#i used to go to lawn tennis lessons in middle school but i was never amazing

[evermoredeluxe]

do you play any sports?

nope 🫣🫠

[ryan-spinel]

CHAPTER THREE

“Heavenly Bliss”

“What are you doing out so late Spinel.” Connie challenged

“I wouldn't call 5:45 in the afternoon last Connie. Seems like you've been somewhere, caring paper bags.” I smirked

“Well, Valentine, going grocery shopping after school is better than hanging with drug dealers.” Connie provoked

“Well I guess someone was doing more than shopping, I was helping a friend get a date.” I sassed

“Sure you were.” The whore snickered

I have to say, I alway hated passive aggressive bitches. I mean, if your going to be angry show it, instead of being a dick about it.

“Listen to me Spinel, I don't know what kind of stuff you're involved with the Black Hawks. But my father is the chief inspector of the local police agency, and I will have to report any unusual activity your involved in.” Connie warned

“And that's suppose to mean something, my mothers a lawyer.” I bragged

“Sigh, look Spinel. I don't want any trouble. I don't know why you hit me yesterday, but all I ask for. Is that you stay away from Steven, or you'll regret it. He doesn't need someone like you in his life.” Connie threaten

It's cute that she thinks she can scare me. It's you who will be sorry.

“Connie. You sound like Steven belongs to you, you do realize he has a life outside of you.” I smirked

Connie was about to say something, but then she gave be a defeated look. Looks like I won this battle, but haven't won the war just yet.

“Just, please don't go near him. You're not his friend.” Connie added, walking towards me.

Of course I'm not his friend, I'm his girlfriend, his babey, his sweetheart.

At the moment she walks by me, I pulled out my Italian stiletto and used it to tear the paper bag open. Causing the groceries to drop to the ground.

“Gasp, oopsie daisy.” I gibed, walking by Connie irritably picking up her groceries.

It brings me joy to see someone like her struggling. Now time to go home before my folks worry about me.

It's now sundown, I just arrived to my place. I hope my moms aren't worried.

I walked up to the entrance and was going to open the door, however I stopped. I was hearing muffled screaming inside the house, so I ease dropped to find out what they're talking about.

“This has gone on long enough mother, we can't keep denying the problem with Spinel!” Mother argued

“You watch you're tone with me young lady, Spinel is fine. How is her liking someone so awful.” Grandmother Whitney retaliated

“Liking someone, you mean this boy Steven. I got a call from the school that she punched a girl in the face.” Mother retorted

“How is that a problem, Spinel probably had a good reason to do so.” Grandmother Whitney denied

“She hit that girl, over a piece of cake. I was told by Dr.Maheswaran, that her daughter asked for a piece of cake Steven had, and then all of a sudden Spinel hits her trying to slap the cake out of her hand. Accidentally hitting her in the face, causing her to bite her lip.” Mother shot

There was a silent pause, until I heard Momma speaking.

“Whitney, this isn't normal behavior for a girl like Spinel. Ever since kindergarten she's been very violent towards kids her age. We can't keep hiding and ignoring on what she did to Spin-.”

SLAP

“Never, and I repeat never mentioned that women again.” Grandmother Whitney snapped

“Mother what is wrong with you, don't hit Bella again.” Mother raged

“Or what, you won't defend me in court. I had to teach her a lesson for disobeying me.” Grandmother Whitney threaten

“Bella's right Mother, somethings wrong with Spinel. Sigh, God we should have never given her that knife.” Mother muttered

“The reason why I gave that knife is because that's what she wants. She doesn't want makeup and all that girly crap you get her. I know my Granddaughter.” Grandmother Whitney stated

“You can know Spinel inside and out all you want Whitney , but you gave her a weapon. In the past we got calls that Spinel threaten students in elementary, once I got called into a meeting with the principal because Spinel got suspended for bitting a kid, in middle school. Now she's attacking girls out of jealousy. Sigh, Whitney. Spinel is sick. This can't continue, because if it does Spinel will get herself hurt or go to prison. So if you really care for her, you need to stop defending this toxic side of Spinel. She needs help-.” Momma screeched before being interrupted

Ding, dong

“Hey guys I'm back from the library.” I announced

“Come in starlight.” Grandmother Whitney answered

I opened the door and walked to the dining room. I saw my three care-givers sitting at the dinning table drinking tea. Although I noticed Momma had tears in her eyes, and having a red handprint on the left side of her face.

