Month: February 2017

Real Estate Investing-The Beginning

Real Estate can not be lost or stolen nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care it is about the safest investment in the world. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Our journey into real estate investing began with the purchase of a foreclosure that we intended to keep as our primary residence.  We had bought our first home as an estate sale in 2005 and had pretty much ripped it down to the studs and built it over.  It was a wonderful home, but we had outgrown the yard and were leery of living on a fairly busy road with 3 active boys.  We had tried to sell it a couple of times with no luck.  The market was slow and we didn’t want to walk away with no money.  We found the foreclosure nearby, on a dead end street with a town-owned field and hiking trails bordering it.  We decided to go for it!

We lived in our first home while renovating the foreclosure.  When we moved in October of 2014, we rented out our first home to a couple that we knew from our childrens’ school.  We settled into our new home, while enjoying the cash flow from renting.  The tenants were reliable and treated the house like it was their own.

Lucas sledding off the porch of our first home

After about 9 months of living in our second home, we realized that it was just too small for our family.  The boys were all sharing a room and, while it was working fine, we knew that it would eventually become a problem.  We found a much larger fixer-upper in our favorite neighborhood, so we bought it and listed the now-renovated foreclosure.  The renovated foreclosure

We sold the foreclosure soon after listing.   That meant that we had cash from selling the foreclosure to fix up our new home and we had an stream of income coming in each month from our rental.  We realized that real estate investing, rentals and rehab were a way for us to achieve financial freedom.  It wasn’t easy or “passive” in any way but we were learning from our mistakes and educating ourselves online and with books and webinars.

Next time…another rental property!

Meal Plan: Week 1

On February 3rd of last year, I completed my first Whole 30.  If you haven’t heard of the program, it is a month long “reset” that eliminates dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol and sugar of any kind.  It emphasizes eating whole foods and really allows you to focus in on why you are eating what you are eating and how it makes you feel.  It was a great experience for me and I felt great by the end of the 30 days.  However, over the next year, I fell back into old habits, especially during the holiday season.  Nightly drinks and ice cream became the norm and my sugar cravings  were back in full force!

I have decided to jump back on the bus, with some modifications to (hopefully!) make the changes longer lasting.  I am allowing myself a teaspoon of maple syrup in my coffee, one serving of healthy grains a day, one treat meal a week and a drink on the weekend.  Planning out the week makes it easier for me to stay on track.

Grab and go snacks that follow the “rules” are hard to find, so a little planning before I get hungry is important!  I try to prep some snacks on Sundays that I can have ready during the week, like hard boiled eggs with prosciutto, homemade Larabars or apple slices with almond butter.  I also keep lots of flavored seltzer water on hand to drink.

Here are my week one plans!

Breakfast

Lunch

  • Chicken salad wraps, made with dried cranberries and walnuts, with apple slices and sweet potato chips
  • Dinner leftovers

Dinner

  • Crockpot roast with balsamic and Dijon mustard, carrots and potatoes, served on top of riced cauliflower (http://www.thewickednoodle.com/chuck-roast/)
  • Carne Asada tacos with guacamole, lettuce and salsa
  • Pulled pork stuffed sweet potatoes with cole slaw
  • Buddha bowls: roasted brussel sprouts, red peppers, onions, butternut squash, red cabbage and potatoes served over rice with a fried egg and sesame ginger vinaigrette
  • Crispy chicken stew with artichokes, capers and olives on rice (http://stupideasypaleo.com/2015/12/19/crispy-chicken-stew-lemon-artichokes-capers-olives-recipe/)