn’t use to always be this way. In one particular company I worked for, I started work before sunrise and came home late in the evenings. I was always tied to my phone answering emails even while on vacation. It might have been the height of my career but it cost me dearly. It’s no wonder I had such a hard time getting pregnant and staying pregnant.
Do you have any sources of income besides your career? If so, can you list them, give us a feel for how much you earn with each, and offer some insight into how you developed them?
One of my side hustles is mystery shopping. While it doesn’t pay very much (last year I made $8K), a majority of it is for dining so a lot of free food is involved. I have the opportunity to try some amazing, high-end restaurants that I normally would not go to. It’s worth my time for the many different experiences I get to enjoy on someone else’s dime while also providing feedback on any improvements if needed. There is some overnight hotel stays involved as well. Now if only I can find that exclusive company that mystery shop cruises, I can get on board with that.
The other side hustle would be my rental units. It started organically. We purchased our first two rentals while we were still renting. We had to request a letter from our landlord stating the amount of our rent for our loan. It was a weird conversation as we weren’t in the position to buy in our state.
A lot of the learning process was done through trial and error. Our very first rental was a failure as tenants would repeatedly pack up and leave in the middle of the night (at least that’s what my property manager says). We learned to screen for better tenants and property managers.
We sold that property as it was a money pit. We purchased the property as a foreclosure so got an amazing deal. The last time I checked, it is now worth 4x the amount we purchased it. How’s that for added salt to the wound?
The good thing about this experience is that we didn’t let it deter us. We picked up a few more in a different state and it worked out far better. This went on for several more years as we started collecting enough rent to cover the mandatory 25% down payment for the next rental.
After discovering a hot market, we went full tilt with the remaining 6 units. I think we purchased the last 6 in the previous five years. The values have continued to soar and I believe it’s worth at least double what we paid. Recently, we’ve noticed more and more investors selling their entire portfolios so am contemplating whether that is a good move for us as well.
We also receive about 10K in dividends annually.
SAVE
What is your annual spending?
Our spending has been in the $80-$100K mark for the last several years primarily due to medical/IVF.
We don’t have a budget, I would estimate our spending to be at 50K going forward.
Travel expenses may be replaced with childcare as our son may not fully appreciate traveling until he’s a bit older.
What are the main categories (expenses) this spending breaks into?
- $16000: primary home mortgage (additional $11K invested difference)
- $5900: property taxes
- $2000: insurance car and home
- $6000: food/groceries
- $500: clothes/misc
- $2400: utilities
- $6000: travel
- $50K: medical/IVF
Do you have a budget? If so, how do you implement it?
We do not have a budget. We are both naturally frugal people that we don’t discuss items unless it’s a big purchase, anything over $500.
We each have our own credit cards and pay them off monthly.
What percentage of your gross income do you save and how has that changed over time?
We save about 50% of our income and that was by design.
We purchased our extremely modest home during the Great Recession so bought something we could afford on one person’s salary in case either one of us was laid off or unemployed. That was our safety net.
We were comforted knowing we would still be okay if one of us was out of work for an extended period of time.
What’s your best tip for saving (accumulating) money?
Like many others have mentioned before, separating your direct deposit into a savings account and checking account for everyday spending. If it’s in the savings account, you are less likely to miss it if you don’t see it.
I’ve found setting goals for myself is also helpful. For example, I would like to save $20K for my upcoming wedding or $10K for a nice vacation. It has helped make the small, everyday sacrifices worth it as I know I’m trading instant gratification towards a larger, significant goal. One particular savings account I owned had assigned “buckets” for each goal and family and friends can make contributions towards those goals.
What’s your best tip for spending less money?
Find things on sale and research (but don’t go crazy with the research). I also drop things into my cart and find if I still want them in a week, then I go ahead and purchase them. Sometimes, virtual shopping is all I need to get over retail therapy.
If your favorite restaurant or store has a loyalty program, join it. Why not get free meals out of it if you dine there once a week?
I also tend to search for high-quality items that are lightly used.
Buy once, cry once. With regards to clothing, I stick with classic items and stay away from seasonal trends. I just discovered ThredUp and it has been my latest obsession. I’ve found some amazing deals. When I am done with said clothing, I donate it to a local, non-profit boutique that helps domestic abuse victims get back on their feet or Goodwill. It’s a win-win. Better for the environment as well.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on/your secret splurge?
