Your Survival Guy’s “What a Way to Make a Living” series kicks off today, and it’s not about Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” Because let’s not forget that before work, there’s that long, early morning commute into a big, blob city, only to do it again in reverse at five, and maybe get home by seven? Then feed the kids. I hope those days are over. Because the megatrend of living where you work and working where you live is here to stay.
Your Survival Guy’s focus is on you. How can you improve your life and that of your family? I talk with hundreds of investors like you every month and can tell you there is a key to their happiness. Sure, being close to family and friends helps, but the key is having enough money to make it all work. Without money, you don’t have your ticket to freedom—the freedom you truly deserve.
Luckily for you and the next generation, retirement, and work will be whatever you want it to be. The groundswell of possibilities is massive—it will help eliminate the long, hard slog of enduring so many commuting hours a day to get to your job. Sure, it’s going to take some thought to figure it out. And it might not be as lucrative (at first, that is). But with some thought and care, I believe you can have the retirement life of your dreams.
Your Survival Guy didn’t start off successful. When I lived in Everett, MA, it was exhausting commuting 30 to 60 minutes to and from Boston, working at the World Trade Center at Fidelity Investments. Then, after saving my money, I moved to Watertown, MA, shaved a few minutes off the commute and watched most of my savings disappear to rent. It was when my team got moved to the suburbs of Marlborough, MA, that a light went off, and I asked: “Self? Why are you paying all this money in rent?”
All of a sudden, Your Survival Guy’s real estate arbitrage became doable. I could replace my high-cost rent with a mortgage and live where I worked—an impossibility in high-cost Boston. Literally, overnight, my life changed. I bought a three-family, rented out the top two floors, and moved into the three-bedroom first floor with two roommates and never looked back. I’ve been in the ownership society ever since.
Action Line: The American Dream is alive and well if you have a plan. Yes, you can live where you work and work where you live. Stay tuned. More to come: What a Way to Make a Living.