“How was school today Spinel.” Mother coaxed

“It was a wonderful day Mother, I had lots of fun with Perri today.” I clarified

“That's good sweet-pea, did you have dinner at the Fitzgerald home.” Momma faltered

“Yes Momma, don't worry about wittle old me.” I reassured

Although I wouldn't call a tray of onigiri dinner, even though I'm still a little hungry. But I can wait until tomorrow, I don't want momma to stress about me.

“Okay darling, please get ready for bed.” Grandmother Whitney asserted

“I'll see you guys tomorrow.”

Once I finished getting into my cute bun-bun themed pajamas, I walked to my futon going to bed. Saturday is going to be a big day for me, because that's the day Steven and I will be all alone. No Connie to interfere with us. I'll just have to ask him tomorrow at school.

Ring ring

Another day of school went by so fast, and Friday is the perfect day to ask out Steven. Because that bitch Connie has tennis practice on Fridays, that means Steven will be all alone without any interruptions.

In the distance I see the gullible hunk walking off school grounds. I have to catch up to him before it's to late. I raced like hell to catch up to him, trying to catch his attention.

“Steven!” I exulted

“Wha.”

Finally, I got his attention.

“Hey Steven, huff puff huff puff.” I listlessly

“Oh, Spinel. I didn't expect to see you. Are you okay, from Wednesday.” Steven Gasped

“Ya everything is just swell.” I said trying to ease his nerves

“Anyway, sorry to bother you. But would you like to hang out tomorrow. Like get a milkshake, do karaoke or something.” I hesitated

Please say yes, please say yes.

“Sure, why not.” Steven responded

Yes, yes, oh god yes. I feel my heart racing and I'm sweating like crazy. I honestly had my doubts.

I wanted to reply to his answer, but I was so happy I lost my sense of reality. I couldn't stop smiling and my cheeks were like two hot tomatoes. My heart has never been this happy before, it's going to explode.

“Ah, Spinel. Are you okay.” Steven guessed

Just him looking at me made me paralyzed with joy.

“Oh, oh Stevi your so cute. I just want to cuddle you and feed you cookies.” I mumbled

“Ahhhhhhhhhh, okay. Well, meet me at my place tomorrow at noon. Bye.”

And just like that, my man is gone. Tomorrow I need to look my best, also I need to ask a favor from my geeky bud.

“Congratulations on your date Spinel.” Perri cheered

“It hasn't started yet, but thanks. How was your date with Lexi.” I grinned

“Well, I wouldn't call it a date. At least the clan allows me to hang with her.” Perri hummed

“Does Brooklyn know.” I doubted

“Ah, not yet. She still doesn't want me around the Black Hawks. But I still want to see Lexi, I just want her out of the gang.” Perri worried

“Hey, don't worry. Things will turn out okay, Lex is a smart gal and she'll get out eventually.” I encouraged

“You're a great friend Spinel, how can I repay you for what you did.” Perri offered

“Well, I hate to ask but. Can you keep Connie away from Steven all day.” I begged

Please say yes, please say yes

“Your in luck friend, I'm working on a science assignment with Connie. I'll tell her to come to my house to work on the project.” Perri reassured

“Ah, thank God. I owe you big time.” I burst

“No need, that's what friends do.” Perri acknowledged

It's 30 minutes until noon. I have to make up an excuse to go out.

“Hey Momma.” I shouted from my room

“Yes dear.” Momma groggily

“I'm going to the karaoke club with some friends. I'll be back before sunset.” I lied

“Yawn, okay sweetie. Please be safe.” Momma sleepily

I didn't expect it to be that easy, now time to see senpai.

It's a good thing Steven lives less than five minutes away, I would hate to take the bus. But if I had to I would.

I finally arrived at Stevens house, or tiny home to be exact.

His house wasn't as fancy as mine, although it's a cute little home. But what do you expect when your dad is a Uber driver, and rarely gets the dough at one of his garage concerts.

Speak of the devil, I see Greg Universe. On a lawn chair outside his house, playing his guitar and drinking beer. Although I have to admit, even though Greg looks like a loser he's still a good father. Obviously Steven got that suave charm from him.

“Hello Mr.Universe.” I burst

“Oh, you must be Conn- Ah I mean Spinel. Stevens happy that you asked him to hang out. By the way, call me Greg.” Greg sputtered, sounding like he's one more bottle to being wasted.

