Three Simple Steps To Jumpstart Your Financial Freedom with Ben Peters
Sometimes, even the New Year still does not feel much different when it comes to your financial goals. You may have constantly been on a loop trying to achieve what you had planned years before. It is time to finally change that this 2019 as Ben Peters, powerhouse real estate agent of Mission Real Estate Group, shares the three simple steps to jumpstart your financial freedom game plan and bust whatever is holding you back. Learn the ways you can put yourself out there and even create your own financial freedom blueprint; all the while finding out how you can make your money make more money.
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Three Simple Steps To Jumpstart Your Financial Freedom with Ben Peters
I'm so jazzed about this episode. I have a very special guest. I have my phenomenal partner in crime and brother, Ben Peters. I want to give you a little bit of background. Not only is he a powerful powerhouse real estate agent, but he's also been in real estate for over five years. He is in the top 2% of real estate agents in the nation. This is my little brother. Let me give you a little perspective. He's 6’5” and over 200 pounds and weighs a little bit more than me. I wanted to bring him on the show because of the choices that he has made and how he is creating a financial freedom game plan for himself. He's paying that forward to other people. A little fun fact about this kid is that he has been at 24 weddings. People are starting to ask him to do their wedding. He is called the Ripped Reverend.
That's 24 weddings being either a groomsman, officiating the wedding, or being an usher. Not all groomsman but it's getting up there. I have three more on the schedule. I'll hit 27. I'm the male version of 27 Dresses.
Ben, I want you to share. I'm impressed by how you really stepped up even in the last couple of years. You're building a team in real estate but not only that, you're making an amazing income, but you are also investing it like a boss. That's why I asked you to be on here.
I got into real estate and I loved it and the income it can bring in. What's great about real estate is there's very little schooling that you need and you can make a ton of money based off of that. It's all about hustle. Whoever hustles the most, it’s great. There's no income cap. The thing about real estate is it's all commission. There's no base pay. I've been making good money for a couple years and I started looking at it. I'm like, “The market's great right now. What happens if the market falls apart?” I want to have that backup plan just in case. A year comes around and I'm not doing near as many transactions as I used to do. I'm a firm believer that I've built my business to a place where it won't get to that point. I always think in the worst-case scenario, so I started doing some real estate investing.
That's what I've been preaching from day one and you've heard that so often. You preach the same thing to create multiple streams of income. Just in case one dries up, you've got a couple of others to choose from and dig your well before you're thirsty. We want to share with our amazing audience the three simple steps to jumpstart your financial freedom game plan to bust you out of whatever's holding you back. A lot of times people wake up January 1st of the next year and they're like, “It doesn't look much different than the year before on January 1st.” We want to get you to a place of not having to worry if your main stream of income is coming in. I want you to explain to our audience what is a financial freedom number.
How I look at a financial freedom number is, what is the number that I need to have coming in per month in order for me to not only live and get by but flourish, get something done in this world? Everybody's financial freedom number is a little bit different. Some people say, “If I had an extra $2,000 coming in per month that would be perfect for me.” There are some people who would probably be like, “If I have an extra $20,000 coming in per month, that's my financial freedom number where if I achieve this number, I can take a step back from my 9 to 5 job and I can focus on what I want to do in life.”
It's been so fun to watch people run after this. It gives them a really strong why of setting their blueprint up in order to run after that number. It gives you a lot of determination to make it happen. What is your number one simple step to jumpstart your financial freedom?
A lot of times I like to say, live below your means, but in America, we don't like to live below our means. The number one step I am suggesting if you can't live below your means is to go out and make more money. There are lots of ways to do that. There are some people who are saying, “I work a 9 to 5 job. I can't do that.” There are tons of ways to make more money. The one that I suggest is to rent out a bedroom in your house. There are all sorts of people who are looking for a cheap rental.
I want you to share with one of your friends that said, “Ben, I don't know if I can make more money.” That's one simple way to do it.
