The Relationship
We met at a Rehearsal dinner. Nat’s best friend married Kat’s best friend.
A fun and romantic destination wedding for the bride and groom was scheduled and merely two days after the first “I Do” the entire bridal party was on a plane to Jamaica.
While the main goal was for yet another set of “I Do”, Kat and Nat had an opportunity to take advantage of the vacation!
With the September time frame along with the rainy season, this all-inclusive resort was empty.
Kat and Nat could get together early in the morning for Kat’s famous Crossfit style workout’s (completely new for Nat) and then partake in an assortment of activities: lawn games, beach trips, etc… Buffet’s during the day and dance parties at night, thus began the evolution to a great relationship!
After seven days of fun in the sun, it was time to go home.
Kat and Nat maintained contact and slowly increased the time spent together. It all started with once per weekend post-Jamaica. Then it grew to entire weekends and a couple of weekdays. And now, it’s blossomed to a relationship filled with joy and determination.
The Business Relationship
Financially, Kat and Nat are not satisfied or content. The desire to ensure our families live the life they deserve to live.
Once our student loan debt was gone, and our 401 K maxed, our IRA maxed, our HSA maxed … What’s next?
Wait 40 years to reap the fruits of our labor? No.
It’s time to build our empire of financial fluency now. And so, our real estate endeavors began.
“Live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later.” – Dave Ramsey
Wonder how Nat and I both became debt free and saved the funds for our first rental property?
To start, we need to rewind back to 2017. Nat and I both had thousands of dollars in student loan debt (I also had car debt). I had about $30,000 in car/student loan debt (as of May 2017).
It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but before May of 2017, I had never logged into my loan accounts. I graduated in 2012, but I guess I was in denial and knew the debt would eventually go away. I didn’t even know my username and passwords to login to check my loans!!!! All I knew was that the minimum was getting paid, because I was getting email notifications and a statement in the mail each month.
I was not putting any additional money towards my student loans each month. I was making decent money and paying off my debt wasn’t even a thought. I was spending money on things I didn’t need. I wanted to take vacations and spend money on shopping trips. But don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going crazy and spending all my money. I still worked hard on the weekends babysitting and helping my neighbor with his yard and rental properties and earning whatever extra money I could on the side.
At about the same time (May 2017), Nat got a new job and was traveling to Virginia for work. He was lucky to make the trip in an hour. If there was traffic, it would take him 2-3 hours to get home (one way). With all this time on the road, Nat started listening to podcasts about getting out of debt. He also downloaded the mint app to help him budget. In addition, he found a spreadsheet he used to keep track of all his student loans and their interest rates. He paid off his loans using the avalanche method (pay off the highest interest rates first). He would put almost all his money he earned towards his debt. We both live with his mom and are blessed to able to save a lot more money each month.
I watched this process for a few weeks and it was incredible listening and watching how fast he was paying down his debt.
After a few weeks of watching in astonishment, I jumped on board and was ready to take on my debt. If you know me, I’m SUPER competitive. I told him I was going to pay off my debt before he would (he ended up beating me).
I had about $30,000 in student loans/car debt. There were about 13 loans (each ranging from $600-$3500). My goal was to pay off my debt in March of 2018. March 25 is our anniversary, and I thought it would be really cool to say that we were both debt free on our 2nd anniversary. Also keep in mind, I was making a teacher’s salary (bless all teachers for their hard work).
First, I wrote down all my loans and interest rates on paper in order from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate (I’m old school and love being able to cross things off). I looked at my monthly budget to see how much extra money I could put towards my loans each week/month (If you don’t have a monthly budget, make one, now!). And then I started.
I remember the first loan I paid off. It was about $1500. It took me about 3 weeks to pay if off. I put a line straight through that loan and moved onto the next. It became a game. How quickly could I do this? I started writing dates by each loan to motivate me to pay them off quicker.
I calculated I was able to put about $2000-$3000 a month on loans. How? Not without sacrifice. First off, I worked 7 days a week. In addition to teaching, I babysat and worked with my neighbor in his rental properties to make extra money on the weekends. I eliminated all shopping, vacations, and any extra things I wanted (not needed). If I wanted to splurge on a coffee at Dunkin Donuts, I would take surveys on the website “Survey Junkie,” until I had enough to buy the coffee. I earned between 5-80 cents per survey, so that took quite a bit of time to earn the money for coffee. There is also a $10 minimum before you can transfer the money from your survey monkey account to Paypal. Let’s just say, I took A LOT of surveys. If I wanted the coffee bad enough, I had to be willing to go to the extreme without sacrificing my goal.