“Is Steven almost ready.” I inquired

“Don't worry, he'll be out shorty.” Greg reassured, but still looks like he has more to say.

“You know. I'm actually glad that you asked Steven to hang.” Greg confessed

“Really.” I doubted

“Ya I am. Steven doesn't really hang out with other kids outside of school. Even since his mom passed away, he's been very antisocial. Sure he may be out going at school. But when he isn't at school, he just sits in his room. Or sometimes hangs out with his friend Connie.”

I hate the thought of that bitch being mentioned today.

“Steven may hang with a lot of kids, but they're not his friends. I hate to talk behind someone's back, but I feel like Connie and Steven spend to much time together. I'm not saying that they can't hang out, but Steven needs a variety of friends. Because if they don't stay friends Steven will have trouble finding new ones. Ha, I'm sorry I burden you with all of that. It's just my way of saying thanks, I hope Steven has lots of fun.” Greg rattled on

Wow, you think you know a guy. I really misjudged Greg, he must want Steven to have as many friends has he wants. I'm just glad that we're one the same page that Connie is bad for him. That's what happens when two loners become friends, they're obsessed with spending so much time with each other.

“I'm sorry about your wife Greg, she must be very lucky to have a kid like Steven.” I comforted

“Thank you Spinel, it really means a lot to me.”

“Hey dad, I'm going now-oh hey Spinel. It's good to see you.” Steven beamed

“Hey Schtu-ball, here's so cash to have fun with your lady friend.” Greg happily offered

“Dad, it's not like that.” Steven spluttered

“Loosen up Lil-man. I'm just messing with you.” Greg smiled

Then all of a sudden, Greg was whispering in his ear. I couldn't hear want they are talking about. But what caught me off guard was that Greg secretly slipped a condom in Stevens jacket.

Oh Lordy, Steven and I haven't even got to the batters box's yet. Already Greg gives him a condom on the first date, I guess it's better to be safe then sorry. Now Greg has my full respect now, thinking that Steven and I would get dirty. He really wants Steven to have more friends.

Although poor Steven, he must be so embarrassed that Greg is giving him condoms and advice on girls.

“Okay Dad, I heard enough. Come on Spinel let's go” Steven spluttered

“Okay okay, see you crazy kids later.” Greg joked

“Jesus Christ.” Steven mumbled

After Steven got the talk, we made our way onto the bus.

“So Spinel, What would you like to do.” Steven asked

“Well, lets go to that 50s style dinner. I heard they have to best burgers and milkshakes there.” I suggested

“You mean Krazy Kats, (chuckled) it's been so long since I've been there. After that lets go to the karaoke club.” Steven cheered

“Steven Universe, I didn't know you can sing.” I teased

“Well. I can't, the only song I can sing is twinkle twinkle little star.” Steven joked

“Well it doesn't hurt to try.”

“No, it doesn't.” Steven hoped

After a long drive, we finally arrived at Blossom valley Mall.

As the gentleman Steven is, he helped me off the bus. Such a chivalrous lad.

“We're here, so do you want to do first.” Steven advised

“Lets go to the karaoke club first.” I responded

“Cool, lets go.”

“Wait Steven.” I shouted

“Yes Spinel.” Steven smiled

“I, I need you to hold something for me.” I avowed

“Sure, I'll be happy to help.”

I took out my right hand and reached it out to Steven, palm up.

“My hand.” I cackled shyly

Steven looked at me for a little bit, trying to get a grip of the situation. Until he started to smile.

“(Giggling), your adorable Spinel. Of course I'll hold your hand.” Steven beamed while grapping onto my hand.

He. He called me adorable. Wow, he called me adorable, on our first date. Oh god, I feel like I'm having a heart attack because my heart can't stop beating. He's now holding my hand, his soft skin rubbing onto me. How a I going to make it the whole day without fainting.

We happily dashed to the karaoke club. Inside was just like the interior of the Double Deuce in the movie Road House. It was also very spectral, with smoke, flashing colored lights and giant speakers. It was like a rave in here. Steven and I quickly found a place to sit, now looking at which songs we're going to sing.

“Wow, there's a lot to choose from. What are you going to sing.” Steven asked

“(Giggling), that's a secret. You'll find out soon.” I teased

“Always full of secrets I see.”

Well you got one thing right.

