When people learn that I bought my first investment property in San Francisco at 23, they are often surprised and curious about how I achieved this goal at such a young age. I never gave it much thought, as I just stuck to my plan. However, I recently took the time to trace its origins. Long story short, it’s been a 5-year journey of making multiple “right” decisions that put me in a fortunate position to buy a house.

As I prepare my first series on this blog on real estate investing (REI), I thought I’d share an introductory post on why I even chose that route to begin with. A lot of people have asked me if I prefer real estate over stocks, or what the difference is from an investment perspective. Here is my take on it, based on my experience.

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 125
Guest: Fritz Gilbert
Audio time: 1 hr 29 min
Read time: 3 min

Fritz Gilbert, of Retirement Manifesto, has created a pre-retirement checklist to guide people in making a smooth transition into retirement. Many people (especially my age) may think of retirement as a faraway concept, something that’ll eventually happen. They may not realize that there’s actually a lot of active planning involved. In this podcast, Fritz explains his personal experience with the 5-year checklist and how it may be helpful for others.

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 123
Guest: Avery Heilbron
Audio time: 1 hr
Read time: 2 min

One-line Summary

Learn how Avery Heilbron is planning for financial independence through real estate, with 5 units at just age 25.

His Journey with Money

• Always been frugal, did not like spending money
• Picked up a side hustle de-leading properties
• Financial position after graduating college in 2018: did not have student loan debt, saved money from summer internships, had high-paying job lined up (data scientist/analyst for an insurance company)

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 120
Guest: Michael Kitces
Audio time: 1 hr 23 min
Read time: 2 min

One Line Summary

The 4% rule still works in times of recession because it was modeled for the worst-case scenario over years of historical data, including 3 of the biggest financial crashes in the last century.

Origin of the 4% rule

• In the past, 7-8% withdrawal rate was considered “conservative”
• In 1994, Bill Bengen saw that 7% worked on average but might not account for bad years (recessions)
  • Analyzed historical data and found that a 4% withdrawal rate covers most worst-case scenarios
• 4% is the one rate that worked in the worst historical market sequence

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 122
Audio time: 55 min
Read time: 1 min

Basics of Financial Independence (FI)

Spend less than you earn

• Track your spending (ex. Mint)
• By tracking his spending, Scott was able to identify his biggest spending categories (housing, transportation, food)
  • House hacked to get rid of housing expense
  • Reduced car travel
  • Can splurge on food because above two categories are minimized