What Did You Achieve in 2023?

As 2023 comes to a close most of us take a look back and reflect on the last year.

I like to think about what I accomplished to further advance my goals.

You can follow me on my personal blog, but I really only have two goals in life now:

• Succeed with my family
• Surf until I die

In 2023 I was able accomplish the following:

Succeeding with my family:

• Take my son to the USA Hockey National Tournament, they failed to advance out of group play in one of the most heartbreaking moments that will make him stronger.
• Shoot an original TV show production, Office Joe, with my son and daughter which gave them a bit of an acting bug
• Help my sons achieve straight As, something I never did as a child
• Introduce my daughter to diving, which she enjoys greatly
• Take my family to Costa Rica and Hawaii where they learned the difference between a hike and a walk
• Continue art lessons for my daughter as she has shown quite the affinity to art as an 8 year old
  

 Surf until I die:

• 3 weeks in Nicaragua surfing
• Added club training like Laird Hamilton with purchase and use of wood and steel clubs

I was able to accomplish the above in part because I was able to add to my real estate portfolio in 2023.

• 1 Commercial property: $9,000/year income
• 1 Townhouse for Section 8 Rental an extra $13,200/year of income

As part of my annual lookback, I’ll also examine the things I failed at:

• Closed the year heavier than I started by about 8 lbs. Really can’t let my weight keep adding on.
• My businesses did not reach profitable scale (meaning they weren’t able to grow without the principals’ involvement. I don’t know if I have a business or a job. I think I have two jobs.)
• Took a brutal loss with my property in Maine in a large part thanks to Liberty Mutual. I will never work with them again. I'll share more when the situation is settled, but I will never work with them again.

You might be wondering why I’m sharing this on a blog about Section 8 investing.

Over the course of the last year during these private consultations I think the biggest eye opener for me personally was meeting and seeing so many people want to achieve more, but they didn’t have enough income or time to really live the lives they wanted. They weren’t trying to buy super cars or diamond watches. These are people just trying to carve out enough income and time to start doing some of the things with their family that they keep putting off.

This is the trap of the middle class and we’re starting to see that this is the reason for our training program to exist.

Escaping the middle class means generating enough income to where you're not so stressed about paychecks and bills. The common denominator we see with our consults is people firmly in the middle class are getting squeezed. Are you feeling the same?

Maybe you earn a good salary on a paper, but your living expenses stretch every single dollar. Maybe you’ve earned raises and promotions, but your lifestyle creep is creeping faster than your income is rising.

Maybe you feel like a complete wage and time slave. Maybe you must stay in that job because you can’t afford to go two weeks without a paycheck. Maybe you’re scared to interview, or you don’t have time to interview for that next job because you’re afraid to be get fired for missing too much time.

Feeling trapped by your job is not a good place to be. It stinks to look at your bank account and see that you can't save enough. It stinks to look at your kids’ hobbies and know that you can't support them going to the soccer, or you can't support them going to something that they really care about like diving or Jiu-Jitsu or something else.

Earning more income isn’t just about having a nice car. A lot of our happiness is tied to our work. Maybe you have a passion for your job. I used to be a teacher and some of my fellow teachers loved everything about teaching, except their income.

For some of us, we know we need to change jobs or careers but a quick look at the job listings add to your personal disappointment. Maybe you feel like a you don't qualify for these high paying jobs, or these high paying jobs sound miserable to you. They sound like you would be inundated with work to the point where you wouldn't enjoy the money anyway.

Maybe life is sucking all the time and energy out of your soul too.

After 1 year of teaching others how to achieve guaranteed income with Section 8, we can see what happens to people when the relief starts to set in. When they realize that extra bit of income does help the bills each month. When they see they have a plan that will earn more money faster than their job will pay them in the next 10 years.

The only way to escape the middle class is to not only generate more income but you must also increase the total time available to you.

Getting a 2^nd or 3^rd job is simply not an option for many of us because while income goes up, free time is removed from the equation. You won’t feel the difference in your life unless your income increases while your total effort and or energy towards earning that income stays flat or better yet, decreases.

For most of us it simply means we want to do what we're doing, spend time with our families, but we also want just more money.

