I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with money for most of my life. My immediate family was certainly not wealthy when I was growing up, but we had three adults earning money and no house payment, so things were never particularly dire. Unfortunately, as an only child and living with very doting grandparents, I was also catered to far beyond all reason. I recognize that it was done purely out of love, but in many ways being so spoiled set me back in life and I’ve had to teach myself moderation and self-control. My success in this area has been middling at best.
My financial situation these days is far from ideal, but I also recognize that I’m in a position that the vast majority of the world would envy. Regardless, I am not content with things and I greatly desire improvement. The size of my annual income isn’t really the issue, it’s the amount of time I must dedicate to earn it and the lack of opportunities to increase my salary. Thus I’m faced with the conclusion that I need to grow the number of income streams since I have little control over the size of my primary stream.
I’ve mentioned my goal for financial independence in previous posts. This is often misconstrued by people as a desire to not work. Anyone who knows me well is aware that I am really bad when it comes to idleness. Leisure quickly loses all meaning for me when there’s no work to contrast it against. I’m on the quest for stability: so that if I ever become unable to work due to mental or physical impairment there will still be money flowing in to pay the bills. I also don’t have any children to care for me when I get older, so I need to plant the seeds now to ensure I have those needs met.
My primary focus for alternative income sources has been real estate. I’ve spent the last two years reading and researching all the various ways one can both build a business and build wealth via real estate. My biggest weakness in this regard is networking. I’m certainly capable of establishing professional relationships with people, but it’s very far from my best skill. What I’m great at is designing systems, analyzing data, and delegating tasks. Ideally, I will find other people to shore up my deficits in order to make this a viable option.
My vision is having one section of the business market for distressed properties, fixing and flipping the most profitable ones, wholesaling the ones that don’t fit the previous criteria, and occasionally choosing some to incorporate into a rental portfolio that is managed by a separate section of the business. Regarding scale, while I am certainly not afraid to let this grow, my initial goal would be for it to cover my debt payments, pay for my benefits, and match my current net salary on top of that.
There is a related area of potential income I’d like to pursue, though I readily admit that it’s mostly something I want to do for myself. The University of Houston has a graduate degree in mathematics designed specifically for individuals who want to teach at the post-secondary level. I would love the chance to teach entry level college math classes again. It’s not a stable career path, but as a part-time income stream and something I find personally fulfilling, I think it’s worth pursuing.
There are so many things I say I enjoy doing but never get around to because I’m generally too exhausted during the school year and often grappling with existential dread during the summer. I’d desperately like to change this. I envision a future where I have a small real estate business that is capable of mostly running itself, at least in the day-to-day operations. I’d ideally teach a few college courses per semester and tutor students in my spare time. This would give me the flexibility to travel, exercise, and tend to my mental health.
