Are you building your wealth towards a financially secure future?
Everybody wants financial stability, but certain factors and even personal decisions can lead you to make choices you’ll regret. The “YOLO” life can be tempting. You might want to invest your money wisely but just don’t know how — don’t let these things stop you from becoming the millionaire you can be.
Here at The Mentee Podcast, we know that handling your finances wisely is easier said than done. So we’re relaunching an episode with David Pere, founder of the Military Millionaire Community, where he talks about his journey in building wealth and success — and how you can too.
Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:
- Spend your money wisely
- Put a percentage of your paycheck into a bond account
- Be consistent with your content and brand
- Learn to leverage VA loans
- Start contributing to your 401(k)
- Fix your credit and purchase a property using a VA loan
Episode Highlights:
[05:05] Spend Wisely
The first secret to getting wealthy in the military is to stop doing whatever the military does. The military offers many benefits that can make it easy to build wealth, but they must be used wisely. It’s up to you to decide if you want to make money and commit to it.
[09:05] Set Money Aside
Always try to set aside around 10 to 20% of your paycheck. Add another 1 or 2% to your deposits every time you get a raise and put it in a bond account. You can then become financially secure and afford to take bigger risks because your retirement will already be taken care of.
[12:03] How David Got Started in Real Estate Investing
A few months before starting real estate investing in 2015, David joined Amway and did multilevel marketing. One thing he got out of that was an audiobook of Rich Dad Poor Dad.
At that time, the lease on David’s apartment was almost up at that time, so he started looking for duplexes and purchased one. It took two years to buy his next real investment: a 10-unit that was 85% bank-financed and 10% seller-financed. He only paid 5% out of pocket.
[17:55] Scaling and Syndication
Upon leaving active duty in October 2021, David had just under 100 doors in his portfolio. He now has a 4-unit hotel that he’s a third owner on, two apartments, and a bunch of one to four-unit singles, duplexes, and fourplexes. His goal is to hold around 10 more houses this year.
David also helped raise two syndications that he’s a general partner on. He was a huge fan of them.
[25:54] Navigating VA Loans and Entitlement
Most people do not realize the benefits of VA loans. You can build a house or do a renovation loan with one. The guidelines are extremely loose. There’s also no debt-to-income ratio requirement.
David’s favorite strategy is house hacking, which is possible with conventional loans. You could also house hack with VA loans, but it gets nuanced when it comes to entitlement. Depending on the purchase price and other factors, you could end up with zero entitlements. Zipcodes set the entitlement amount. The limits on your first purchase still apply but only after your first use.
[30:39] Starting Your Journey to Wealth
Make sure you’re putting out a bare minimum of 5% if you’re on the new retirement system. It’s also important to fix your credit. You can then aim at purchasing a duplex, triplex, or fourplex with a VA loan. If you can pay less to live in a certain place, save that money, and you’re all set for success.
Resources Mentioned:
frommilitarytomillionaire.com
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-military-millionaire-podcast/id1447045746
amazon.com/B-S-Guide-Military-Life-greatness/dp/1736753010
amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680194