“Okay, you can go first. I'll still need some time to choose.” Steven convinced

“Alright kiddo, I'll go first.” I joked

I walked up to the counter and asked for my song. They told me I was on in five minutes. I walked back to Steven to tell him.

“Hey Stevi, I'm on in five minutes.”

“Cool, I picked mr blue sky electric light orchestra.” Steven mentioned

“Interesting choice bud.”

“Alright everybody give him around of applause. (Laughing) okay folks it's time of our next performer, please welcome to the stage for Spinel.”

(Applause)

I skipped up to the stage, getting ready to sing. Although some people would need to read the lyrics on the screen, but I know this song off by heart.

The song began

I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me 🎶

I still feel your touch in my dreams 🎶

Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why 🎶

Without you it's hard to survive 🎶

Here comes the chorus

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling 🎶

And every time we kiss I swear I could fly 🎶

Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last 🎶

Need you by my side 🎶

'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static 🎶

And every time we kiss I reach for the sky 🎶

Can't you hear my heart beat so I can't let you go 🎶

Want you in my life 🎶

'

(Freestyle dancing)

Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky 🎶

They wipe away tears that I cry 🎶

The good and the bad times we've been through them all 🎶

You make me rise when I fall 🎶

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling 🎶

And every time we kiss I swear I could fly 🎶

Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last 🎶

Need you by my side 🎶

'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static 🎶

And every time we kiss I reach for the sky 🎶

Can't you hear my heart beat so I can't let you go 🎶

Want you in my life 🎶

(More freestyle dancing)

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling 🎶

And every time we kiss I swear I could fly 🎶

Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last 🎶

Need you by my side 🎶

(Applause)

“Spinel that was amazing, your singing voice is beautiful.” Steven praised

“Your so sweet Stevi, it's now your turn to shine.” I encouraged

Now as expected, Steven sucked. But we had a good laugh about it. So far this was the best day of my life. This was true heavenly bliss.

Steven and I weren't really hungry, so we got takeout milkshakes from Krazy Kats. We then found a nice place to sit and catch. On a small green hill under a cherry three.

“How's your mint-chip, butterfingers, Reese's PB cups, Hershey's chocolate syrup with no cherry.”

“It's just delicious, how's your plain boring strawberry milkshake.” I joked

“Hey, it's just as good as yours.”

“(Giggling) I'm just messing with you, you look so cute when flustered.” I teased

“Okay now your just being silly.” Steven gushed

“Puff, (laughing).” Steven and I giggled

“Ha ha hah, Spinel this day was amazing. I'm having so much fun with you.” Steven cackled

This is an amazing day, I just want to relive this moment for the rest of my life. I never expected Steven to have fun with someone like me.

Wait, why's Steven frowning. Did I do something wrong. Fuck, I thought I did everything right.

“Spinel, I should have never given that cake you gave me to Connie. I thought I was doing something nice, but I didn't reconsider on how you'll feel. Although it wasn't right that you hit Connie. But, it was my fault that I blown out of proportion. I'm sorry Spinel.” Steven apologized, on the verge of tears.

“I can just act so stupid sometimes. I don't mean to do anything to hurt anyone, but I do it without knowing. I don't know why I'm like this. Ever since my mom was shanked in an ally by Black Hawk thugs, I just find was to mess up. Dads always stressed about paying the bills and taking care of me. He doesn't need that kind of stress I'm giving him. I'm just a burden. I'm a burden to my friends, my teachers and even my closest friend Connie. I just don't want to keep annoying people all the time, telling me to go away and play kid games. And them saying “your bitch mom got what she deserved”, one time I got a note I found in my locker, saying that it would be better for everyone if I just kill myself. (Sobbing). I feel like the whole world is against me, that everyone has some reason to attack me. Because I keep fucking up all the time. I'm just one. big. fuck up.(sobbing).” Steven bawled

Oh god, I had no idea Steven was in this much pain. It seems like on the outside that he's this layback happy guy. But no one notices that he's breaking and dying inside. Like me.

There was only one thing I can do, I wrapped my arms around him, giving him a tight hug.

“I'm sorry that you're feeling so bad, is this why you wanted to hang with me.”

“No!” Steven screamed

“No, no. I really wanted to spend time with you. I felt guilty for hurting you. But I still enjoyed today. (Sobbing).”

“It's okay daring, I'm not going anywhere. You're never a burden Steven Universe. I know things are stressful for you lately. But please don't consider it. I'll miss you, your dad will miss you, your friends and even your pets. You're important to a lot of us.”

