To Quit Or Not To Quit ? (my J-o-b)
I am 23 years old and currently working full time pulling about 60k/yr.
I have enough saved up to continue my way of life for 1 year. Have over 10k in capital.
Have 1 rental property which cash flows $300/mo. on SEC 8.
Have a strong desire to pursue REI full time and escape the rat race.
I have been off work for the past 3 weeks on VAC and it has got me SERIOUSLY thinking about this:
Take 1 year off from working & say good-bye to steady paycheck of 60k/year.
Spend 40 hrs a week working on REI instead of my JOB.
My goal for year 1: make atleast 60k in 1 year to make up for my lost income from JOB.
Also, I want to pursue other business ideas (small businesses etc.)
Worst case scenario: I quit my job & loose steady income. Bills keep piling. 1 year later, I have no $$ left .
however, I will be only 24 with 4+ years experience in the IT industry and I can always get a job, right ?
My parents are so far against my idea.
What do you all think ??
To have a job or not have a job?? This gets asked all the time on here and unfortunatly no one can give you a good answer on here. A big thing you will be giving up, should you decide to quit, is JOB SECURITY. The middle class thrives on this.
If you are comfortable going to sleep at night knowing that you have bills to pay and no money, then this might be a decent idea. If you'll lie awake at night, you don't have the emotional buildup for this.
I jumped into this full time, but frankly I have never had an actual JOB. I started a computer conulting company when I was 14 years old and have been self employed since. I have no kids and no wife, so my risky decisions only effect me.
Sorry we can't be anymore help but this is really a personal decision.
I have a similar dilemma. Except, I'm making over 80K in my light 9-5 job (don't you just love IT?), I'm 30 and have 2 small children. I'm able to do some research from work, even attend auctions during work time. My work is flexible and right now there isn't much going on - so I'm able to get other stuff done. I've been working hard for the past 3 months on finding foreclosures that are worth while. The problem is that when something decent comes up, it's snatched quickly (how do they do it? Maybe that's why you need to quit your job to dedicate yourself fully to this business). I decided to concentrate on auctions because I'm kind of emotional and get very upset with people's circumstances, so I'd rather skip the door-to door approach, which limits my opportunities. I can't afford to quit my job, because in 3 months I made no deals.
4 yrs in IT isn't much. If you're out of the field for a year +, it's very hard to get back in. I'd probably wait until I got at least a couple of deals behind my belt and then quit.
I don't think it takes an expert to answer this one....if so don't listen to me.....
I think you should stick with your job until you get comfortable with investing. It may take only a few days, months . I dont know....
but i dont think you should leave your job and worst case scenerio happens, then you'll have to start from point "A " again.
I would love to get to the point to where I could quit my job, escape the rat race of life, and become financially free... My hesitation rests in the fact that when you don't have a "job" and you are self employed - its hard to get conventional mortgages... A lot of people do it - but you need to have a plan on how to acquire real estate without doing it conventionally... It can be done!
Good Luck!
[addsig]
Thanks for all the replies. all Good points.
As for bills, I currently live with parents and all my bills for 1 year should be covered by my savings AND i do have a part time job pulling in $500/month, which I WILL keep during the 1 year I am pursuing REI.
Also, I am single, no kids - so my expenses are very low.
I just think that when I go back to work - I will get back in that corporate routine and forget about REI or tell myself I dont have enought time etc.
I feel like I just want to give myself a chance and give this REI thing my best shot for 1 year.
I think doing it full-time instead of part-time could make a world of a difference in doing deals.
I still need to think about this more - but the more I think about it, the more I REALLY want to take OFF 1 year.
That thought that I will have free time to do what I want, when I want - and also the ability to pursue business ideas 24/7 sounds very good right now...
Be careful! I was 23 making 50k in IT and decided that REI was the way for me. I quit my job, REI worked fine for a while however I hit rough times in a bad market with some bad decisions and now I'm 27, filling out applications for hourly work. 4 years have flown by and I am no longer a candidate in the hot IT market, and my properties won't sell.
