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Life of an Investor — Building Income

Follow along with the life on an investor.  I'll show you the various things we're working on as we move through the year.

Life of an Investor

My Latest Book!

Colin Conway

Quick Update - Hang in there! — Building Income

 Okay, so you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been a little quiet over the past several weeks.   It’s been a busy period of real estate acquisitions and writing (albeit not blog work).  I’ll fill you in on the real estate stuff in coming weeks, but for now I’m going to give you a quick sneak peek into the upcoming writing projects. First, I have a self-published novel that I’m targeting for release on December 1st, 2018.  I’ve worked on this story for over a year and half now.  I’m extremely excited about this one and there is some method behind the thought process on self-publishing.  Those mystery readers who are into personal finance will dig this story line.  I’ll do a separate post on this soon.

Building-Income

My Latest Book!

Colin Conway

Lessons from The Force — Building Income

When most people learn that I formerly was a police officer, they raise their eyebrows and will usually say something like, “Really?  Why would you quit?” To most, the idea of being a police officer has an exotic feel to it.  It’s because they have envisioned the Hollywood cliché of law enforcement – heroic exploits of men and women in a daily struggle against crime and corruption.  While there are some of those moments on the street, that’s not what happens behind the scenes within the department.  Most of the stuff that happens is boring, day-to-day decisions just like you have at your job.  Who do I want to work with?  Am I correctly filling out this new paperwork? What educational path should I pursue for my career? Where should I go to lunch? Most of that’s not interesting to share. However, why I got into law enforcement, what I learned about it and personal finance, and why I eventually left are things I believe are worth sharing.

Building-Income

Be Aware of the Ladder You’re Trying to Climb

Colin Conway

Are You Telling Your Friends and Family Too Much? — Building Income

A friend of mine, Andrew (not his real name), is married with two kids.  A few years ago, his life was like many Americans – he carried consumer debt, had no savings, and was stressed out.  Life was not turning out the way he’d hoped.  Then he realized he was responsible for the mess he was in and set about to change things. He worked hard to improve his financial position.  He eliminated all his consumer debt, leaving only his home mortgage which he has now paid off more than half.  He owns a single rental property which he recently paid off completely.  Due to his and his wife’s diligence in paying down their debt, his wife recently stopped working to stay home and care for their children full-time. Andrew’s family lives in a nice home, but he and his wife drive older, paid-off cars.  They don’t take annual, expensive vacations.  They aren’t flashy. Andrew listens to financial podcasts like The Money Peach, reads books like The Richest Man in Babylon, and is excited about his future. Although some would like to think so, this isn’t easy for them.  Andrew works two jobs.  One is seasonal while the other is commissioned-based so there are good months and bad months, good years and not-so-good years.  This requires frugality and communication.  Sometimes the couple is on the same page about purchases and sometimes they are at odds (like all of us), but they are always focused on the same goal – staying debt free so they can live a life that most can’t achieve. While I’m in the office, I touch base with Andrew about our financial journeys.  It’s one of our favorite topics to weigh-in on and we’re very open about how each of us is doing. One morning recently, he was slightly bothered.  I asked him what was wrong, to which he replied, “I learned something disturbing this weekend.” “What?” I asked. “You can’t talk about how you’re doing to most people.  They’re either going to be jealous or expect you to start paying for everything.”

Building-Income

My Latest Book!

Colin Conway

What are the Poor Four?  And are They Keeping You from Being Wealthy? — Building Income

I read the most astounding paragraph in the June 19th, 2018 edition of USA Today.  In Wealth of Millionaires Surges 10.6% to top $70 Trillion for the First Time, David Carrig was reporting on the World Wealth Report 2018 recently released from global consulting firm Capgemini.  It was the third paragraph of the article that really caught my attention, The number of high net worth individuals (HNWI) – which Capgemini defines as those having investable ets of $1 million or more excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables – grew almost 10 percent, or 1.6 million to 18.1 million in 2017. After reading the title of the article, I wondered if this was supposed to be a shocking paragraph?  Was it something to get the readership wound up enough to raise their collective fist in anger and yell, “Life’s unfair?”

Building-Income

My Latest Book!

Colin Conway