Hello everyone!

First off I would like to say that I am very excited to be here. I have been searching the internet for as much advice on investing and business planning as I could find. However, as probably all of you have noticed, the majority of what is out there is utter rubbish, and the good stuff is so buried that it can be a daunting task to find. Find good stuff I have, but one thing that has always been lacking was a solid message board where you can read and interact with REAL people with REAL stories that are not blown out of proportion or completely made up to sell something. I am looking forward to this!

Now a little about me. I am 27 years old and started on the journey of truly fending for myself when I was 24. I have always worked hard and when I was 10-16 I would baby-sit and shovel driveways and sidewalks for cash, in the summer I would help out a family member with their farming business. When I was 16 I got my first real job at a Subway joint and started full time the second I graduated from highschool and have been working full time (or part time + school) ever since (at various jobs). With every job I have ever held it has always ticked me off that I ended up doing the majority of the work and yet the owners and managers were the ones who got all the profits. With several of these jobs I ended up becoming a supervisor or trainer with no increase in position or pay, why pay more for something when you are already getting it for free right? I got sick of this pretty fast but never knew what to do about it.

When I was 24ish while working my first real career I purchased every book I could find, and scoured the internet as best I could for information and lectures. I had a job that required ~2-3 hours of driving a day and I used this time to listen to audio books and seminars, rather than listening to music. Real estate interested me greatly, the thought of having residual income coming in to me every month was very attractive. When I turned 26 I finally had enough money to put a down payment on a property that will pay for itself, and has future value in that it can legally be redeveloped in to two separate houses. Being in Canada in a booming city I found this very difficult to find, property here is worth way more than it has any right being.

I currently live in one of the suites in the property, and I rent out the other one and also the garage. With me living here I essentially pay slightly less than what it would cost for me to rent a similar suite. My eventual plan is to start this whole process over again by purchasing another multi-family unit (2-3 units) and living in one while I rent and/or fix up the other/s. I love consuming information and learning as much as I can. I have not yet found a way to make money just by learning things though, here is to hoping though!

I eventually want to be able to quit my “day job†and be working for myself. I am getting sick of putting in all my time for someone else in thankless jobs that do not hold my interest. I am educated and work one of those standard Monday-Friday jobs that the world tells you that you have to get to be successful. It is not for me! I plan on using my income to vault in to something that I love doing, something that makes me feel productive and makes my time feel worthwhile, not this void that sucks 9-10 hours out of me each day and gives me nothing back.

I hope that I enjoy my time here and am thanking you all in advance for the great advice I am going to get here!