Travel is by far my secret splurge. In my 20s and 30s, I made it a point to be out of town every few weeks. They were mostly short weekend trips sprinkled with two big trips in the year.
We have hit every country on my bucket list. With a newborn, the travel will be on pause for at least 5 years. We would love to travel with our son when he can fully enjoy the experience.
The other splurge is eating out. We are foodies and love to try all types of food especially while traveling. The mystery shops have helped curtail the spending in this area. I don’t mind spending half an hour writing about my experience and it helps provide valuable information for future customers as well.
INVEST
What is your investment philosophy/plan?
Set it and forget it is our investment philosophy.
Automatic draft into ETF/mutual funds we select.
What has been your best investment?
My husband would be my best investment. I’ve always wanted to own rental properties. When I no longer qualified for investment loans due to my debt-to-income ratio, he jumped on the bandwagon of my dream and helped see it to fruition.
The calculated risk in owning rental properties is my second best investment. While being a landlord comes with its own set of challenges, this piece had helped grow our net worth.
What has been your worst investment?
I’ve made many mistakes but three of them clearly stand out.
I received a hot tip on a tech stock. I purchased 200 shares at 17 dollars and within a month, it became a 10x bagger. $30K is a lot of money, especially for a starving college student. Did I cash in my chips and called it a day? Of course not, because it was going to go to the moon!
It dropped to pennies and was worthless within a year.
One of my many part-time jobs was for a marketing company that sold “As Seen on TV” items and I could see the potential in this one product. I invested $10K and only saw one distribution for a few hundred dollars. All the money I earned while working there was gone with the one investment. I had no clue what I was getting myself into.
The third one would be buying a car I couldn’t afford. It was a tough lesson, especially for an 18-year-old having to juggle car payments, high insurance premiums, and gas/maintenance.
I was quite proud of myself when I officially paid it off and could call it “mine.” I’m glad I made most of my mistakes early on so I had more time to recover from them.
What’s been your overall return?
I would estimate 6-7% is my overall return.
How often do you monitor/review your portfolio?
As much as I hate to admit it, I monitor it several times throughout the day.
I’m not sure why as I don’t generally execute any orders regardless of what is going on in the market. I’m a long-term investor.
NET WORTH
How did you accumulate your net worth?
My husband and I didn’t have much growing up and we do not expect any sort of inheritance. We accumulated our net worth through savings and investing.
As I mentioned above, the savings led to the purchase of one rental property and future rents collected for the one property snowballed into multiple properties.
For a couple of the purchases, we had to obtain hard money loans to secure the deal. We thought the high-interest rates were worth it for a few months while we waited to refinance with a traditional lender.
Ideally, the rental properties would be a replacement for our non-existent pension. It has done well for us so far that it has covered a large portion of our W2 income should we choose to officially hang it up.
What would you say is your greatest strength in the ESI wealth-building model (Earn, Save or Invest) and why would you say it’s tops?
I would say saving has been our greatest strength followed by investing. We are natural savers and it has helped speed up the accumulation of multiple rental properties at a good time in the market.
We have invested in the market as well as taken calculated risks to invest in real estate.
What road bumps did you face along the way to becoming a millionaire and how did you handle them?
I can’t stress this enough, track your net worth! I knew we were frugal and saved a large portion of our earnings but didn’t have a concrete number in my head. One company I worked for was very toxic and I tied my self-worth to this particular job/title. If I can save someone else from this thought process, then it was all worth it! You are more than your job or your title! At the time, I couldn’t fathom the idea of accepting a lower-paying job elsewhere.
The undue stress and toxicity have aged me at least 10 years while I was there. Had I known my net worth or the concept of the 4% withdrawal rule, my future self would’ve thanked me for the fewer wrinkles. I would’ve been just fine being unemployed for a year while I found another role elsewhere. I didn’t trust myself enough to take the leap of faith into the unknown.
The only silver lining in all this is that, I Googled, “living with less” because I knew I would need to tighten the belt and discovered Minimalism, Mr. Money Mustache, Retire Early, and ESI. As they say, the rest is history. Who knew I didn’t have to work until I was 65?
Growing up, I have always struggled with being money “shamed.”
I love how others want to tell you how to spend your money. An example of this is not ordering the most expensive item on the menu, driving around in an old car, and not splurging on luxury purses (things I clearly can afford) and would be reminded of such. Never let anyone deter you from your goals especially if you are at the accumulation phase. Know that all the small habits/sacrifices are towards something much bigger.