Look, you're 23 and single not 30 with 2 kids.
This is going to come down to a single issue. Do you have the discipline to make yourself go to work every day when no-body else says you have to. If you do, keep yourself focused on your goals and actually work at it something like 50 or 60 hours a week you'll do fine. Even if you don't do enough deals to replace your 60K you will have learned a lot. You will go back into the job market more employable than when you left.
If on the other hand you treat it as a year of freedom then the odds are you will go back to the job market less employable.
The other consideration, however is that you seem to be sitting on $70,000 (one years $60,000 sallary plus $10,000 to invest) I'd consider hanging in there for 90 days, doing a deal with the $70,000 that will give you more postive cash flow and then quiting the job.
The other thing to consider is reducing your lifestyle to stretch the $60,000 either into more time or mor investment.
A lot of companies have a 3-mos leave without pay policy. That way you'll be guaranteed a job should you decide to come back in 3 mos. Plus, you can learn a whole lot of doing RE full time for 3 mos.
I know exactly how you feel. I am chomping at the bit to get out of my job and into REI full time. Some things that I considered. One is the mortgage thing. I figure I am going to need at least 2 yrs of tax returns on that front which depressed me a little at first until I considered this option. One of the things that I hate about doing REI and having a job is the the time it takes to manage the properties. I decided to take a bit of a cut in my profit and have my proerties managed by an outside company. That actually leaves me more time to aquire new properties yet spend time with the family. When I got full time I will retake management of my properties and increase my cash flow. At the same time I am taking the money I am making from REI and socking it away as a buffer for when I do quit. My goal is to have 2 yrs worth of salary put away as an emergency fund
[addsig]
This sounds like one of them "Damn, I don't want to go back to work viruses." to me. If you've not made any effort to do any investing while you're working, what makes you think you'll do it when you're not working? I mean, if you don't have the discipline to spend long days/weeks working at REI, in addition to having a job, then what makes you think that you'll have the discipline to get up at 8:00 am, and go to work at REI? If, on the other hand, you've made a deal or two, made some cash at REI, and know you can actually DO it, and not just THINK you can, then that's different, and you're at the perfect time in your life to give it a solid try.
Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do!
commercial -
sorry if i misled, but I currently make 60k/year NOT have 60k in capital.
I have close to 20k in capital - 10k of which is liquid cash useable to pay bills.
I have no doubt that I will succeed in this biz as long as I give it my best shot.
Quote:
On 2004-08-24 14:42, commercialking wrote:
Look, you're 23 and single not 30 with 2 kids.
This is going to come down to a single issue. Do you have the discipline to make yourself go to work every day when no-body else says you have to. If you do, keep yourself focused on your goals and actually work at it something like 50 or 60 hours a week you'll do fine. Even if you don't do enough deals to replace your 60K you will have learned a lot. You will go back into the job market more employable than when you left.
If on the other hand you treat it as a year of freedom then the odds are you will go back to the job market less employable.
The other consideration, however is that you seem to be sitting on $70,000 (one years $60,000 sallary plus $10,000 to invest) I'd consider hanging in there for 90 days, doing a deal with the $70,000 that will give you more postive cash flow and then quiting the job.
The other thing to consider is reducing your lifestyle to stretch the $60,000 either into more time or mor investment.
I am going to check into this - but I don't see how my dept. would go for 3 mos. without them hiring a replacement for me!
Quote:
On 2004-08-24 14:58, jenland wrote:
A lot of companies have a 3-mos leave without pay policy. That way you'll be guaranteed a job should you decide to come back in 3 mos. Plus, you can learn a whole lot of doing RE full time for 3 mos.
I have actually been into REI for over 1 year ( part time) now.
I had setup 1 flip - collected $500 as earnest money deposit. my rehab buyer backed out 1 day b4 closing - profit would have been a quick $4,000 !
