Episode 23 | Joe Ranola | Military Millionaire Podcast

00:00 - 05:00

David:

What's up military millionaires. I'm your host, David Pere.

Today we had an exciting episode with Joe Ranola, where we talk about everything.

So Joe is a New York City police officer, a real estate agent, a life insurance agent, real estate investor, he's got a big new company coming out called Blue Wealth. And we'll get into that in a little bit. But what we really wanted to do was a very unique episode. So this is part one, where Joe and I are talking about everything he's doing, and how busy he is, and his hustles. And then we're going to do a part two, and maybe a part three, where we show where all the work paid off, because there's this overnight success concept where people see someone just blew up overnight, but they don't get to see and document all of the hard work along the way.

And that's what we wanted to do. We want to showcase that for us that you could see everything that this guy is putting in so that as he grows and as he balloons into this quote, overnight success, we can go back and say, well, this is what he was doing. This is how he did it, because that's the part that people really want to see.

So if this is your first time listening, thanks for joining the community. This podcast is produced every week for your enjoyment. Show notes are found at Frommilitarytomillionaire.com/podcast.

Now relax and enjoy the show.

Intro:

You’re listening to the military millionaire podcast, a show about real estate investing for the working class. Stay tuned as we explore ways to help you improve your finances, build wealth through real estate and become a person that is worth knowing.

David:

Hey, what's up everybody? It's Dave military to millionaire. I am here with Joe Ranola.

So Joe and I got hooked up on Instagram. And he reached out and we were talking, so Joe is a police officer in New York City and it is New York City, right? I’ll confirm that before, I’m so confident that I didn't ask and then I second guessed myself, I should just not second guess myself.

Joe:

Yes. New York City.

David:

So a police officer in New York City with a bunch of side hustles. And we're just going to kind of talk through his investment journey, a side hustle journey and how he's balancing everything and really just hear your story.

So Joe, thanks for joining us today.

Joe:

Thank you. Really, thank you for having me. I've been following you for a while, actually, since I first heard you on one of the BiggerPockets podcasts.

And you know you really are. You're very interactive with all your followers, which is awesome. I mean, you've responded to all of my Instagram DMS, you follow me back on LinkedIn. We spoke there like my Instagram pictures. I mean, I mean, look, I'm on this podcast, because, you know, I reached out and commented on a picture of yours. So that's, that's pretty cool. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for being you know, approachable and everything. It's very cool.

So um, it's actually the first podcast I've ever been on to.

David:

That's exciting.

Joe:

So, yeah, so I'm Joe, I'm 27 years old, I'm from New York, and I do a million things. I'm trying to finally get to that level of financial freedom.

Now that will let my future family and I do what we want, when we want, you know, so I'll give you a brief rundown of all of my craziness. And we can, you know, talk more in depth about whatever you'd like.

David:

Awesome.

Joe:

So, first and foremost, I am an active police officer and it takes up a huge amount of time there is zero consistency. It's long hours, I mean, that has to be my biggest obstacle I feel for my success. There's just no consistency.

So, you know, maybe today I was supposed to do a day tour or so I think I'll be free at nighttime. So I start to schedule everything for the night. And then all of a sudden, we get a call that Oh, actually there's probably going to be a shooting tonight. So you know, we got to change our tour instead, you'll come in at 9pm and we're gonna hang out in the legend area and be proactive and stop it from happening. So now it's like my whole days flipped.

And then you know, on the flip side, maybe tomorrow I'm supposed to go in at nighttime, but then I get a call. Hey, come to the forum tomorrow, we're doing a search warrant for it's just, it's insane.

So, you know, I can't do things like the Miracle Morning where you have to set a regimen of waking up at this time exercising at this time reading, which I would love to do, you know, that's the kind of stuff I want to get into. I want to have that nice regiment morning, but it's just, it's so tough with zero consistency.

So, you know, I feel like that's a little obstacle in my success. Not to mention that most days are well piss eight hours. I mean, you know, I'd say 12 to 14 hours a day at my police job is more like the average and sometimes it's even double that.

David:

We talked a few days ago and it was like New Year's Eve and I didn't even think about it. And I was like oh yeah, you're gonna be at work all night.

Joe:

We started at 9:45 in the morning and I got home at like 3:30 in the morning I think.

Torrential downpour. We're all standing up there just no no cover. I got home like my undershirt was soaked and I had like 30 layers of things on top of them. Oh god. It's insane.