Nat and I also agreed that if we wanted to go on date nights, we would use the coins we found on the ground and put them towards our date nights. Sound extreme? Well yeah, it’s a bit extreme. One night, we were at an Orioles game celebrating a friend’s birthday. We were taking our seats and I remember looking down to a nice pile of coins (probably 15 cents) and yelling at Nat to pick it up. We laugh about it now, but I think I genuinely yelled at him (sorry boo). I was so dedicated to this cause of getting us out of debt. You’d be surprised how much change you can find on the ground. To this day, I’m still obsessed with picking change off the ground. Nat and I still have this rule of using change for date nights (real estate is our goal now). We are up to $67 right now (and our coin jar is currently full—wonder how much we will have for date night).
I worked so hard during my summer off making extra money. As soon as I got the money, I logged into my myfedloan account and paid off what I could. The blood, sweat, and tears was worth it.
September 2017 was a busy month. My sister got married on September 3, 2017. I had moved to Maryland with Nat 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding. On top of all of that, I was starting a new job September 5, 2017 AND starting graduate school the same day. While I was very excited for this next chapter, I was also overwhelmed. I had to take out a small loan (which I was VERY UPSET ABOUT DOING), because my decision to go to grad school was very last minute and I hadn’t saved up enough for the tuition. This added to my debt, which was beyond devastating. But I wouldn’t let it break me.
October 16, 2017 was a day to remember. I had finally paid off my jeep. A few weeks later, I received the title for my car in the mail. I called about 10 people to tell them because I was so excited. This was a large milestone, because I could say the car was MINE!!!
As I mentioned above, I found other things I could do to pay down my debt quicker in addition to my full-time job. If I didn’t work 7 days a week, I wouldn’t have paid off my debt off my debt as fast as I did. Around Christmas, which was 7 months after I started my to journey to a debt free life, I remember telling my family that I wasn’t going to buy any gifts this year. I told them I would make it up later the following year. Why???? Well, the end was in sight. I only had about $6,000. I could almost taste victory!!!! I had worked so hard, and every penny counted (literally).
January 2018—I had a notepad that I carried with my every day. I would write the date, how much debt I still had, and how much money I had on that particular day. I would constantly try to figure out how much money I could pay off that week. Most of the time, the number was what I expected I could pay that week, but I still calculated it every day to be sure (OCD problems). As I calculated to see if I could meet the March 25th goal, I realized I could pay off my loans in February.
February 2018—I had a little less than $3,000 to pay off. I was determined to pay it off this month. My birthday is in February, and I couldn’t think of a better gift to myself. So I worked, and worked, and worked. And guess what…
I DID IT. February 28, 2018 was the day. I made Nat record me submitting my last student loan payment EVER. I think I hugged him for like 10 minutes, and then he made me let go because we were going to be late for Crossfit (and for all those who know me, know I can’t miss a class).
I still logged into my Wellsfargo and Myfedloan account a week after because I liked seeing the “$0” balance. I don’t think it really sank until about a month later when I noticed I was actually KEEPING the money I worked so hard for instead of dishing it out to loans.
April 2018: A month out from completing my Master’s degree and Nat and I start talking about “what’s next?” And that is where our real estate journey begins! We currently have 2 rental properties to our name, with several offers out.
Our story is far from over. We are so excited to continue to share our journey.
A few takeaways:
- If you don’t have a monthly budget, stop what you’re doing and make one.
- Debt is super overwhelming. Make a list of the debt you have with the interest rate. Then, make attainable goals of when you can pay them off.
- I worked SEVERAL different jobs to get $30,000 paid off in 9 months. Anything is possible, you must be willing to put in the work. How bad do you want it?
- There is no better feeling than being able to say, “I’m debt free.” You can do it. Make a plan, write a goal, and get to work!
Determined beyond belief to achieve my goals. Passionate, disciplined and meticulous.
Background:
4 year NCAA Ice Hockey player. Crossfit since April 2018. Love any new adventure. Most notable: Axe throwing, Ninjabe (ninja warrior obstacle course), go-karts, pottery making, and more.
Avid listener to the Bigger Pockets Podcast. Thoroughly enjoy listening to audio books, podcasts, YouTube as well as reading for any form of self-development. While my usual topics relate to communication, leadership, time/energy management, personal finance, etc. I’m directing my attention to learning as much as possible about achieving our goal as Passive Buy and Hold Real Estate Investor.
Education:
Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Systems. LOVE spreadsheets and developing them.
I do it for my family.
Growing up, my parents divorced at a young age. While I was unaware at the time, we took a large financial hit. As time grew, I became more aware of it. Luckily, I decided to fall in love with the game of ice hockey. I’ve never been good with balance and felt the need to improve. My mindset was and has always been, “I can do more.” If we lost a hockey game, I wouldn’t talk for the rest of the day and frequently would arrive home to immediately train. Looking back, I’ve always lived a life of focus and determination to persevere. This helps in some areas and hurts in most others.