Having experienced this firsthand, here's what happens when you start adding just even $500 per month of extra income each month.

$500 per month of extra income makes your life just a slightly bit easier. It makes it easier to have a meal out, or to say yes to a small little treat. It helps contribute to your bills, or maybe it’s the difference between saving $0/year to $6,000/year. Would a $6,000 raise make your life a little easier? For most of us in the middle class, it really would make a difference.

At $1,000 extra per month you start saving a little bit more money. At $2,000 a month you are able to start saying yes things that maybe you used to always say no to. Maybe you’re willing to purchase some of the small things you’ve always wanted but didn’t commit to because you were on a tight budget. Crossfit and Pilates? No problem. New car? No problem. An extra $2,000 per month extra can make a big difference in your quality of life.

My example of this was when I started to upgrade to first class on my flights. A first class domestic flight is usually between $500-$1,000 per roundtrip ticket. I stand 6’2”, 260lbs so a little room makes a huge difference for me. When my secondary income passed $2,000/month I started to buy first class tickets for flights over 4 hours. It was easy to justify because I knew the very next month, another $2,000 was going to hit my bank account on top of my salary.

Once you cross $4,000 per month of extra income, your life transforms. The $48,000 per year extra almost ensures that whatever job you do next, you will be earning a six-figure salary. Depending on what your spouse does for a living, you have all but guaranteed you are above the national median or local median for income in your area.

The median household income in Los Angeles, CA is $65,290. If you have $48,000 year in rental income, just one of you needs a minimum wage job to be earning more than 50% of the houses in LA. That’s crazy to think about.

This is the moment when buying a new car, going on a big vacation, or some other major life event is all but paid for with your rental income.

Climbing out of the middle class wasn’t a primary goal when we started Section 8 Secrets, but we’re starting to see that this is the greatest benefit it unlocks. The reason it works so well is simply the guaranteed rent payments, which guarantees your income each month. There are very few jobs or business ideas that guarantee your income.

If you started a cookie store, do you know how much you would sell the next month? Do you know if you would sell enough to cover your expenses? Life isn’t a spreadsheet. No matter what you model, no matter what you think is going to happen, life has a way of surprising you.

That is except Section 8 payments. They always pay on time, every time. It is the only income we can think of that is guaranteed to come in.

Again, I’m not the richest Section 8 investor in the world. I don’t have the nicest cars, although I think a 2014 Honda Odyssey with 180k miles on it is a source of pride. I don’t have a monstrous personal home.

But what I do have is a clear path on my terms to reach my life goals.

I want to:

• Succeed with my family
• Surf until I die

Section 8 isn’t the only reason I’m marching towards these life goals, but it plays a huge part. It’s allowed me to say yes to interesting jobs, to say yes to my kids’ activities, and I do say yes to personal luxuries for myself. If either of my jobs with Mission.org or Dieseljackmedia.com were to falter, I would be able to pick up immediately because my rental income has surpassed $4,000/month.

By definition, my family is no longer middle class, although it wasn’t that long ago where we had a household income under $100k and we supported 3 kids with that wage. So, I remember exactly what it was like to pinch every penny. At one point, I had 3 kids in the same bedroom in a townhouse. That was in 2015, so really, not that long ago.

I know what it’s like to live lean. I also know what it’s like to plan a 2024 surf trip that will cross the globe going from Nicaragua to Indonesia in Business Class (still not quite baller enough for 1^st class transpacific flights).

What we’ve built here is a conservative method that will help anyone escape the middle class malaise. It’s also a model that can be compounded. Sure you can grow faster, get more units, take on more risk, and do many other things to generate even more Section 8 income. There is nothing stopping you from going as big as you want to go.

So what are your life goals? Do you want to live in a mansion? Do you want to drive a Bugatti?

A lot of us want things, but the real question is do you know how to get there. Do you know what you should do next?

What is something you want to accomplish in the next year, or the next 10 years?

Are you taking the steps towards those goals?

If not, when do you plan on starting?

I know this, no matter what your goal is, I know a little more income, and a little more time will help you get there.

This is why we do what we do.

I hope to see you in 2024.

All the best,

Albert

Managing Partner

Section 8 Secrets LLC