05:00 - 10:00

Joe:

But you know, it's at the same time, it really is one of the best jobs I could ever do, it has to be one of the best jobs in the world. I mean, it's just, it's so exciting. It's so it's just so different. I mean, every day, you know, yeah, no consistency, you know, none of that. But also, you never know what you're going to be doing today, you know, it's not the same sitting at a desk for nine hours or whatever, you got your little lunch break, you can go you know, it's, it's, it's just craziness.

So that's also another thing. A lot of people on the path to financial freedom, they have the eventual goal of like, leaving their job. Somewhat soon, I would say, I actually want to stay, you know, I do want to continue to, I work very hard at this job too, I'm not just like, here just as like a plant, but I'm working hard on my own stuff, I act I work very hard. at work. Also, I just got into a specialized unit.

So, you know, there's, there's a lot of things happening here. And I'm only looking to go further and further and further. So, you know, I do want to stay here for the time being. I mean, you know, if I start making my millions on the side, you know, have to rethink everything.

But as of now I, you know, I want to keep working hard going far here and keep working hard on my sightings, you know?

David:

Yeah.

Joe:

So that's the police. Next up, I got my real estate license last year.

David:

Yeah.

Joe:

So I'm actively trying to yeah, you know, you know, real estate, you know, want to get into investing and all that stuff. So I'm actively trying to build on that business when I'm not working, which, again, is often so it's a little difficult, but there were two main reasons I went for that.

First one was to make side money, because listen, as much as I love the police department, you know, I don't make enough for the lifestyle that I want, and to be able to get the investments that I want, etc, etc. I mean, you know, you could sell a house and make a 10 $15,000 commission, I can go, you know, I can maybe get a house, you know, get myself an investment property or something that could be a big chunk towards a down payment, you know, yeah.

So, you know, that was pretty much my main reason, the second reason was to actually learn the whole real estate business for real estate investing, because I do want to become a real estate investor. I, you know, once I got the license, and I got involved in real estate, I am noticing it is two very different things. A lot of the things I'm learning in real estate aren't really applicable to the investment side, but you know, I am this year, actually, I'm looking to become a specialist in getting multifamily listings and selling multi families. So I feel like that will at least put me around investors more so and, and that whole mindset a lot more, which will kind of, you know, maybe it'll kill two birds with one stone, like, I was hoping.

This year with real estate, I'm trying to come out with like content content content, you know, I'm actually currently writing an Ebook, it's like a, it's like a quirky take on the frustrations of living in Staten Island. Where a borough of New York City, you know, there's five boroughs, we're one of them. But we're always treated like the, like, the runt of the of the pack, you know, it's like it, everyone in New York City is getting this, except that now, you know, it's just, again, we, we get screwed out of everything, everything that's supposed to happen here never happens, is left for awhile.
David:

You’re like a marine corps.

Joe:

Okay. So, you know, it's just, it's gonna be like a corny thing on that, but then at the same time, it's going to be packed with information on buying, selling your house dealing with multi families, financial planning, you know, I'm gonna have all that stuff in there, too.

So the point of that is, all of my subscribers will get it for free, once it's published. And, you know, I'm gonna really market it, get it out there. So hopefully, I get a lot of subscribers and my real estate newsletter and all that, you know, actually wrote about, like, what was it? I think 14,000 or 15,000 pages in a week, not pages, words.

David:

Holy smokes. I mean, that's still that's still impressive. Most of my blog posts are, like, 1500 to 3000 words, and I don't, I don't, you know, that'll be like a day or two of writing and editing. So 14,000 is a lot.

Joe:

Yeah, I just started once I started writing. That was always my favorite subject in school, like, you know, English and writing and all that I would always grade higher in those classes than anything else. So I don't know once I started writing, I just couldn't stop.

So I think I googled it. Like how many pages in a book is 14,000 words? I think I'm at like 20 something maybe 26 pages, you know, it's gonna be a quick free ebook. So I'm looking to go maybe, maybe 35-40 pages, something like that. So I'm almost there. Maybe a month or so it should have it hopefully out and ready to go.

David:

That's awesome.

Joe:

Then I can call myself an author.

David:

Yeah, that’s really cool.

Joe:

Yeah, it's the cool thing. I downloaded your first term wealth.

David:

My first attempt in writing it's not nearly that long.

10:00 - 15:00

Joe:

No, no, but it was cool. I like the pictures and everything. It's good. Good, very good.