“Lets just say this, you off yourself last year. That means you missed all those precious memories to this day. Your birthday, Christmas and even Halloween. All those events are gone, disappeared.”

“Remember last year. When I started the first year of high school. On Monday during lunchtime, I was waiting in-line to by the canteens fresh baked cookies. I was a limited time offer, only on Mondays. When I walked to the counter and asked for one of their cookies. They said “Sorry kid, we're sold out.” So I started to get upset. I wanted those cookies for so long and now there gone. But out of no where, you saw me. Out of the kindness of your heart you game me half of your homemade chocolate-chip cookie. Even though it wasn't as good as the canteens ones. It was still special that someone as kind as you, would share with me.”

“Don't you see goofball. Your actions have an impact on people's lives, a good impact. If you disappeared, that special moment would never happened. I know we don't know each other well, but I really care about you. Because you cared about me, and I would love to hang out more with you. Those last couple of hours were the best moments in my life so far.”

“(Sniffling) you really think so.”

“I know so Steven, you have a big heart and you care and love everyone. But you need to start loving yourself.”

Steven then wrapped his arms around my petite waist.

“Thank you Spinel, thank you so much.”

“I'll never leave you Steven. Never ever.”

To be continued

[meraenthusiast]

The 7 Best Real Estate Books For Investing

The 7 Best Real Estate Books For Investing

One of the more popular Google searches today has to do with achieving financial freedom.

When I turned 40, we reached debt-free status which felt great for about….two weeks. As a periodontist, my life has been centered around setting and accomplishing goals.

After getting into dental school then a residency; the next goal was starting a practice then eventually paying off student loan debt and our home.

So when I hit 40, I asked myself, “Hey self, what’s next?” At that time, we had only ONE income source coming in and that was from the practice.

*Active or earned income is the HIGHEST taxed source of income.

Something else that bothered me was the thought of not being able to work.

What if I was injured or disabled?

How would I take care of my family?

I continue to play tennis, basketball, football and ski with my kids. Yes, we’re an active family which increases the risk of injury.

Also, what if a pandemic struck causing the U.S. to shut down again?

Well, I really didn’t ask myself about the pandemic but I would certainly put it on my list of (what-if’s) moving forward.

I realized that I had to do something about the one income source issue but also wanted to spend more time with our boys before they moved off to college.

After performing research and networking, it seemed that passive income was the answer.

New goal

My new goal was set: Educate myself and begin acquiring multiple streams of income which would eventually lead to financial independence.

The next question that had to be answered was:

How do I get passive income?

The Road To Passive Income

When I first started learning about passive income, it took awhile to wrap my head around getting paid for work that I didn’t have to physically do.

After maintaining a lawn service for 10+ years and then on to treating patients, the thought of receiving a check each month without having to perform labor sounded too good to be true.

My first stop during the education process was to take a look at what millionaires do. If you can’t beat ’em then join them, right?

I voraciously read books either written by or about millionaires to find out how they accomplished their wealth.

Some of the books were:

The Millionaire Next Door

Think and Grow Rich

Everyday Millionaire

The Richest Man in Babylon

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Real Estate Is The Key

“90% of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined. The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.” – Andrew Carnegie

Even though the majority of millionaires achieve their wealth through real estate, that doesn’t mean you’ll do the same if you become a real estate investor.

But one of the best ways to avoid failure and improve your chances of success is to learn by reading books.

Why Books?

With so much information out there online and on podcasts, you may wonder why I started with books.

I’ve always loved reading but also learned from research some of the daily habits of the rich and poor that Tom Corley of Rich Habits performed.

He found that your daily habits are responsible for your financial circumstances in life.

Here’s a few stats that he uncovered:

86% of the wealthy loved reading vs. 26% for the poor

63% of the wealthy listened to audio books commuting vs. 5% for the poor

85% of the wealthy read two or more self-improvement books every month vs. 15% for the poor

88% of the wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day vs. 2% for the poor

94% of the wealthy, on a daily basis, read newspapers, newsletters, magazines, blogs and other digital media vs. 11% of the poor

The stats speak for themselves. If you want to be wealthy, learn the habits of the rich and read.

I’m a big believer of never investing in anything that you don’t understand and real estate is no different.

Here’s a list of the 7 best real estate books to get you started.

