People overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in ten. -J.C.R. Licklider
So I’m going to give a little shout out to someone to whom I owe a great debt. That person is Jill 2003. Yes, you guessed it. Me 17 years ago.
In 2003, I bought my first rental property. It was a 5-unit apartment building. After living at home for a year, I had saved enough to put $17,000 down, and with my best friend from college, we had a 20% down payment.
I also need to give another shout out to Jill 2012. Because in 2012, my partner wanted out. I tried to dissuade him. Real estate prices still hadn’t recovered from the great recession in 2009. But he was adamant. So I bought out his half for a price about 25% lower than we had originally paid.
For years, those apartments brought in about $1500/month. That’s money that I didn’t have to work for – very much. It certainly wasn’t what I’d call passive income, but it wasn’t a 40 hour a week job, either. The time I put in was minimal.
Then, in 2018 when the real estate prices had rebounded, and our family was trying to move overseas, I sold them and deposited a check for over $200,000 in the bank.
So those two chics (Jill 2003 and Jill 2012) really hooked me up!
Now why am I telling you this? Do I want to impress you with my riches, and how smart and disciplined I am, and possibly make you feel like a loser? Well, actually no. It’s because it’s a personal example of what can be accomplished over time.
Let me repeat that quote from the top of the post again.
“People overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in ten.” J.C.R. Licklider
This is what I want you to remember when it all seems overwhelming. Whether “it” is raising a child, getting out of debt, building a business, or becoming the teacher or the person you dream of being.
When I was 25, and hyperventilating because I was writing a check for $17,000 (six months’ income for me at the time), I literally couldn’t have believed that I would later deposit a check for over $200,ooo because of the action I took that day. And let me tell you, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. There were tears, and tantrums, and that fun time we got sued for something our tenant’s kid did. There were a hundred times I felt like quitting.
And no single year made a big difference. It just added up. Pay off a little bit of principal. Chase down a tenant who hadn’t paid. Replace the carpet between tenants. Wash and repeat ad infinitum. It wasn’t one thing that did it. It was all those things.
So give yourself some grace on those days when it doesn’t seem like you will ever get there. And keep at it. Even when it seems like you’re making no progress. ESPECIALLY when it seems like you’re making no progress.
Remember, you’ve got this!
Jill