David:

Appreciate it.

Joe:

So the book I did that in the first week I wrote 14,000 or so words, it's slowed down the last couple days, because, you know, working around the clock, but you know, I'll have it done soon.

I'm also brainstorming like a YouTube channel, I'd like to create, you know, kind of like your videos, just quick little things in there, you know, little tidbits. But you know, it's, it's good content, it's good. Someone could sit there and listen for three to five minutes, and you'll learn something, you know, it's so I'm looking to do that.

I actually just listened to a book on Audible. It's called sell it like Serhant I think it's from Ryan Serhant. He's on like, one of those, you know, million dollar listings, one of those shows, it's actually very, very entertaining. And as far as for like, the real estate side, it's really fun to listen to, you actually learn a lot of stuff.

What I do is when I listen to an audible, I have the notes open on my, on my iPhone, and I just like, you know, I write down anything good. I have a separate folder for each book. And I wrote down a lot for that book, he really, uh, it was pretty good. And he really got me into this content thing. You know, he's always doing his videos. And this knows, it was very good.

So I've been trying to come up with the ideas for the vlog. I already have my video guy just gotta make the ideas come to fruition.

David:

It’s awesome.

Joe:

Yeah, and actually, this week, I probably, I think it was like three days ago, I just actually hired a virtual assistant for the real estate thing, which was free it was, it's pretty cool. It's like, I have this guy emailing me like, Hey, Joe. So I listened today, I'm gonna do this. And it's, it's, it's awesome, actually. So I went on upwork.com.

And, yeah, check it out. upwork.com you actually, you could do like a job posting, I typed out this whole thing. You know, I don't know, man. It was, like, 10 paragraphs of like, what I would like and what I need, and when I got going on, this and that. And I figured all right, you know, we'll see him. I woke up the next morning, I had like, 15 people requesting to do it. And then that day, I got like, another 10 another, I keep getting emails and people are still applying. You know, so I weeded through a lot and that there were a lot of a lot of very good, you know, seemingly very good people that applied for it. I just, you know, I weeded it out down to this one guy, Ryan.

So hopefully, hopefully it goes well, he just because, see, my thing is because I'm so busy with everything. I can't do like lead generation and call expired listings and stuff like that. So I figured you know, if I could pay this guy for, for now, you know, maybe three hours a week, something like that. And that's three hours of this guy just hitting the phone, hitting the phone hitting the phone, you know, if I can get me a listing, and in a month or two months, or even if it takes, you know, six months to get me a listing, you know, hey, then you got a listing. It's nice, you know?

David:

Yeah.

Joe:

So, yeah, I mean, I'll see how that goes. Like I said, he only worked. I think Friday was his first day. So you know, this will be my first full week for that. So we'll see how it goes. You know, I'm gonna keep it going for a couple months at least. And, you know, like, like those guys on your the couple that was on your podcast recently. Listen, if it's money lost its tuition. You know?

David:

Yep.

Joe:

I like that. That's how I look at everything. Now my friend, we were in Atlantic City for my sister in law, his 21st birthday on Saturday. And my friend lost a lot of money gambling, so I said, you know what? You know, it stinks. But that's gambling tuition.

David:

Yeah, exactly. That's why you don't play that game.

Joe:

No, I know, I didn't, I didn't lose anything. I don't do that.

David:

I like that you said you're going to test them out for a few months. Just to key in on that. Because a lot of people would you know, if you didn't get a listing in the first couple of weeks, it might be tempting to be like, Ooh, this didn't work. I tried it. And that's not the reality and stuff takes time. And if you don't, you know, if you don't give it time, so that's that's a good mentality to have.

Joe:

Thank you.

Yeah, no, I was even I had a conversation with myself about that. I was like, you know, because I could see, you know, when the money's coming out of a checking account week after week after week, and there's no, you know, there's nothing coming from that. I figured it could get a little tough, but I'm like, I'm just gonna stay the course. Because that, you know, at the end of the day, you don't get a listing from calling someone once or twice, you know, most of the time, you really got to get out there and reach out and reach you got to call thousand people to maybe have, you know, five entertain you with the conversation and maybe you'll get one listing out of that, you know, so you know, it'll take them a few months, probably, so, exactly. You just got it. You got to stick with it. You know, there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually, hopefully, usually.

David:

Yeah, absolutely.