I also purchased a REO for 100k in FEB, 04...currently worth about 145k - house is only 3 years old.
I have Ron LeGrands course along with numerous books on REI
And you are somewhat correct - I am feeling that my job is somewhat DEAD END and no oppourtunity for promotion - I am ambitious and need an environment to achieve results!
Consensus here seems to be that I should work for another 3 months or so and do deals part time?
Well - the whole point for me quitting is so that I can concentrate full efforts on REI.... so, it sort of leaves me where I began 1 year ago
still thinking... thanks for the feedback everyone
Quote:
On 2004-08-24 15:23, jam200 wrote:
This sounds like one of them "Damn, I don't want to go back to work viruses." to me. If you've not made any effort to do any investing while you're working, what makes you think you'll do it when you're not working? I mean, if you don't have the discipline to spend long days/weeks working at REI, in addition to having a job, then what makes you think that you'll have the discipline to get up at 8:00 am, and go to work at REI? If, on the other hand, you've made a deal or two, made some cash at REI, and know you can actually DO it, and not just THINK you can, then that's different, and you're at the perfect time in your life to give it a solid try.
Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do!
Hey,
Have you really thought about the bills? $10k goes pretty quick. Health Insurance alone will eat a big chunk of that.
I vote you keep the job. If you really can live a year on 10k that means you would have 60k to fund your deals after 1 more year of work. 110k after 2 years etc.
10k is really very little money to decide to become a full time REI with. I know everyone is big on the creative aspects and doing deals with nothing but having some cash opens alot of doors. I suppose if you pump long enough at a dry water pump you might eventually get water, but it's a lot easier if you have some water to prime the pump with.
Take a look around this board, it's loaded with people who want to do the same thing, it's not an easy racket and with the publicity lower rates/higher prices has caused there are a ton of new people trying thier hand at it, lots of competition these days.
Work your job, do REI on the side until it's actually making you the money you need. 4 years ago everyone wanted to quit thier jobs and be day traders, that fad faded pretty quickly. This too shall pass.
I’m not in realistate I don’t know what IT is if it is a 60k a year job im shore some body else would love to get your position with 3 weeks vacation and benefits that your not going to get on your own .
I work hade running a small lawnmower shop I have 8 employees and sell over 1.5 mil per year I own 2 houses and my store and I’ll tell you some days I wish I just had a job like you do that it did not madder at the end of the day. Some days I wonder if I’m going to make payroll.
I would keep your job and work hard at realistate part time if you get that steady paycheck and benefits you don’t have to worry. You have the nights and weekends for RSI you won’t them both you’ll just have to work hard at it then in the future you’ll have your 401k plan and retirement think about it real hard first and fit it in .
If you read Ron LeGrand he says "If you can't make it in real estate part-time, you won't make it full-time"
I am in the same dilemna as you and suprise, I'm in the IT industry as well. I have more than 20 units now that I've put together the deals part-time but I'm forcing myself to stick to my job until my cashflow can support my bills, then go fulltime and spend more time on finding deals.
Of course, action breeds action, nothing like shooting first, then aiming. Depends on the type of person you are.
GL
[addsig]
Hey pj94z,
You already have 1 rental with a positive cash flow, were you working when that deal came along? If so, why not do it again.
Remember, 'experience is what you get when you don't get what you want' and I'm reasonably sure that's the way it's happened for all of us here.
Good Luck,
MDH
Other ideas to consider:
See if they'll let you work 4 10's or cut back on your hours (say 30 hours per week). Spend another 20 hours a week learning and doing real estate.
Once you've done a deal or two and made some money the decision will be easy.
You have 10k set aside for future bills. But how much do you have set aside for actually investing in RE. I know this forum is "creative" type investing but it always helps to have some cash on hand.
Quit your job and go full time, absolutely. For me, the worst case would be looking back and regreting not trying.
