You will not like this article because it will be a truth pill. I can’t sugarcoat the situation any longer—homeownership for the average person is out of reach. It’s over.
Only those people who go above and beyond will be able to afford homes and live the American dream. Let’s be clear; this is also happening across the entire world.
Even if you own a home, you need to know how to TAP your home equity to buy properties for your children. In 20 years, everyone will be out of luck.
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What do you mean by “above and beyond?” You cannot become a standard human being that wakes up, goes to work, and watches Netflix all weekend. If that is you, prepare for a lifetime of in-debt-ured servitude.
Even scarier is that you will also destine your children to the same fate unless they work three times as hard as you. My wife and I are playing catch-up now so that our children have a fighting chance in life.
We own three houses (bought in 2008, 2017, 2020), and our net worth increases daily. I am not a fan of net worth calculations, but we bring in a lot of passive income from these homes.
We went above and beyond. We were upside-down on our first home in 2008 for over 14 years. Everyone said, “being a landlord sucks,” and “I don’t want to get phone calls in the middle of the night.”
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Yes, being a landlord does suck, but being rich doesn’t. The people who avoided homeownership are struggling hard today. I see Marines who are retiring and don’t own a home. Their entire retirement check will go towards rent because they didn’t buy it ten years ago.
My wife and I sacrificed some of our comfort for the future. We are sitting pretty and growing our income every year, while others are far behind the power curve.
Decision time. So, how do you want to position yourself? Do you want to be comfortable now, between the ages of 20 and 40? Or do you want to be rich, happy, successful, and a family leader from age 50 and older?
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As a 41-year-old person who takes life very seriously, 95% of people want to be comfortable today. They don’t want to do what it takes to provide comfort for themselves, their spouse, kids, and grandkids.
For the remaining five percent, let’s get to work. Here is a five-step blueprint on catching up in life, buying a home, and continuing to build wealth.
- Stay out of student loan debt
- Get a great job
- Start a home business or become a content creator (part-time)
- Save for a down payment and buy a home
- Rent rooms or house hack to freedom
1) Stay out of student loan debt. I know that this article may find you after you incurred some student loans, but it’ll be okay. You need to pay off student loans immediately.
If that means you need to live with your parents or have roommates until you pay off your loans, then that’s the action you need to take. No more dating, eating out, or Netflix—we have more important things to do with our time.
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If you don’t have student loans, but need college, read the book “Debt-Free Degree.” Also, you have the option of joining the military. The military offers probably the best way to get ahead in life (VA Loan and GI BILL) for the low price of four years of your existence.
2) Get a great job. You’re going to have to work your ass to get a great job. You are dead wrong if you think the world owes you a comfortable, air-conditioned position. If you think people should value your opinion within the first ten years on the job, sorry, that’s not how it works.
If you don’t know how to determine the best way to get a good job, read “From Paycheck to Purpose.” The book gives you actionable steps to work towards building a resume, networking, growing inside your job, and even creating your dream job.
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Beware that it may take 5 to 10 years to arrive at your destination. The journey is very similar to starting a business as an entrepreneur.
3) Start a home business or become a content creator. You need something that you can carry with you wherever you move. You need to have a portable, manageable income stream that consistently generates money for you in the background.
In my What Type of Home Business series, I lay out some good home businesses—outside, online, content, and consulting. Growing your side business is vital to your overall wealth creation and mental health. You’ll be less dependent on your job, and you will have extra income for emergencies.
Becoming a content creator is just as valuable as a home business, perhaps even better. You can turn your content into a business via affiliate marketing and sponsorships. Here are some content ideas: music, photography, art & design, video, audio & speech, and writing.
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The best way to combine a home business and content creation without much effort is by reading and reviewing books. Open a blog, read a book a week, write a review, and add your affiliate link. In 3-5 years, you would have 150-250 reviews and organic traffic from Google. You could probably be making $1,000/month passively by then if not much more.
4) Save for a down payment and buy a home. We are debt-free, working towards a fantastic job, and have online income—what’s next? We need to supercharge our savings by investing in savings bonds and USDC stable coins.
If we put in the finest at our job and side business, we should have a nice down payment ready in five years or less. Remember, this is the freakin’ grind. These aren’t fun years of hanging with friends on the balcony and drinking wine.
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This is working hard and kissing butt at work, grinding on a website, and learning how to sell items through Amazon FBA. You have to be a man or woman of determination and dedication. No one will understand you, and you don’t need their approval.
Again, only 5% of the population can make it through this stage. It’s rough, but it’s better to do this now than wait until you are 38, as I did.
Now, you finally did it; you bought a house! Congratulations, you are free and clear to do whatever you want, right?
5) Rent rooms or house hack to financial freedom. This is the exit where most people get off the freeway. They have a house, two jobs in the family, and kids. Everything will be perfect here. Nope, this is the worst trap you can be in as a family person.
Become a Lifelong Learner. Become Rich.
You are comfortable spending time with the kids, and everything looks fine. You save 10% towards your 401K and minimal credit card debt. You’ll realize you aren’t getting ahead. Then emergency strikes.
Lucky for us, we never got comfortable. We have our dream job, online income, investments (dividends, crypto, interest), and we even go further by renting rooms.
We are house hacking to build a massive nest egg for our children and us. We can then leverage our nest egg to buy more properties, live off dividends, and pay for our grandkids’ college.
If you want to read more on the power of house hacking, read “The House Hacking Strategy.” It is truly the most powerful wealth-building tool affordable to the average person.
Conclusion. If you had told me at age 31 (ten years ago) that I would own three homes, have $200,000+ in a dividend portfolio (producing $1,000/month of income), and be selling books on Amazon, I would have laughed you out of existence.
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That is the (negative) power of limiting beliefs. I thought my military retirement would be “end all, be all” and save my financial life. Sadly, that’s not the case. You shouldn’t depend on one source of income because you’re at the mercy of someone else—it’s dangerous.
It is incumbent on us to build our income streams from scratch. We should be working a job until we have enough passive income ($20,000/month) to retire and focus on our online business.
In closing, let me be very clear. Life is not supposed to be all fun and games. If you want to retire on the beach, spend unlimited time with grandkids, and travel with your children to Europe, you will need to work (save & invest) hard.
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There is no easy way to own a home comfortably. The American dream is not a lie, but it doesn’t look like the movies. You can buy a huge house if you rent rooms or buy a small house that is well below your income level. It’s your choice.
I have everything I want in life, and it is my sincere honor to write every day to share my experiences. If you think you can get ahead by working a standard job for 30-45 years, please prove me wrong.
But when I am 48, retired, and in Europe with my kids, you will probably be at work. I am doing the work now to live my dream with my wife and kids. Are you doing the same?
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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