Not an investor yet but still QUITTING JOB on Monday! NEED guidance!
I wish I can communicate by written word what I am fully going through mentally right now...the stress...the anguish...the confusion...the pain of the realization of time wasted (11 years as a temp?). I am not sure I can express it.
The smart thing to do is to look for other employment before quitting one's job but I really do not have a choice. I really did want to learn REI while maintaining the job somehow. The situation though has gotten so bad at work that if I continue on there, I will end up either saying or doing something I would regret or get physically sick. In fact, my health has already started to slip because of the stress.
So, after 11 years of working at an office job in NY that I increasingly came to despise, this past Friday the 5th I reached a breaking point. It was that one last bit of unwarranted verbal abuse that committed me into quitting the job. I haven't technically quit the job yet. Executive Management was in a meeting late into the evening so I decided to let it ride the weekend with the thought that perhaps I will calm down and change my mind.
I haven't. Monday should be interesting.
So after that long intro I am left with what to do now. I've been lurking on the forums as well as listening to some of the podcasts (will listen to all) and reading the BP beginner's guide (not finished yet) for a few months now to try to get a handle on what would be reasonable short term and long term goals. It's taken months because part of MY MIND has been held captive doing things like building an agency budget, problem solving situations on the fly in an accounts payable unit, dealing with all the constant miscellaneous problems that walk into the office, all while dealing with the most surreal, television sitcom like hostile office politics one can imagine.....can not deal with it anymore! But I digress.
Looking for options, I am drowning under the shear volume of knowledge that this site collectively contains. Until I can clear my head so I can properly focus I wouldn't mind some guidance, some help in determining a 5 year plan for myself. I've got $30k in savings (possibly more depending on an investment). Here are some things I am considering:
Should I stay in NY or move to Florida?
Did I mention that the owner of the apartment triplex in Brooklyn the family has rented and which I have lived for over 25 years wants to sell because he's tired? http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/186...
If you're wondering, I'm not interested in buying it (long story).
The folks are in Florida already. It's a lot of stress dealing with them but perhaps an idea is for me to take a few weeks off, visit them in Orlando, and get a sense of the potential in the area for investing. I have to move anyway so why not just give up on NY and move to Orlando? I can stay by the folks for a couple months (they're begging me to come) until I can purchase my first house hack...as they say. What about a triplex...quad? I would need to use an FHA 403k loan or 203k for a rehab. And yes, I realize there are a lot of details loaded in those last 3 sentences.
Take a look at this link: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/best-places...
Housing prices in general are lower in FL than the crazy prices of NY so I think my chances of eventual success would be greater down south. It might be easier in FL to find and take advantage of opportunities.
I must say though, that I am open to staying in New York....or even another state than Florida if I can get some good ideas.
My ongoing education
I don't want to immediately dig into savings heavily hence the move in with the folks. I want to save as much as I can before I am ready to execute on a couple of basic strategies I want to focus on: buy and hold/house hack or a house flip. So, if I were to study and get my RE license and try my hand at being an agent, that might be a way I can earn something while learning what's going on in the field. Of course, I am going to finish read all of the books I acquired here at biggerpockets (beginners guide, Brandon's books, J. Scott's books) along with others. Perhaps now I can finally focus on them thoroughly.
Working with partners/mentors
I do not want to start my venture by myself. It is critical that I am able to network and work with professionals/entrepreneurs who have already met or exceeded their goals in the field and whom would help me greatly to teach me the basics and to keep me accountable to my goals. Through biggerpockets I hope to make such contacts in the local market as well as find the right REIAs.
So what are my goals?
What are my goals indeed? What do I want? I am not entirely sure yet. I can tell you what I don't want....I don't want to be rich. I don't want the stress that goes along with pursuing millions of dollars and that can change you. Yet at the same time, I'm not looking to invest "for my retirement" at least not yet. I do have some ambition...some drive left in me. My goals financially are to keep things simple. I need a little financial independence so I can start thinking clearly for myself...truly...finally. Life isn't all about money.
I think Chad Carson's blog post on the small, simple business model describes it the best: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/?p=72775
I apologize for the long post but it isn't really long as compared to all the details I am considering in my head. It has taken me several hours to write this post and I have had to force myself to focus and condense my thoughts.
So I am going to stop here.
I really REALLY need as much constructive feedback as I can because I am going to quit the job tomorrow morning. I am not going to end up like my colleagues one of which just had a stroke and the other who died of a heart attack a couple months ago (he was 6 years younger than me).
Thank you all for your consideration.