This particular friend said, “I don't know if I can afford to rent out a bedroom or anything like that.” I told him, “You can't afford not to.” I asked him, “What are you paying in rent per month? What are you paying in a payment?” He said, “About $700.” I'm like, “$700, we'll round it underneath. That's $8,000 a year that's going out of your pocket into your landlord's pocket or into somebody else's pocket. That's $700 per month.” What I've done, I bought a three-bedroom house. I rented out the three other bedrooms. I am cashflowing. My payment on my house is about $1,300. I make about $2,000 per month from those three bedrooms that I'm renting out. It's a cheap rental for the guys I'm renting it to. It's a win-win because it's cheap for them and it's obviously cheap for me. Instead of paying $700 like my buddy, I am making $700. He has $8,000 going out. I have $8,000 coming into my bottom line. I can take what I would be paying of $700 per month and put it in my own pocket. I have an additional $8,000 in my pocket.
Financial Freedom: If you want it bad enough, you'll figure out a way to do it.
Not only do you not have $8,000 going out, you have $8,000 coming in from your renters and you have an additional $8,000 in your pocket from yourself. That's a difference of $24,000. The other point that I didn't even bring up is every month that your renters are paying, they're paying down your principal. Call that another $700 per month. I'm oversimplifying these numbers. There's a lot more minutia to it but that's an additional $700 per month that's being paid down on the principle of your house. That's $32,000 a year. That's a full-time job. When people are like, “It might be tough.” It may be tough to rent out a bedroom but you can have the equivalent salary of a full-time job by being smart about what you're doing. To me, it's a no-brainer.
That is a really simple way to add to the bottom line of your finances. Number one, rent out a bedroom. That's one way to make some extra money. What is number two?
What I did all through college, I flipped things on Craigslist. This isn't necessarily the sexiest thing in the whole wide world but there are tons of people who put stuff for the free section on Craigslist and say, “I want you to get it out of my house.” The best thing I ever did, I used to do this all through colleges. It’s the reason I graduated college with as little debt as I did. I got a free broken iPod from a guy on Craigslist. I advertised it on Craigslist and said, “It's a broken iPod. If anybody wants to trade or anything like that.” I traded it for a Blu-ray player. This is back when Blu-ray first came out. That Blu-ray player, I then traded on a guy on Craigslist a Bose surround sound system. That Bose surround sound system ended up selling for $2,500. I got $2,500. That was one of the best ones I ever did off of a free item on Craigslist. When people say, “That's not worth the time and money.” No, it is if you're smart about it.
Anyone can do that. Anyone that has the hustle and they say, “I want to get myself out of debt. I want to get on the other side. I don't want to keep getting deeper and deeper into debt. I want to get rid of the credit cards this year. I want to get rid of my car payment this year.” If you want it bad enough, you'll figure out a way to do it. Number three, what is it?
Start a side hustle. Most people have a 9 to 5 job. That's the majority of Americans have some type of 9 to 5 job. There are plenty of hours in the day to do something extra. What do you do?
Helping someone start a side hustle is truly what keeps me up at night. I've been coaching people how to start their side hustle for over ten years before it became popular. I was reading in Forbes there is no downside to a side hustle. There are only benefits to building more than one source of income. A side hustle is the new job security. I started my side hustle a little over ten years ago and it literally became a six-figure residual income for me eighteen months into that business. I had no prior business experience. I didn't know what I was doing but I was coachable, teachable, and I went all out on that side hustle. It has been amazing to watch what it has done in my own life and how I've paid that forward to other people that want it bad enough. There are so many ways to start a side hustle.
If you're really good with graphic design, become a graphic designer on the side and help people to propel their side hustle forward. You get paid for it. Even a nanny job, I remember as I was building my side hustle, it wasn't giving me my full-time income right away but I took all these other jobs. I did brand ambassador jobs. I remember even one, it was the day after Thanksgiving and I was passing out Craisins at Macy's. “Is it sexy?” “No.” “Did it pay the bills while I was building my side hustle to make my full-time income?” “Absolutely.” It was $30 an hour. It’s not a bad way to put yourself out there, have some fun and meet some people.
I did a brand ambassador job. We handed out hot chocolate. I had a backpack of hot chocolate in my bag. We handed it out at the Holidazzle parade. That was super fun and it is $30 an hour and all you're saying is, “You want free hot chocolate?” Who's going to turn that down? It was awesome. If you're looking for a side hustle, a brand ambassador is another easy one. It's two or three hours here and there.