7 Best Real Estate Books

Note: The following books are not listed in any particular order.

#1 The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

In the book, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, author Gary Keller of Keller-Williams Realty interviewed over 100 millionaire real estate investors to put together a guide for building wealth through real estate. 

If you’re just starting out in real estate, then reading this would be similar to taking a Real Estate Investing 101 course.

I’m a firm believer that if you want to accomplish anything in life, then you have to start with the right MINDSET.

Keller’s book does a great job putting the reader in the investing mindset.

It starts off discussing basic investing advice we all need and then dives deeper into how it can be applied to real estate.

Personally, I feel that this is one of the best books on real estate investing.

#2 Rich Dad Poor Dad

The second book on our list of best real estate books is Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad. It’s the ultimate book to get you started in real estate with the right frame of mind.

He obtained life lessons from his poor dad (real dad) that held a Ph.D in education, and a “rich dad” that was a successful business owner (one of the wealthiest in Hawaii) who only had an eighth grade education.

In the book, Kiyosaki shares six important lessons that he learned over a thirty year period from his rich dad.

These include:

Lesson #1: It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much you keep.

Lesson #2: The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.

Lesson #3: It’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.

Lesson #4: Corporations are the biggest secret of the rich.

Lesson #5: The rich focus on their asset columns while everyone else focuses on their income statements.

Lesson #6: People who avoid failure also avoid success.

#3 The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing

For many real estate investors, “The ABCs of Real Estate Investing” by Ken McElroy is their go-to book that teaches the basics of real estate investing.

McElroy has over 26 years of senior-level experience in multifamily asset and property management.

In it, he discusses how to achieve wealth with real estate by:

negotiating deals

finding and evaluating properties

using property management tools to increase income

plus much more

Even though the book mainly focuses on apartments, most of the concepts can still be applied to other types of real estate investments too.

#4 What Every Real Estate Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow

When I first started investing in real estate, two things stood out:

I needed to learn a new set of terminology

Math is a big deal in real estate!

The fourth book on our list of best real estate books is Frank Gallinelli’s What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow… and 36 Other Key Financial Measures. This book can help you figure it all out, especially for newbies.

The key to evaluating deals is knowing your numbers and this book does a great job breaking that down for you.

Some of the terms the book details are:

cash-on-cash return

equity multiple

cash flow

net present value

internal rate of return

cap rate

You’ll also find thorough explanations of all the calculations you need to learn to evaluate real estate deals.

#5 The CashFlow Quadrant

Yes, another Kiyosaki book makes the list!

This time it’s the sequel to Rich Dad Poor Dad titled, The CashFlow Quadrant.

If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you know that I’m a big Kiyosaki and Grant Cardone fan.

Do I recommend or agree with everything they say?

No.

But I do enjoy both of their styles of teaching financial freedom using real estate.

The book centers around the 4 quadrants he claims we all fall into:

Image Courtesy of Wealthfit.com

Which one are you in? 

Kiyosaki claims that most people are on the left side or the “poor side” of the quadrant. They’re either employees or self-employed.

Most physicians and dentists are typically on the left side too as they mainly trade their time for money.

In order for them to make money, they must perform…or they don’t get paid.

The goal of the book seems to motivate the masses to move from the left to the right side of the quadrant….and he does a pretty darn good job of it too.

#6 Retire Early With Real Estate

Do you want to eventually reach financial freedom sooner rather than later?

What better source to learn from than someone that has done just that by the age of 37. Real estate coach Chad Carson put together a comprehensive guide to financial freedom called Retire Early With Real Estate.

Can’t beat that title.

His book provides a five-step process to creating your own real estate early retirement plan.

Other takeaways include:

How to use rental income to pay all your monthly bills

A step-by-step process for using rental properties to retire within 10-15 years

Case studies of everyday people who have used real estate to retire

#7 The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth and Passive Income

Owning residential real estate is one of the most popular ways active investors currently invest.

When I first started learning about real estate, investing in single family homes was my first stop.

The Book On Rental Property Investing’s author, Brandon Turner, is the co-host of the “Bigger Pockets” podcast, which is one of the best resources for real estate investing.

If you’re just getting started or want to learn more about building wealth with real estate, look no further than Turner’s book.

The book highlights:

how to find deals, even in competitive markets

strategies to finding good paying tenants

finding property financing

why cash flow is so important

tax reduction strategies as a part of your investment strategy

plus, much more

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a way to build wealth plus diversify your portfolio, then real estate investing is the key.

