As presidential elections approach this upcoming November, we’ve been bombarded by a myriad of proposals, promises, and “plans” to make our economy better from both candidates. If you’ve been following my content for some time, you’ve probably heard me say something along the lines of: it doesn’t really matter who gets elected, at the end of the day it’s still on you to set yourself and your family up for financial success (or any success for that matter). When it comes to promises from politicians, rather than take everything at face value, I challenge you to consider the age old adage: Follow the money. Where is the money coming from, and who does it benefit? I know it’s a loaded question, but when you hear things like “we’re gonna give thousands of dollars to such & such individuals”, where is that coming from?
If you’ll pardon my pessimism for a minute, the fact of the matter is we’re still on the “Print preposterous amounts of money” hamster wheel, and that likely won’t change with either candidate. We all know that nearly everything has gotten more expensive, and our money does not have the same buying power that it did even just a few years ago. So, the next logical question is how do you fight against this?
You can probably find many answers to this question, from 401Ks, IRAs, and different investment accounts. Being a real estate professional, you can probably guess where I invest my money. Real estate investing is one of the best ways to protect your family from inflation and a weakened dollar, all while building generational wealth.
If you don’t believe me, simply look at a home value in the Boston area from 5 years ago vs now, you’ll likely see substantial appreciation in that home. While inflation has permeated a multitude of industries, the same holds true for real estate, homes are getting more expensive. While this has made it more difficult for new home buyers to get into the game, those who have stayed persistent and gotten in may likely see a big upside from their investment a few years from now. While you may still see a positive return on investments in other industries, you will most certainly not have the same freedom to force appreciation, create cash flow, and become creative with your investment properties to build a strong asset that will take care of your tenants and your family for generations to come.
Again, this is not the only way, and this is certainly not investment advice, but merely what has worked for me these last few years. Don’t take it from me though, do your research and set your family up for generations of financial success. Thanks for reading!