I think it is very important to plan your vacations and take time off, reflect, and recharge. I also love going to the beautiful beaches especially in the Tampa area (Clear Water, Siesta Beach) like @Joel Owen and just watch and listen to the waves in order to reflect and recharge.
All of us are given only one life, and there is no rehearsal to life. I am only 4 years older than you, but i don't want to waste time pursing things that have no value or meaning to me. I guess i am lucky to see first hand my father's life who passed away two years ago. His priority in life was his business, everything else took second place. It is was only the last 5 year of his life that he realized what was truly valuable to him. His health started to fail and God took him to heaven at the young age of 65.
I see my 2 little twin boys growing up so fast and realize that i can't go back in time. They deserve more of my undivided attention. My wife and I often talk about how happy we would be to have a daughter. I believe that my most valuable asset and gift from God is children, not the real estate that i hold.
Success is more than reaching a certain networth or passive income. It is not about owning 100 SFRs or a making a million dollars a year or reaching a certain status in life. It is about becoming the person you are meant to become. It is about being a great husband, a great father to your children, having a wife who loves you and supports you, helping and influencing the lives of others, and having great friends who truly care for you. When i see a man who possesses the qualities i had just mentioned, i consider that man to be a successful man with full of wealth.
My wife and I both have a heart for under privileged children and serving in a orphanage. We see such a great need just in our backyard here in Atlanta.
Time is too short not to spend our precious time in areas that are truly important to us.
Originally posted by
@Adam Haman:
Good afternoon!
I'm a Realtor and RE investor here in Denver feeling burned out after a 5 year push. I've made decent incomes for the past 5 years (80-120k), and invested more than half of it each year in the best, newest rentals I could find. I'm considering "retiring" and doing something else.
I don't love being a Realtor; the hours in particular are difficult, I often don't feel like I can keep my mind from wandering to clients and pending deals, and I don't feel I've had domain over my own mind, or gotten away from work completely, in more than 3 years. I have 2 young kids that deserve better from me, and I want to give them my full attention.
We're established in a great home we remodeled in Denver with a $1300 mortgage. By the end of 2014 I should have monthly cash flows of about $4,500 after vacancy and expenses. This is roughly equivalent to our monthly cost of living, minus expensive vacations. I have 9 outstanding mortgages, including our principal residence. My wife does not work. As such, I think I could pursue a job with less stress, more coworkers, and more job satisfaction. Regardless of pay, I think we could make a run of it. Retirement should be taken care of with 8 investment properties fully paid off when I am 62, and increases in rent in the meantime will grow our monthly income with inflation.
What am I missing? Am I jumping the gun on this? Does anyone live happily on a similar monthly income? Has anyone "retired" and then regretted it? Is it difficult to get back in the game?
Thanks everyone for your input. How can I help you?
