Friday Fab Five – Retire at 35 in an RV, 10 Beginner Real Estate Mistakes, Paperless Office, & More

The Friday Fab Five is a series where I share five articles, books, or resources that I’m currently using and enjoying. There are many wonderful resources about real estate, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and life out there, so I’ve narrowed them to some of my favorites that I think you´ll enjoy. 

Here are this week’s Friday Fab Five. Enjoy!

1. Retire at 35 to live in an Air Stream RV … Do What?!

CoachCarson.com is about winning with money, and there are many different definitions of what that means. So I want to share a story about a 35-year-old guy named Steve that I follow at ThinkSaveRetire.com.

Steve and his wife have been working towards early retirement for several years. As we speak they are selling their house and most of their possessions, and they are preparing to travel the country in an AirStream RV on a yearly budget of $30,000!

A simple, nomadic lifestyle like that has some appeal to me (at least for a short time).  But even if that’s not your thing, I think you’ll find the PROCESS and the MINDSET of how people like Steve do this to be interesting. Look in their story for the ideas and the courage to make your own unique dreams happen, whatever they might be.

For details and photos of the Airstream RV go:    >> HERE <<

For a background story and reasons why they are taking this step, go:    >> Here <<

2. My Recent BiggerPockets.com Article: “10 Lethal Mistakes to Avoid on Your First Real Estate Investment”

I was a brand-new, beginner investor fresh out of college only 13 years ago. I remember VERY well what it was like to do my first deal. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

In this article I share 10 mistakes that I have made and have observed in other real estate investors. The purpose is to help safely guide you with your first (or your 20th) real estate investment.

Please add your own suggestions for mistakes to avoid in the comments section. Thanks!

>>>10 Lethal Mistakes to Avoid on Your First Real Estate Investment <<<

3. My Recent Podcast Interview: “Retiring in Your 30’s From Rental Properties”

I feel very fortunate to have done many interviews lately. This latest one is with an awesome real estate investor named Mark Ferguson in Greeley, Colorado.

In this interview we dive into my long-time goal of retiring in my 30’s using rental properties, we discuss my upcoming 1-year trip to Argentina with my family, and we talk in-depth about real estate strategies and tactics.

Mark and I share some fundamental approaches to real estate. We both like residential fix-flips and rental properties as engines for growth.  But Mark takes the skills to another level. He impressively manages a top-performing real estate brokerage, a cash-flowing rental businesses, a booming flip business, and his popular blog investfourmore.com at the same time!

Oh yeah, Mark also owns a Lamborghini sports car. I challenged him in a race with my 2005 Ford Taurus Wagon!

I think you’ll enjoy this interview. Check it out at:

>>>Retiring in Your 30’s From Rental Properties <<<<

4. The Joys and Cool Toys of a Paperless Office

With my trip out of the country in 2017, one of the most obvious challenges will be how to occasionally handle real estate paperwork and filing when I’m not physically present.  So my business partner and I made a goal this year to move towards a paperless office.

I’ll write more detailed posts in the future explaining details of our system. But for now, here’s an article we based a lot of our system on.

My favorite part about going towards a paperless office has been the toys I get to play with (I’m a nerd, I know).

My new favorite toy is called the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner. Here’s a picture of the beauty that now sits proudly on my desk:

When you go paperless, you scan … A LOT.  And when you’re in real estate, you deal with paperwork … A LOT.

So that double-whammy has made this machine a pleasure. After years of frustrating paper jams and laborious 1-page-at-a-time scans, this scanner calmly and quietly digests 25 pages per minute as smoothly as I drink my morning orange juice.

Am I overstepping by getting this excited about a scanner? Probably so.  But if you’re in real estate or considering a move to a paperless office, I think you’ll also find that a scanner like this makes all the difference.

**The links above are affiliate links at Amazon. So if you buy something, a small % will go back to me. You can trust that I never include affiliate links unless I own it myself and love it**

5. What’s Money Really For // There’s More to Life Than Future Goals

You get a heavy dose of money and real estate tips and strategies on coachcarson.com.  But you and I both know there’s more to life than money. And there’s more to life than future goals.

I loved an article by the very thoughtful writers at OurNextLife.com about using your money to express your values, to help others, and to enjoy life now (while also moving towards worthwhile future goals):

>>What’s Money Really For // There’s More to Life Than Future Goals <<<

 

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That’s all for this edition of the Friday Fab Five! I hope you enjoyed it.

I would appreciate your feedback. Please comment below to let me know what you like (or don’t like) and any suggestions for improvement or future resources to include.

Enthusiastically your Coach,