If you want to live in a closet (Shout out to Mr. HoboMillionaire), buy used clothes, or drive a 17-year-old Toyota to the ground, so be it. Stay true to your own money values. As hard as it was to go against the grain, I am eternally grateful for these small habits because it has provided me with options. The option to choose numerous rounds of IVF ultimately led me to my son!
Joining the Millionaire Money Mentors has helped me mentally process these road bumps. To me, that is worth its weight in gold. I am amongst my tribe and continuously learning from everyone. I find the older I get, the less I know.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your net worth?
I am struggling with this at the moment. We have discussed whether or not we should hang it up.
As others have mentioned, moving from the accumulation phase to spending will be tough on us. We have worked since we were legally able to at 15 ½ so there is a sense of not “earning our keep.” Are we leaving money on the table?
The other option would be to work for another five years while maxing out our 401K. This would essentially just be the “buffer” to help us feel more secure.
We are working hard to overcome the “golden handcuffs” as we have a few friends that have passed or became disabled (stroke) at a young age and know that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Growing up poor has made it hard to unlearn our frugal nature.
I joke that even if we won the lottery, our lifestyle would remain the same (except maybe for an upgraded house).
We are diligently soaking all knowledge from the MMM forum to help build the roadmap to early retirement.
Millionaire 255’s Escape Plan inspired us to work towards taking “action.”
Do you have a target net worth you are trying to attain?
I do not have a target net worth. It seems like the goal post keeps moving especially with inflation.
A million dollars isn’t what it used to be. I think we would be comfortable FAT fire with 10 million dollars. Although I suspect our frugal nature won’t allow for the spending portion of FAT fire.
How old were you when you made your first million and have you had any significant behavior shifts since then?
We were 35 and 37. We did not make any significant shifts because we didn’t know our actual net worth until 5 years ago.
I had to look further back to figure out the timeline. We are continuously working on shifting from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance. It’s a work in progress. One day at a time.
What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
If I had known about the 4% withdrawal rule, coupled with not having to work until I’m 65, I would’ve maxed out my 401K and Roth IRA every year. It was difficult to see the need to invest in my retirement when it seem so far away.
When you are young, your expenses are lower so the money in the market is working for you. I should’ve been looking at the amount of “time in the market”.
What advice do you have for ESI Money readers on how to become wealthy?
Slow and steady wins the race. ESI is the best path.
Like others have mentioned, buy index funds and forget about it. Just don’t make the same mistake I did by buying Vanguard targeted date funds in a taxable brokerage account. I learned this the hard way when I filed my taxes this year.
Try not to keep up with the Joneses. As Dave Ramsey says, ‘We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.’. The sooner you decide you don’t need to impress others, the better off you’ll be. While I am not perfect and continuously work on this, I find it’s so much better for my mental health. Comparing really is the “thief of joy”. It’s exhausting! Focus on your own journey.
FUTURE
What are your plans for the future regarding lifestyle?
Ideally, we would like to retire in the next five years to pursue other passions (whatever they may be).
I have thrown around the idea of retiring in Thailand or New Zealand but it appears it may be just a pipe dream. I don’t know if I’d want to uproot my son.
Logistically speaking, there’s a lot to unravel and I don’t know if five years is enough time to get all the pieces perfectly in place to make it happen. If that doesn’t work out, we would most likely want to move to LCOL state with a fully paid-off retirement home. We are currently exploring different areas that may be of interest.
What are your retirement plans?
We hope to have rental properties sustain us through retirement whereby we don’t need to draw down on our investments. The primary residence will hopefully be paid off so the only debt we will have is the rentals.
We would like to slow travel and pursue other interests during retirement.
I would like to finally learn how to swim, be a better public speaker and play the piano.
The time will also allow us to focus our efforts on volunteer work.
Are there any issues in retirement that concern you? If so, how are you planning to address them?
Like everyone else, I am worried about health insurance. The gap between early retirement and Medicare will be the most expensive for us.
I’m also concerned about long-term care. I’ve heard so many horror stories that I hope I can avoid that at all costs.
May the good Lord take me out in my sleep when it’s my time. I would hate to be a burden on my son/family.
MISCELLANEOUS
How did you learn about finances and at what age did it “click”?
I learned about finances at an early age. Practically all my parents fought about was money.