The real question is timing. Should you quit now, three months, year, ten years? I was 36 when I went full time. If I had had the maturity, experience, and discipline that I had at 36 I would be super wealthy now. Looking back, at 23 I did not have what it takes to be successful. Some people do at a young age. You have to be very honest with yourself to determine if you are one of them.
BTW, $10k is nothing. You will need a minimum of one year living expenses and business overhead to have a chance.
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread. I too am an IT guy who would like to bust out and do this full time. But for now I've decided to stick to my day job and work REI on the side (late at night) for as long as I can. I know another guy who is in IT doing the same thing. He's been going strong for less than a year, and he's netted over $250K flipping. His goal was to get like $300K in the bank from REI before he quits his day job.
This thread also reminds me of a post I read on another messageboard sponsored by a local REI club. The subject read:
"All fat-cat millionare RE investors: Reply Here".
The poster was looking for folks who had made it big and would be willing to share their stories. I was amused at the brashness of the request, but of course watched the replies carefully because I was as curious to see the responses as the next guy.
Most respondents indicated that if they had really made millions, they would not be on the message boards all day long.
I'm wondering what kind of response a similar post would draw on this more annonymous, nationwide, highly-traffic'd board? :-?
All, Just FYI:
I have finally decided that I will continue to work and work my butt off on my free time/weekends to build the REI business + some other business ideas I want to pursue.
In rich dad poor dad, robert kiyosaki states several times to "keep the day job but mind your own business and continue building your assets" -
So, for now, I will work UNTIL I have enough assets built up to pay my expenses. My goal for this is 6-9 months.
Thanks for all the replies - you all were very helpful in making this decision!
BEWARE!
WEBUYHOUSESFORCASH is a criminal organization run by Jeff Adams and Robert Kamens in Southern California that preys upon people interested in Real Estate Investment. If given half the chance, they will attempt to;
1)Steal money from you by trying to get you to sign up for bogus "services"
2)Extract private financial information from your computer for Identity Theft purposes.
:-x
Everybody wants to quit the Rat Race and pursue other interests/hobbies especially if the hobby generates money. They look at icons like Donald Trump or even your local real estate millionaire and think they can be like that too. But the sad part of this is that only a few succeed. To really succeed in real estate and to quit the rat race, you should be a second generation real estate investor. ie.. you Father should have done this and saved up a lot of Capital and experience for you to successfully continue. If not, at best you can do it part time and save up the capital for your kids to do it full time. BE REALISTIC..a small misfortune or a small life change event can throw you totally off and you will be back in the job hunt. Continue to do it part time untill it draws you into fulltime. It should choose you rather than you choosing it. For now, it looks like you want to quit your job just to quit the rat race instead of actually expanding your real-estate empire. If you quit now, you will waste your precious time. Your time will be wasted because of your limitation in capital. Make Half million dollars in Capital using your Parttime and then QUIT for fulltime. The you will succeed.
I have 130K capital and still haven't quit my 65K IT job. I am waiting for my 500K goal and then I will quit. I am 29 years old.
Good luck,
Zack
They're so many variable, but here is my opinion....
Stay at your job. Your making good money for your age. And your living with your parents. Take advatage of that.
Take the 10k and invest it. Bring in more steady cash flow. Until you reach about what you'd need to live on with part-time job income. Keep you part-time job, quit your main job. REI full-time until you make enough to compensate the part-time job. Quit.. Bam, your living your life finically free.
tzachari,
That is a bunch of crap! You do not have to 2nd generation anything to be successful.
Being young (23) and having limited capital can be a hurdle. But, if you have the right mind set you can make it work. At 23 you do have a big advantage that you may never have again, you have no dependents, no responsibilities and a lower standard of living.
In my previous post I stated that I was not ready at 23 and did not quit my job until I was 36. However, I was ready by age 30 and it is a huge regret that did not start then.
if you have to ask your not secure enough to not have the job. if you were there would be no question.....when its time you will know......and will not have to ask anyone........km