As a busy professional, we spent many years in school to earn our degrees. Then after our basic education, we spend many years honing our craft and sharpening our skills. We spend time keeping up on the latest developments and in continued education. Our learning never stops. Combine this on top of the long hours we work and it is not surprising that most busy professionals are not any better than the average investor.
Why? Well our time is limited and we are best compensated for the time we spend in our chosen profession.
Second interesting fact is that despite earning relatively high incomes compared to many others, the level of financial independence among busy professionals is low.
How can this be? We earn more, for sure, but do we invest more?
ur expenses are relative to our income – meaning as we earn more we spend more. Thus, we are trapped in the hamster wheel like everyone else.
A True Story
I know a partner in a firm. She works 70 hours a week and more. She is at her computer on the weekends. She has taken holidays and ended up working a majority of the time rather than relaxing and recharging. One day we got to speaking on a deeper personal level and I asked “Why”.
“What choice do I have,” she replied. “My kids are getting ready for University, we have a house, cars and bills.”
It hit me! She makes hundreds of thousands each year but could not survive if she left her firm or dramatically reduced her working hours. She was a hamster in a wheel. Granted it was a nice hamster wheel, but she was not happier because of it. In fact she has been fighting life threatening diseases on top of the financial sword of Damocles hanging over her head.
Problem: She did not have sufficient passive income and thus has no freedom or choice.
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
Warren buffet
The Freedom Formula
If you feel like that hamster caught in the wheel, constantly running but stuck in place, there is an exit ramp to that never ending highway. The path to Financial freedom is the same for us all: Invest in recession resilient cash flowing assets to the point where your passive income meets or exceeds your expenses.
The only difference between each of us is how fast we achieve this goal! Your velocity is determined by (1) how much you can invest each year, (2) the rate of your return and (3) how much your need to cover your expenses. The first and thrid points are solely in your control. How much can you save each year and how much do you spend? Both are conversely related!
The second point, the rate of your return, is why I invest in passive cash flowing real estate. With this asset class, I typically realise double digit annualized returns. As a first step, you should become familiar with how real estate works and why real estate could be a good strategy to add you to your exit plan. Here are a two articles to help you on that learning path:
What Next
As a busy professional, you should definitely continue to work in your choosen career. Your reward per hour invested is surely maximized this way. Nonetheless, we all know there are only 168 hours in a week and our capacity for work output is regulated by our other needs.
Work should be something we enjoy. The fear of losing your livlihood, and your lifestyle as a result, should not be something that hangs over our head like the Sword of Damocles. That is why, you need to continue on the road to financial independence. You can do this, without needing to be a stock expert or pay advisors whose incentives are not aligned to your own. Passive investing in cash flowing, recession resilient, real estate is the best way in my opinion.
Interested?
If you are ready to start, I can help. You are a busy professional. I know what it is like. Let’s set up a call or send me a mail and we can talk.
If you want to move quicker, then sign up to the Free Investment Club. Here I will let you know about upcoming investments that I am making and you can invest alongside me in these syndications.