Not having enough and how bills were going to get paid. I’ve seen time and time again where friends were not aware they owed back taxes because their husbands filed their taxes and handled the finances. It wasn’t until the IRS came knocking was she made aware.
I have relatives who stay in unhappy relationships because they don’t have the financial means to leave. The ones that did divorce have had a dramatically different financial picture. I have an unhealthy fear of finding myself in any of those situations. I knew I wanted something different for myself. I wanted to have as many options as possible because we all know that life has its twist and turns. I wanted to have the peace of mind knowing I can handle almost any financial situation.
Who inspired you to excel in life? Who are your heroes?
I would have to say my mom is my hero. I’m sure she has witnessed some horrific atrocities of war that she chooses to only share a small glimpse of to shield us from it. To provide us with an opportunity for a better life, my parents immigrated to the US, not knowing the language or what was in store for them, with just the clothes on their backs. I would never want to squander all their sacrifices.
My mom handled all the finances. She taught me from an early age to “always save for a rainy day.” Although we didn’t have much growing up, my mom always made sure we were fed and clothed.
Another person that inspired me was a teacher that I worked with at one of my many part-time jobs. He explained that he owned a dozen properties near the school and that was how he was going to set himself up during retirement (collecting rent). I was fascinated by our talks. He piqued my interest in real estate at an early age.
Do you have any favorite money books you like/recommend? If so, can you share with us your top three and why you like them?
Like many people on the forum, the Millionaire Next Door is my favorite. It’s a tried and true classic. I am all for stealth wealth.
Although not necessarily a financial book, the other one I highly recommend, especially for women is: This Is Not the Life I Ordered by Jan Yanehiro, Michaelene Risley, Deborah Collins Stephens, and Jackie Speier. The one chapter that focused on finances encourages women to be knowledgeable about their finances and to not entrust it entirely to their husbands. An excerpt from the book I found interesting:
“In a world where more and more women hold the purse strings, the following still holds true:
- We are unlikely to have a pension plan, yet we tend to live seven to nine years longer than the men in our lives.
- Fifty percent of us will become widows by the age of fifty-three, and 50 percent of us will divorce in our lifetimes.
- When we divorce, we are five times more likely to live in poverty after retirement than married women.
- For every year that we leave the workforce to care for a child or a parent, it will take us five years to make up the difference in our retirement and pension plans.”
The book is an inspirational read. I wish I had found it five years ago to help me navigate through some of the challenges I was going through.
Do you give to charity? Why or why not? If you do, what percent of time/money do you give?
Although very nominal, I give to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
I can’t stress how important it is for our government to take better care of our veterans through more funding.
I am also working on setting up a DAF for an organization that is close to my heart. I just need to figure out the logistics of how it all works.
The MMM forum has been instrumental in the mental shift to do good for others especially if there isn’t anything I “want” or “need”.
I would also love to give of my time by volunteering as a financial coach. I don’t know if I need more financial literacy in order to do so.
Do you plan to leave an inheritance for your heirs (how do you plan to distribute your wealth at your death)? What are your reasons behind this plan?
I plan to leave everything to my son but am cautious at the same time. I would like to give him the benefit of “the struggle” as I don’t want him to be “entitled”.
Hopefully, I will instill some good values in him so that he will be a good steward of the inheritance. Time will tell. Being an older mom, I will probably give him a majority of it while we are still alive and he can make better use of it (i.e. college tuition, down payment on a house, wedding, etc.)
ol70 says
Congrats on your great success! Just a thought, since you already have more money than you’ll ever spend, on of the greatest things I’ve found being wealthy can provide is having one parent stay at home to raise your new son instead of dropping him off in daycare to be raised by strangers and doesn’t get a parents love all day. Could be either of you, but your W2 income isn’t great enough where this would even impact your lifestyle one bit. But I guarantee having the memories of seeing his first walk, first words, and being there for him will far outweigh any dollars you earn that you don’t even need. Your son will also appreciate having a parent raising him at home vs. a slightly larger inheritance.
Anyway just a thought, congrats again on building such amazing wealth, don’t be afraid to use it to by your family the stuff that really matters like time together.
MI344 says
Thank you for the advice. Yes, we are processing how to be more involved with our son and calling it quits with our w-2 jobs. It’s all a mental shift that we just have to work through.
Mr. Hobo Millionaire says
Closets? Shhhhh… you have to join MMM to know my closet story. Haha!
Heidi says
I have looked up this book & am considering purchasing!
