253: How to Build Your Financial Foundation BEFORE Investing in Real Estate w/Malia Gudenkauf

Real Estate Rookie

Personal finance is what most twenty-something-year-olds overlook. Why invest, save, or cut back spending when you finally have the money that a college degree or diploma promised you? For those who have just started working, spending all your hard-earned money on a bigger apartment, a nicer car, or a luxurious trip can be enticing. But, you could also be using your paychecks to multiply your wealth, set yourself up for financial freedom, and lock in early retirement while most are focused on barely paying their bills.

This personal finance-first attitude is what Malia Gudenkauf adopted early on. After attending basic personal finance classes, she realized the disservice many young people did to themselves. So, Malia started developing financial literacy skills, from focusing on becoming debt-free to later investing in passive income streams like real estate. Thankfully, her sister, Grace (you can hear her episode here), was just starting as a landlord and needed a partner she later found in Malia.

In this episode, Malia details everything you want to know to get your finances in order, how to avoid getting caught in analysis paralysis, reverse engineering your income goals when buying a rental property, and advice on how and who to form partnerships with. Whether in high school, college, the working world, or close to traditional retirement age, the advice Malia gives is crucial if you want to start your real estate investing journey.

In This Episode We Cover

Building a solid financial foundation and the basic personal finance steps anyone can follow

How to “reverse engineer” your goals and buy the properties that fit them best

Small multifamily investing and how to purchase multiple doors at once

Real estate partnerships and tips for finding a partner who will help you grow without causing your headaches

Real estate vs. stocks and why the passivity of rental properties is often overstated

Defeating analysis paralysis and how leveraging partnerships gets you past rental property roadblocks

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Find an Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agent

Ashley's Instagram

Tony's Instagram

BiggerPockets Calculator

BiggerPockets Pro

Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group

Real Estate Rookie Podcast

Real Estate Rookie Youtube Channel

The BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets Forums

Using Calculated Risk to Acquire 17 Doors In Under a Year (at Age 24!) w/ Grace Gudenkauf

Semi-Retired at 30 Thanks to One Year’s Worth of Real Estate Investing

Connect with Malia:

Malia's BiggerPockets Profile

Malia's Instagram

Malia's Tiktok

Malia's Website

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-253

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