But before you begin to deploy your money, make sure you begin the self-education process (as with any type of investing).

One of the best ways to do this is to start reading some of (or all) the books on our best real estate books list.

However, reading these are only one way to gain real estate knowledge.

Consider other options such as:

podcasts

seminars

real estate mentor(s)

courses

Are you ready to to start investing for cash flow? Join the Passive Investors Circle today.

The post The 7 Best Real Estate Books For Investing appeared first on Debt Free Dr..

from Debt Free Dr. https://ift.tt/34gxDGx via IFTTT

[kuwaiti-kid]

Here are the 7 Best Real Estate Books For Investing

One of the more popular Google searches today has to do with achieving financial freedom. Since real estate investing is often part of achieving financial freedom, it's not uncommon for people to search for the best real estate books. I'll give you my list in this post. 

When I turned 40, we reached a debt-free status, which felt great for about….two weeks. As a periodontist, my life has been centered around setting and accomplishing goals.

After getting accepted into dental school then a residency, the next goal was starting a practice then eventually paying off student loan debt and our home.

So when I hit 40, I asked myself, “Hey self, what's next?” At that time, we had only ONE income source coming in, and that was from the practice.

*Active or earned income is the HIGHEST taxed source of income.

Something else that bothered me was the thought of not being able to work. What if I was injured or disabled? How would I take care of my family?

I continue to play tennis, basketball, and football with my kids, and we also snow ski annually. Yes, we're an active family, which increases the risk of injury.

Also, what if a pandemic struck, causing the U.S. to shut down?

Well, I didn't ask myself about the pandemic, but I would certainly put it on my list of (what-if's) moving forward.

I realized that I had to do something about the one income source issue but also wanted to spend more time with my boys before they moved off to college.

After doing research and networking, it seemed that passive income was the answer.

I had set my new goal: Educate myself and begin acquiring multiple streams of income, which would eventually lead to financial independence.

The next question I had to answer was: How do I get passive income?

The Road To Passive Income

When I first started learning about passive income, it took a while to wrap my head around getting paid for work that I didn't have to do physically.

After maintaining a lawn service for 10+ years and then on to treating patients, the thought of receiving a check each month without having to perform labor sounded too good to be true.

My first stop during the education process was to take a look at what millionaires do. If you can't beat 'em, then join them, right?

I voraciously read books either written by or about millionaires to find out how they accomplished their wealth.

Some of the books were:

The Millionaire Next Door

Think and Grow Rich

Everyday Millionaire

The Richest Man in Babylon

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Real Estate Is The Key

“90% of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined. The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.” – Andrew Carnegie

Even though the majority of millionaires achieve their wealth through real estate, that doesn't mean you will too if you become a real estate investor.

But one of the best ways to avoid failure and improve your chances of success is to learn real estate by reading books.

Why Books?

With so much information out there online and on podcasts, you may wonder why I started with reading books.

I've always loved reading but also learned from the research of the daily habits of the rich and poor that Tom Corley of Rich Habits performed.

He found that your daily habits are responsible for your financial circumstances in life.

Here are a few stats that he uncovered:

86% of the wealthy loved reading vs. 26% for the poor

63% of the wealthy listened to audiobooks during their commute to work vs. 5% for the poor

85% of the wealthy read two or more self-improvement books every month vs. 15% for the poor

88% of the wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day vs. 2% for the poor

94% of the wealthy, daily, read newspapers, newsletters, magazines, blogs, and other digital media vs. 11% of the poor

The stats speak for themselves. If you want to be wealthy, learn the habits of the rich, and read.

I'm a big believer in never investing in anything that you don't understand. Real estate is no different.

Here's a list of the seven best real estate books to get you started.

7 Best Real Estate Books

Note: The following books are in no particular order.

#1 The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

In the book, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, author Gary Keller of Keller-Williams Realty interviewed over 100 millionaire real estate investors to put together a guide for building wealth through real estate. 

If you're just starting in real estate, then reading this would be similar to taking a Real Estate Investing 101 course.

I'm a firm believer that if you want to accomplish anything in life, then you have to start with the right MINDSET.

Keller's book does a great job by putting the reader in the investing mindset.

It starts off discussing essential investing advice we all need and then dives deeper into how it can be applied to real estate.