Joe:

Yeah. So yeah, so that's real estate.

Next up, I also got my life insurance license last year. Weird, but so actually, I hooked up with a retired lieutenant and his partner who were financial planners, I sat down with them originally, just to make sure that I'm doing the right thing with all of my investments, my 457 k stocks, etc. And it turns out, we just kind of clicked right off the bat and I ended up on their team.

15:00 - 20:00

Joe:

So it's the three of us we're actually starting a huge thing that I wholeheartedly believe in, I'll plug it later on, you know, I'll get a little bit deeper into it later. So people could check it out if anyone's interested.

But the basic premise is that, you know, just coming out throughout life, I mean, a lot of cops just from working with them, and people in general, you don't know much about your money, your retirement, your investments, you know, etc. So, we have a thing called deferred comp, you know, deferred compensation. I mean, pretty much everyone has it, but so you just put it away put away put away, you know, you know, oh, yeah, I'll put 10% of my paycheck in there. 12%, or whatever you feel accomplished, you know, yeah, 12% of my paychecks going into this, but what are you putting away? You know, are you putting in the right funds? Are you protected as much as possible for the next downturn?

David:

Yeah.

Joe:

Do you have other investments in you know, do you have other investments to supplement your beloved deferred comp, you know, and with a job like this, where you're running towards gunshots while the rest of the room runs away, and you see so much death and tragedy, and you work until 6am, only to go home shower, come back at 8am, to work another 12 hours, you deserve to retire from that when it's time and not have to get a second job or worry about money or your investments running out.

So that's exactly what we're looking to help our fellow cops out with. And like I said, anybody I mean, you know, anybody could benefit from this, because even even, you know, a regular civilian job. I mean, you don't want to work till you're 65. And then you realize, wow, I still don't actually know like, another 10 years if I want to, you know what I mean? Who wants to do that? So I'll talk about that. If we go through rest, there are two more points to hit on.

David:

I like it.

Joe:

Um, the other thing is, it has to do with real estate as well. I am an aspiring real estate investor. BiggerPockets pro, I am a pro member.

David:

Yeah!

Joe:

I just invested that I've invested in this year. And it really is, it really is awesome.

Like you said, in one of your YouTube videos, just having that blue circle with the pro opens doors, man opens doors to conversations, and, you know, people realize that you've got some skin in the game, you know, you know, you might be a little more apt to following through with this and such not that someone who wasn't pro one, but it's just you know, it just shows you got some, that's some skin in the game, you know.

David:

It's the same subconscious thing that makes us click up in high school and everything else, right, you see someone that's like you, and you're just drawn to them. It's human kind. And people don't like it, but it's the reality. That's how humans operate.

Joe:

Absolutely.

And plus, I keep messing around with that. I love that rental calculator.

David:

Oh, yeah.

Joe:

Awesome.

I'm trying to do three to five properties per week. I just got the BiggerPockets you know, the 90 days of intention journal. So, you know, that's one of my goals, three to five or so a week. I got four last week. So you know, I'm just I want to keep analyzing, analyzing, analyzing until I could, you know, do it, like, you know, no issue, I know what I'm looking at, because the biggest thing when I first started analyzing properties was alright, I got these numbers, but what does it mean? Is it good is not good. You know? Would it be worth it getting into this? You know, I mean, and that's, that's the scariest thing, especially when it's your first property, you know, getting the wrong property the first time around, it could be detrimental to your real estate investing career.

I mean, you know, who would want to go forward after that huge loss, you know, so that first one is just scary to, to get it correctly. Some You know, it doesn't have to be a home run, but just something that's cash flowing a little bit. And you know, it's not a nightmare, you know?

David:

Yeah.

Joe:

So, that's what I'm going for. Not to put you on the spot, but you should do some videos of you analyzing properties with the calculator. If you ever get the time you never get the chance, you know, do it. That'd be a cool video for you to do just so we could see someone who actually is a legitimate real estate investment with a bunch of properties, etc, etc. It would be awesome to watch you do it, you know, watch, see what you put in, in the certain you know, the growth and this and that I want to see you know what a pro puts it you know what I mean?

David:

Yeah, I don’t call myself a pro. But, actually that's a cool idea. So I did like the analysis Wednesday segment on my YouTube channel for a little bit, but all I really did was talk about formulas I didn't. I think I kind of walked through like one property, but it was super basic. I didn't do, so I might have to touch that again. Because I think that'd be fun.

