Still motivated... still learning.

Sorry it has been a while… but for anyone that read my first post and was wondering where the heck I’ve been for the last 3 weeks- Don’t worry!  I haven’t lost my drive or my willingness to keep everyone updated.  I’ve just been a tad bit busy.  And when I say busy, I don’t mean busy napping.  I mean busy being awesome at life and trying every day to make it better.  Here’s my current situation…

I’m currently working full time as a first year accountant at a small CPA firm.  I’m still going to school full time (amazingly 12 credit hours is considered full time) so that I can earn enough credit hours to sit for the CPA exam.  I lift weights and/or run 1.5 hours per day, 7 days per week.  I’m a fitness freak and I love it.  My girlfriend, the gorgeous girl in my photo, thinks it’s hilarious how I get so excited to go to the gym.  But I love waking up in the morning feeling inspired… motivated… committed… and like an absolute beast knowing that I’m going to make the most out of my day financially, mentally, and physically.  Every night I’m still soaking in information reading books, financial blogs and real estate blogs.  Aaaaand did I mention that I’m doing all of this while keeping my social life alive and better than it has ever been? 

One of my favorite financial blogs is .  I think I like it so much because I already believe in the majority of what he preaches, I’m just not financially able to commit to it (like saving 50% of your after tax income, which would leave me with only $15,000 per year to live off of).  But it gives me a goal that I can work towards.  When I have a little more time, I’ll pick a few of my favorite articles that he’s written and do a little write up on it (per the suggestion of my only two followers).  Another blog that I’ve just recently discovered is .  I’ve only read a few of his articles, but they have a great perspective.  His article about living like a millionaire is very eye opening… breaking down what it would feel like to have the buying power of a MLB baseball player making $25 million per year.  When it comes to quick go-to sites for articles on real estate (although I’ve pretty much exhausted the articles they have) I like and .  Oddly enough, as it turns out, both of these bloggers regularly write articles for Bigger Pockets (which I didn’t know until I saw the links on their blogs to Bigger Pockets).  They both offer amazing articles, quick tips, suggestions, strategies, etc. when it comes to real estate investing.  The free e-book offered by Brandon Turner () is a must read for the beginner wanting to get into real estate investing.  It puts into perspective a single strategy that COULD be used to obtaining financial freedom.  It’s only like 18 pages long and did I mention that IT’S FREE!  A 6 year old in a room full of toys with ADHD could manage to pay attention long enough to get through 18 pages, so I don’t want to hear any excuses about not being able to read and retain information that could finally set you up for financial freedom.

So the entire point of this post was to give a reason for it taking 3 weeks to write a second blog entry… but the truth is, I’ve just been a bum when it comes to doing it :).  I don’t like excuses, so I’m just going to fess up right now and admit that I definitely could have found 30 minutes every few days for a new entry, I just chose to spend that time on something else (like watching the USA dominate the Olympics).

When it comes to where I’m at in my investing career… as I mentioned before, I’m in the learning stage.  After I get through a few more books, study my market more, and spend a little more time on my strategy, then I’ll move onto the next stage.  For me, that will include sharing my ideas and dreams with close friends and family to see if they would like to partner with me in my endeavor.  I still have quite a bit of saving needed for a down-payment, but the right partner will be able to help with that.  How will I know who the right partner is, you ask???  Easy… It’ll be the guy/girl that calls me the next day and tells me they’ve already started to read some blog, bought some book, created some excel sheet, read about this or that strategy… basically, they’re going to have the same passion that I do.  I’m not looking for someone that I’m going to have to carry the whole way and split the profits with them.  I want someone that is going to contribute the same time and effort that I am. 

The next time around I’m probably going to write an actual review about some of the blogs that I like to visit… I’ve mentioned a few here, but I’ll dive a little deeper.  Until then… stay motivated!