Personally, I feel that this is one of the best books on real estate investing.

#2 Rich Dad Poor Dad

The second book on our list of best real estate books is Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad is the ultimate book to get you started in real estate with the right frame of mind.

He obtained life lessons from his poor dad (real dad) that held a Ph.D. in education and a “rich dad” that was a successful business owner (one of the wealthiest in Hawaii) who only had an eighth-grade education.

In the book, Kiyosaki shares six important lessons that he learned over thirty years from his rich dad.

These lessons include:

#1: It's not how much money you make; it's how much you keep.

#2: The poor and the middle-class work for money. The rich have money work for them.

#3: It's not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.

#4: Corporations are the biggest secret of the rich.

#5: The rich focus on their asset columns while everyone else focuses on their income statements.

#6: People who avoid failure also avoid success.

#3 The ABC's of Real Estate Investing

For many real estate investors, “The ABCs of Real Estate Investing” by Ken McElroy is their best go-to book that teaches the basics of real estate investing. McElroy has over 26 years of senior-level experience in multifamily asset and property management.

 In it, he discusses how to achieve wealth with real estate by:

negotiating deals

finding and evaluating properties

using property management tools to increase income

plus much more

Even though the book mainly focuses on apartments, most of the concepts can still be applied to other types of real estate investments too.

#4 What Every Real Estate Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow

When I first started investing in real estate, two things stood out:

I needed to learn a new set of terminology.

Math is a big deal in real estate!

The fourth book on our list of best real estate books is Frank Gallinelli's What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow, and 36 Other Key Financial Measures can help you figure it all out, especially for newbies.

The key to evaluating deals is knowing your numbers, and this book does a great job breaking that down for you.

Some of the terms the book details are:

cash-on-cash return

equity multiple

cash flow

net present value

internal rate of return

cap rate

You'll also find thorough explanations of all the calculations you need to learn and use to evaluate real estate deals.

#5 The CashFlow Quadrant

Yes, another Kiyosaki book makes this list! This time it's the sequel to Rich Dad Poor Dad titled The Cashflow Quadrant.

If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you know that I'm a big Kiyosaki and Grant Cardone fan. Do I recommend or agree with everything they say? No. But I do enjoy both of their styles of teaching financial freedom using real estate.

The book centers around the four quadrants he claims we all fall into:

Image Courtesy of Wealthfit.com

W? 

Kiyosaki claims that most people are on the left side of the “poor side” of the quadrant. They're either employees or are self-employed.

Most physicians and dentists are in these categories, as you can see from the pictures above that they mainly trade their time for money.

For them to make money, they must perform, or they don't get paid.

The goal of the book seems to motivate the masses to move from the left to the right side of the quadrant….and he does a pretty darn good job of it too.

#6 Retire Early With Real Estate

Do you want to reach financial freedom sooner rather than later eventually?

There is no better source to learn from than someone that has done just that by the age of 37. Real estate coach Chad Carson put together a comprehensive guide to financial freedom called Retire Early With Real Estate. Can't beat that title.

His book provides a five-step process for creating your real estate early retirement plan.

Other takeaways include:

How to use rental income to pay all your monthly bills

A step-by-step process for using rental properties to retire within 10-15 years

Case studies of everyday people who have used real estate to retire

#7 The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth and Passive Income

Investing and owning residential real estate is one of the most popular ways active investors currently invest.

When I first started learning about real estate, investing in single-family homes was my first stop.

The Book On Rental Property Investing's author, Brandon Turner, is the co-host of the “Bigger Pockets” podcast, which is one of the best resources for real estate investing.

If you're just getting started or want to learn more about building wealth with real estate, look no further than Turner's book.

The book highlights:

how to find deals, even in competitive markets

strategies to finding good paying tenants

finding property financing

why cash flow is so important

tax reduction strategies as a part of your investment strategy

plus, much more

The Bottom Line

If you're looking for a way to build wealth plus diversify your portfolio, then real estate investing is critical.

But before you begin to deploy your money, make sure you start the self-education process (as with any type of investing).

A great way to do this is by reading some (or all) of the books on our list.

However, reading these books is only one way to gain real estate knowledge.

Consider other options such as:

podcasts

seminars

real estate mentor(s)

courses

The post Here are the 7 Best Real Estate Books For Investing appeared first on Your Money Geek.

from Your Money Geek https://ift.tt/2MkioCg via IFTTT