Joe:

Yeah, no, definitely. Cuz, you know, it's something that a lot of us a lot of us new guys that don't have the property. We don't have that first property or anything yet. You know, I would just like to see someone do it. Who is out there doing it? You know what I mean? You know, learn something. So that'd be cool.

And then, you know, my biggest thing right now, I guess I'm trying to find a city or town or whatever to invest in. You know, I like the first one. Since my first property again, I'd like it to be somewhat near me. Just, you know, I know David Greens. I didn't read his book yet. I bought it. I just didn't get around to it yet. I will be soon but you know, his long distance real estate investing book.

20:00 - 25:00

Joe:

You know, I'm sure I'm sure it's great. I'm sure it will work, but just my first one I want near me, so maybe Pennsylvania, New Jersey, something like that. Anyone that's listening to this, you know, please shoot me an email if you got any great cities or towns or anything. And then I guess, you know, between that, finding a place and then just out, you know, capital is my other issue right now. So I'm gonna need some of those creative ideas. You know, I've really actually been looking into seller financing lately, if I can find a property that could use some seller financing. I feel like that's how I could actually probably get a house maybe this year, hopefully, you know.

David:

Yeah:

Joe:

So, have you ever done a property with seller financing?

David:

Yes, so I haven’t done my like 100% seller financing, but I've got two properties with seller financing on them. One of them's a 10 unit, and it was like 85% bank finance, 10% seller and then 5% out of my pocket.

Joe:

Okay, very cool.

David:

My best cash flowing property. So.

Joe:

Yeah. See, that's, that's, that's it, that's all I'm reading, I put the keyword alerts on for like seller or owner financing on bigger pockets. And every time it pops up, I'm getting an, you know, an email about it, I jumped into the conversation just I just I want to learn all about it.

I just kind of, you know, I'm listening to the podcast, bigger pockets, and, and reading the forums and the blogs, etc, etc, for a year or two now. But I don't know this the first time I actually clicked like, wait a second seller financing this, this could work.

So now I'm like, really, it's all I'm trying to read about since last week. So.

David:

It’s a good strategy.

The best part in seller financing is that it's totally negotiable. So whatever you and the other party agree to is what works, there's no restrictions, it's as creative as you want to get.

Joe:

Exactly.

And again, it can help everyone out. I mean, it helps me get my property, it helps the seller, he can make some money more than he would by putting you know, all that money into a you know, just a savings account or something like that, you know, you make some interest on your money, you know, if you have a despair, so they could definitely work out for everybody. Just gonna keep reading and researching that. And I, I really think that's going to be my, the way to my first property.

So next, on top of all of this insanity, I was going for my master's degree throughout all this brutal, that was probably one of the worst ideas ever had. But I just completed it a few months ago, this past October. I majored in criminal justice and received an advanced certificate in terrorism studies. I chose terrorism actually, because of 911. You know, it was so devastating. I mean, of course, the entire world felt it, but those of us right here in New York City, I mean, you know, I was young 10 or 11 years old, but it was just so profound. And I was affected in a few ways. My father is a captain for American Airlines. So it was even more horrifying for me, you know, American Airlines plane crashes and you know, so until I got to hear from him, thank God, he was safe and sound. And then my stepfather was an NYPD detective at the time. So he was off that day, he was upstate golfing with all of his, you know, work buddies. And the second that happened, they all drove 100 miles an hour back home, they shot it up, and they just went in to save lives or do whatever they can.

You know, we didn't see him for probably, I think two months, like little too much. I think it was like 12,16, 18, 20 hours a day, whatever it was, and we didn't even see him. So you know, that's just what it was. It was digging for survivors and remains then coordinating the hundreds of funerals for the first responders.

You know, and most first responders that work there, my stepfather included have gotten weird types of cancer from inhaling everything down there. And you know, thank God my stepfather survived his but many didn't, and many are still getting sick to this day. You know, a lot of people don't realize that but it's scary.

David:

Yeah, people don't think about second and third order effects like that.

So I was around for one like, in Afghanistan, we burned all our trash. And like everything in a big pile. And it was, I mean, everything from human feces to your, you know, chemical crap. And we like lit the fire with a flamethrower. So super safe.