When you think outside the box a lot of people are like, “I don't know what to do for that side hustle.” Ask someone who started their side hustle, ask them how they got started. A lot of times successful people will share with you what they’ve done and give you different ideas. Maybe you need to join a mastermind. Maybe you need to hire a coach. What are some other ways that you can put yourself out there and create your financial freedom blueprint? It is not difficult to do but I think a lot of people step into the fixed mindset versus the faith mindset. Don't keep telling yourself, “I'm not talented. I don't know how to start a side hustle.” No, flip it over to, “There are other people that have started a side hustle. I might not know exactly how to do it but I can figure it out.” Everything is figureoutable. Number one, make more money. Number two, what is the second simple way to jumpstart that financial freedom blueprint?
This is a hard one but that money that you're making, save it. When you rent out that bedroom for $600 a month, $700 a month, $800 a month, save that money. The big thing I always look at is renting out a bedroom. That $700 that you're getting per month, put it in a savings account. That additional $700, you could put a little bit more towards your mortgage. You could save a little bit more. Put it in a bank account and let it sit until it gets big enough to do our next step.
Financial Freedom: Make your money make more money.
For all you lady boss out there, even those man bosses that maybe have an addiction to that flash sale at Nike, slow your roll because honestly, it's amazing when that money starts going out you wonder, “I saved all this money but then there was this flash sale.” You’ll put your head down and focus on, “This is my financial freedom number,” and don't look to the left or to the right. Don't raise your level of living. “Live like no one else now so that later you can live like no one else,” as Dave Ramsey says.
Gary Vee is another guy I like listening to and he says, “Eat dirt for two years so you can eat caviar for the rest of your life.”
Number three, what is the third way?
Once you save your money and get enough in that bank account, you want to make your money make money. My dad says it this way, “I look at all my money as little soldiers going out and conquering other little soldiers and bringing it back to me.” That's what you want to do. Make your money make more money.
That's called leverage. That's called residual income. That's called passive income. There are lots of different ways to put it out there. I started working for residual income a little over eleven years and honestly, that's given me the financial freedom. I was able to write a bestselling book. I was able to start a podcast. We got back from a cruise in the Caribbean. We were able to make more freedom lifestyle choices because we live like no one else way back when.
I want to give some practical steps because I'm big on don't give ideas but let's give practical steps. How do we make the money make more money? I bought a four-bedroom house. I rented out the other bedrooms and I took that money and saved. The next thing I did is buy a duplex. I couldn't quite buy it on my own. I bought it 50/50 with a buddy of mine in South Minneapolis. I started renting that out and we started cashflowing incredibly on that. After a year of having that duplex, I had enough money in my bottom line. I kept saving and I bought my own duplex in South Minneapolis as well. I'm in the process of flipping it but once that's all said and done, I'm going to have a really nice cashflow coming in from that duplex. That money could have been sitting in a savings account and collecting some interests. You're looking at 0.0001% interest or something like that. You're going to get paid $6 a year. I would rather put that money on a down payment on an investment property. My investment properties between the two of my duplexes, I'm cashflowing anywhere from $1,600 to $1,800 a month.
I've been doing real estate investing for over many years. I own five different pieces of real estate that are all cashflowing. It's made a huge difference as far as the income that's coming in. You can take that money and then buy more real estate. Why don't you extrapolate out what you put together when we were on the cruise and I asked what you were doing?
One of my goals is to go out to lunch with somebody who's more successful than me at least once a month. That means twelve people per year that are expanding my mind and everything. I sat down with one guy and he said, “You should have a ten-year plan. You should buy a house a year.” I started putting together the numbers of my ten-year plan. If I bought one house or one duplex a year, what would that look like? I started doing the numbers and I liked the numbers. They were great. I was like, “What if I push myself a little bit and start to buy two per year?” I'm running the numbers at two per year. Is that aggressive? Absolutely. I'd rather be aggressive than not aggressive enough.
You'd rather be too aggressive and not quite hit it versus not all aggressive and then you make all your goals. Is that what you're saying?
Yes.
Tell them what those numbers turned into.
If I buy two duplexes per year that are cashflowing like the duplexes I have, that ends up being a residual. This is after payments and everything. In ten years, I'll have a residual income of $350,000 per year coming in and that's after all expenses are paid and everything.
That's before you're 40 years old. Some people can live on $350,000 a year.
