How We Met
MySpace! That’s right. We met on MySpace. However, it’s not the love story you might be thinking of. Jacqueline moved from California to Omaha to attend Pharmacy school. On the other hand, I moved to Omaha for a new job.
While considering if I should move to Omaha, I wanted to get a heads up about the area. I recalled one of my friends at church dated a girl years ago from Omaha. That girl had a sister named Jackie.
So, I signed up for MySpace and searched for a Jackie girl who lived in Omaha that also belonged to the same church. I happened to find a MySpace profile that belonged to a “Jacque from Omaha.”
I sent Jacqueline a direct message to determine if she was the same Jackie I met years ago. I always tell people that “I found the wrong Jackie, but I found the right, Jacque. “
After a year and a half later of knowing each other, we started getting to know each other on a deeper level and began dating. About two years later, we got married.
We decided to settle down here and grow our family and were blessed with two amazing kids.
How We Got Into Building Wealth
Jacqueline and I consider ourselves content and straightforward. We also consider ourselves blessed to have well-paying jobs that provide for our daily needs and allow us to add to our savings.
However, we weren’t necessarily efficient with our money.
We regularly contributed to our company’s 401k and Health Savings Account. Also, we invested our money in mutual funds and tried to keep money in a high-interest savings account.
At that time, we believed we were investing our money wisely.
The Light Bulb Moment
One night, Jacqueline and I were talking about the insane amount of debt people had. This situation we did not want for our children. We both tried to educate them about managing money, but we didn’t know where to begin.
My wife shared a quote she heard from Robert Kiyosaki about the mindset he was taught about money when he was young. His “dad” taught him NOT to say “I can’t afford it” but rather, “How can I afford it?”.
That statement blew my mind!
The next day, I picked up the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. That book changed the way I viewed money and wealth. However, it wasn’t enough for me to have a new mindset. Instead, I wanted to start a small business. I wanted to start a business where we can gain hands-on experience and involve our kids along the way.
Multiple media outlets have featured us, such as Business Insider and USA Today, where we shared our story using our small business to teach our kids about money and some struggles owning real estate. Check out our press section to see the other publications.
Introducing: Real Estate Investing
Within the first six months of getting starting as investors, we acquired two properties!
If you look at the image below, as of July 2020, our net worth is over half a million dollars. Although we also invest in the stock market, real estate is the majority of our net worth. Our first goal is to acquire ten investment properties within our first ten years!
If you asked me back in 2010 if I would be interested in investing in real estate, I would quickly say, “No.” My wife said she wanted to buy a condo downtown around that time and rent it out.
I was firmly against it. I told my wife that I didn’t want to fix the toilets.
Like money and wealth, I didn’t fully understand real estate at that time. How ironic when I recommended to my wife that we should become real estate investors.
Our Goal
It wasn’t until we had our “light bulb” moment that motivated us to think differently about money and wealth. Once we were inspired, we started networking to build our team.
We want to be a resource to other parents working full-time jobs also wanting to build wealth. Although we may be busy with our 9 to 5 jobs, it is still possible to raise a family and take care of one’s family financially.
We look forward to sharing our experiences and our advice to help you to reach your goals! Please feel free to email us. We would love to get to know you.