MI344 says
It’s one of the few books I read over and over again when I feel the need for some inspiration. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Tom from MD says
This story should be required reading if you only choose a dozen or so of the Millionaire Interviews to read. What a wonderful job you did of explaining not just the “how to” of wealth accumulation, but also the underlying currents of pleasure/guilt/childhood issues that make each story unique.
Congratulations on your son – that is the greatest gift of all! I look forward to seeing you on the MMM!
MI101 says
Enjoyed reading your interview. Appreciate they might be a pipe dream but what drives thoughts on retiring in Thailand or New Zealand? They are quite different options and lifestyle choices. Can’t comment on Thailand but no complaints about retirement in New Zealand. I of course may be slightly biased as I have lived here all my life😊
MI344 says
I absolutely love New Zealand! I know it is drastically different from Thailand. I follow a couple of bloggers that retired in Thailand and it seems like a good place to retire to stretch the dollar. If I had a choice for city life, I would choose New Zealand. I don’t know how visa friendly they are for expats.
MI101 says
The visa situation is constantly changing since COVID 19. At the moment its relatively easy to get a work visa which can then lead to residency. Like many countries there is a labor shortage so recently the government has created a straight to residence visa for a wide range of occupations on top of the usual skilled migrant visa. Normally you would have a 2-year period before you could apply for residency but with the straight to residence visa that waiting period is waived. If you qualify for that Visa, then you can bring partner and any children under 24
MI344 says
Thank you for sharing! I may have to PM you to get more details. Love New Zealand!
Jane says
Great interview, felt like I was reading mine, so many similarities….congratulations, you have enough, stay home for awhile and enjoy your son. You can always go back. I had to work to 58 and retired with a much lower networth while raising 4 kids. I don’t remember much because I missed so much working so hard, long hours and lots of travel. Perhaps do you need to be in a home worth so much? Could you downsize, downsize tax payments, utilities etc so you feel more comfortable with the idea of retiring? You could always do some consulting on the side? Could you sell a few rentals and pay off the others so they just produce and replace your income? We had 3 rentals and paid them all off so we felt 100% safe if one were to be empty for a few months etc.
One big challenge for me was as a saver its hard to become a spender – if you are like me you won’t need all that $ especially if you only spend $50k per year…
JP says
Admittedly I’m not where you are, but if I was in your shoes, I’d sell $2m of your rental properties and pay off all debts. Then you’d be living on $30-40k with well above that in rental income. That may make banishing scarcity mindset easier?
Bev says
This is one of the best interviews I’ve read. Thanks for sharing.
Everyone will have lots of advice for you regarding your son. Just be polite and listen. You have great balance and perspective.
MI-94 says
Great interview. A few comments questions:
Congrats on the new baby – that is great! Enjoy
Impressive on the number of rental properties – well done!
Love your low spending lifestyle and frugality. I can relate.
Definitely learn to swim – A whole new thing to do. You are in CA, this is a must.
Your side hustle of mystery shopping – how do I get in on this? I am a foodie/former waiter. I already eat out a lot – would love to find out how to do this.
What is your name on MMM? Will look for you there!
Financial Fives says
What a great story! You make it seem so approachable and write very logically.
How did you evaluate which rental properties to buy? Do you use a property manager? You mentioned not having 20% saved up initially. I’m wondering if it’s worth getting in at today’s crazy prices.
You also make mystery shopping sound fun! What’s been your go-to service to work with?
MI344 says
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words, especially coming from someone who blogs about finance.
The first four properties we bought were foreclosures so we got amazing deals on them. The downside was the interest rates were higher at that time. We were lucky in the sense that interest rates came down and lending practices were a little more flexible on subsequent rentals. Our rule is it has to positive cash flow with the mandatory 25% down from day one or we don’t buy it. Also, we were looking in areas that would have a good amount of appreciation as well. Yes, we do use property managers. This is probably the toughest thing about being a landlord and you live thousands of miles away from your properties. I’ve had lots of epic fails with property managers even with a lot of screening, there’s things you won’t find out until it’s too late. The headaches make me want to through in the towel sometimes but overall, I think it’s still a good long-term investment.
With regards to mystery shopping, you can check out. I’ve worked for several of the companies listed.
https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money/best-mystery-shopping-companies-to-work/
MI 343 says
I love your comment, “If you leave a good impression, people will remember you and want to work with you again as they grow their careers.” I also found this to be true during my career and even now in retirement as a volunteer and mentor.