It's going to be tough to scrape by.
For real, that opened my eyes. That was a paradigm-shifting of what buying two duplexes a year could do, one duplex a year or even for the person that's like, “I don't even know if I can buy one house.” Figure it out of how to buy one house. It's incredible how that changes the trajectory of your financial future. I love your heart behind why you want to bring in that type of income. Even share with your real estate business, why you called it Mission Real Estate and what your heart behind making this income is?
I call myself the CEO of Mission Real Estate Group. I've got five people on my team. It's an awesome group. What Mission Real Estate Group does is 20% of all of our profits at the end of the year go to missions and organizations. I'm very faith-based. I love sports missions for the fact that you don't have to speak the same language as somebody but if you play sports with them, they're open to whatever you have to say. You can speak into somebody's life and tell them about Jesus. It's pretty awesome. As soon as you dunk a basketball, any kid wants to hear what you have to say, especially in other countries. That's one thing that I love. 20% of all of our profits go towards missions, organizations, and trips like that.
I am proud of what you've accomplished and the lives that you've impacted. You've helped people to create a true super strong stream of income within your team, but you're also teaching other people how to invest in real estate if they want to know more. That's when we started brainstorming on the cruise. What can we do to add more value to the person that says, “I don't want to keep trading hours for dollars. I don't want to keep being in the rat race of life. I want to step into living my best life?” We have created an event, which I’m pretty lit up about. It is June 22nd. It is The Boss Life Blueprint. It's going to be a day event. It's going to be out at my mom and dad's lake place and it is gorgeous. If you don't live close, we're actually going to be Zooming it in. If you guys know what Zoom is, it's like Skype where you can learn how to make your money work for you versus you continually working for your money. Helping people put together their financial freedom blueprint. If you are interested, send me a message at @LadyBoss_SP on Instagram. Send me your email address. I will put you on the waiting list and let you know when it goes live.
This is going to be fun because my dad is going to be sharing how he's been investing in real estate for so many years. My brother, myself and even like mindset type of training. It's amazing when you can get your mind in the right spot. You can surround yourself with like-minded people that want to do more. They want to be more. They want to live out that God-given potential. All bets are off on what you can accomplish. You are the combination of your five closest friends, the books that you read, the places that you go and the podcast that you listen to.
That's one reason why I want to go out to lunch, dinner, and coffee with at least one person per month that is more successful than me. There's nothing wrong with pouring out to people that are learning from you and stuff like that but you should be learning and you should be expanding your mind constantly.
There should be both sides to it. You do a lot of mentorships and you get mentored by a lot of people. Being two sides of that is so great. If you guys really enjoyed this episode and you want to hear more from Ben Peters, then let us know. I want to hear your feedback. Send me a message at @LadyBoss_SP on Instagram. I want to know was this helpful? If it was, screenshot this episode, tag me and write a review on iTunes. We have some pretty awesome giveaways coming down the pipelines. I'll give you shout-outs. We want to expand this community and add a ton of value to you so that you get on the road that you want to go on, that you step up. We want to help you every single step of the way. Remember, magic happens at the intersection of, “I believe in myself and I don't care what anyone else thinks.” That's what I see about you, Ben. You don't care what anyone else thinks. You add so much value to many people. I'm super excited about this. I am praying big blessings for the podcast. For all my audience, my challenge is for you to fire your fear, build your faith and become the boss of your own life. Cheers to changing lives.
Important Links:
@LadyBoss_SP – Stef Peters Instagram
iTunes – The Boss Life Podcast
About Ben Peters
I am the lead agent with Mission Real Estate Group. Being the son of a real estate investor, real estate has always been in my blood. From helping him flip homes, to rental managements, I got to know the ins and outs of the real estate process. Then right after college, I received my license. After several years of working a big brokerage model, I started Mission Real Estate Group. I wanted to get outside myself and make a difference both locally and abroad.
When I am not doing real estate or helping with missions projects, you can catch me enjoying MN lakes. Growing up on a lake, I 've learned to enjoy the water whenever I can (Summer and Winter). I'm very involved in my church, and also a workout fanatic. I think every day deserves a workout in one way or another. Lastly, I am a foodie. Enjoying breakfast, lunch or dinner at a local restaurant is one of my favorite things to do.