Hockey reached a point where finances were required. Hockey sticks cost well over $100-200 each one. Unlike other sports, hockey players are covered from head to toe in equipment, which is expensive. Then, at younger years, you grow out of the equipment within a couple of years, while during the later part of your career, the level of competition and intensity requires new gear frequently.
**My senior season at college, I broke nine different hockey sticks (valued at $299 a piece)!
The finances mentioned above never truly came to mind as we did what was necessary to play the game. I would get the cheapest gear at Play it Again Sports, and I would alter my game play to prolong the inexpensive lifestyle:
- No clear tape on hockey socks to keep shin guards snuggly fit – Normally occurs each game and practice
- Rarely changed my black hockey tape on the blade of my stick – Normally occurs each game and practice
- Would wait until the last possible moment to purchase new used gear (holes in gear, outgrown to the point of pain, etc). Normally new gear is purchased to improve gameplay. I altered my game play to compensate for the gear.
To improve, it was more than just gear, I needed to play on the best teams and attend the best camps.
I played four consecutive years for the DMV area’s top team, Washington Junior Nationals, beginning my senior year of high school. I attended the top two summer training programs: Network Hockey while in High School, then Dedicated Hockey when I returned home from playing college ice hockey.
I had a job opportunity I could not give up, and was forced to retire from the game. My body had taken years of punishment, surgeries and mental abuse. I returned to the workforce after three years of focusing solely on hockey and school.
This time, the difference was, there was no hockey. It was replaced with student debt. My life outside of work was not replaced with anything.
I saw the world around me continuing to live the rat race without a true desire or goal in mind. The world dreads Sunday and prepares for Monday morning. Once Monday arrives, employees wake up with anxiety and disappointment for the day to come, and frequently respond to co-workers with, “I can’t wait until it’s Friday” or “Just another Monday” or “Monday blues”.
The excitement would slowly grow with the week. On Wednesdays they’d say, “We’re almost there!”
Friday has finally arrived. Casual Friday for most. The highlight of the week is their plans tonight and the opportunity to sleep in and have fun all day Saturday. The cycle resumes with the dread of Sunday and preparation for Monday.
Without hockey in my life, there was something missing. I became abundantly aware of my family’s financial situation as well. And because of my student loans, society’s perspective of purchasing the nicest clothes and gadgets, and my (at the time) salary, I felt financially stuck.
At this time, I had not met Katelyn and had much more time on my hands than I would have liked. I still worked out at the gym everyday, but even that was dropping in intensity.
I needed to do more. I needed to tackle this student loan debt as fast as possible and I needed to take care of my Mom. I hated the fact that she was working so hard for so little. Especially when she sacrificed so much to place me in the right opportunities to succeed.
Katelyn and I decided it was time to make the decisions now that would affect our families lives as well as ours.
After searching online for all the options, Real Estate Investing continued to surface.
Thank you for being a part of our journey. Let’s learn and grow together. Do it for you. Do it for your family. Do it for your future generations.
Real Estate Goals:
As of January 4, 2019
Aspires to acquire cash flowing residential properties with a buy and hold, long-term strategy.
• 1 Rental by December 31, 2019 (Achieved on April 1, 2019!)
• $5,000 per month in passive income to reach financial freedom
• $10,000 per month in passive income to reach ultimate goal
Currently Seeking:
• Individuals to meet, connect, learn with and from, and grow together to perhaps become future partners
As of September 14, 2019
We aspire to acquire cash flowing residential properties with a buy and hold, long-term strategy.
• 8 Rentals by December 31, 2019
• $5,000 per month in passive income to reach financial freedom
• $10,000 per month in passive income to reach ultimate goal
Currently Seeking:
• Distressed Rental properties in Baltimore City, Maryland. Low crime neighborhoods with an ARV (After Repair Value) between $100,000 – $140,000
Experience:
Buy and Hold Real Estate investing through the BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) Method
Katelyn – Real Estate Agent
Nat – Numbers Ninja
As of December 27, 2019
We aspire to acquire cash flowing residential properties with a buy and hold, long-term strategy.
• 16 Rentals by December 31, 2020
• $5,000 per month in passive income to reach financial freedom
• $10,000 per month in passive income to reach ultimate goal
Currently Seeking:
• Distressed Rental properties in Baltimore City, Maryland. Low crime neighborhoods with an ARV (AFter Repair Value) between $100,000 – $140,000
Experience:
Buy and Hold Real Estate investing through the BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) Method
Katelyn – Real Estate Agent
Nat – Numbers Ninja