But there's people that are in it and you know, having a barge that but then there was also when I first got there a big supply maintenance unit like fire, where everything that was stored on base went up in smoke. And that's like, it's all documented in my medical record, because they're like, some of them may have issues with this. And people don't think about that. Now there's studies coming out. And I didn't even think about that for yours, but holy smokes. Yeah, that that would have been a much larger scale than what I was exposed to. Because at least in the desert, there's a lot of open air for things to go. Man yeah, I can't imagine the effects that's having on people's lungs.

25:00 - 30:00

Joe:

Yeah, yeah, a lot of you know, a lot of very sad stories. And, you know, like I said, people are still getting sick and dying to this day, you know, cops, firemen and just volunteers. Everyone was down there, just terrible, terrible, but um, you know, 911, that the whole terrorism thing that I went to for school, I think the main goal for many of us, you know, rather than in the past, there was always again, I want to lock up the worst of the worst bad guys and make my difference that way. I think now, it's the main goal for a lot of people that join these, you know, military, police, again, firefighter, first responder, whatever. One of the main goals is actually to probably ensure that 911 never happens again. You know, like, that's, that's right up there, I would say. So. That's why I went for this degree. You know, I think I want to one day, I want to end up in like, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, where my day job was to literally like, hunt terrorists. I mean, I can't see a job that's better than that. You know.

David:

You gotta love all the Facebook posts that fly around with people claiming terrorism and you're like, Okay, by definition that's not even remotely close to terrorism. Just because someone did something you don't like does not mean, I lose my mind. Because I'm like, we get all this training on terrorism. And there's a very specific definition and people post stuff, but I'm just like, oh, my goodness, have you ever even looked up the definition of terrorism like, that’s not it.

Joe:

I could spend, if I that's I try not even look at Facebook, because I see some of these things. And now I could spend my whole day just like fighting back and forth. I just can't do it.

David:

Just unfollow. Yeah, just get rid of it.

Joe:

Yeah. I don't even I can't. But um, another thing that with this whole thing is one of my biggest regrets is that I never joined the military. I look back now you know, at 27. I'm like, I just wish at 18 I wish I would have gone in and you know, whether it was the Marines or the Air Force, because my father was your captain. He's a captain with the airplane. So I figured maybe the Air Force would have been something cool for me. I don't know. I just wish I would have joined the military. You know, so thank you guys for your service. I mean, it's it's definitely, it's very, it's a crazy thing. Crazy, very tough.

David:

Very similar line of work in its own way. And we like parallels, right? The police, law enforcement, Fire Department, like public service and service members. It's all similar motives for joining similar, crazy hours, similar stories. And I think it all kind of goes hand in hand. But it's a good gig most of the time. I don't know if it depends on your fit. I've actually looked at getting out and joining the law enforcement before so it's, yeah, I think there's a draw for all three of those because all three of them are like the perfect place for an adrenaline junkie to have a career.

Joe:

Absolutely.

So now,you're still active? Or you know.

David:

Got two years left on this contract, and we'll see what happens when I get towards the end of it. If I stay and go, reserves get out. Open book.

Joe:

Very cool. At least you got the options. No, it's life. What's what life's all about just having your options open.

David:

Exactly.

Joe:

But okay, so last thought of everything I'm doing. Last but definitely not not least, I have to be a husband. First and foremost. I'm blessed with the best wife, you know, I could have ever asked for she gets all of my insanity and craziness with this road to financial freedom.

I mean, you know, where a lot of other guys you come home from work and now it's downtime. You want to watch some TV shows with your wife, go out to dinner, hang out, etc. She knows that the minute I get home from work, I'm now jumping on my laptop and I'm getting right back to work essentially. And she understands it. You know, she knows it's for an eventual far better lifestyle that we're both aiming towards. She's helping, I mean, she works her better off. She teaches in the daytime. And she works at her father's pizza bar restaurant at nighttime.

By the way, no, I have to plug that in. If you're ever in New Jersey or New York because it's very close. I'm hanging out, you know, we'll go we'll go for dinner there. There's four locations. From New Jersey people. There's one in Red Bank, Hoboken brick and Paramus. It's called Urban coalhouse the best wings it's this big 800-900 degree coal fired oven. It's great pizzas, awesome beers always rotating list cocktails, TVs everywhere. It's cool. I mean, I actually want to start having like BiggerPockets meetups there. So I'm you know.

David:

Yeah!

Joe:

So it'd be cool. If you ever are in the area, you know, hit me up and we'll go for a meal there and a couple drinks.

David:

That’s funny because I was going to tell you that the next time and next time, but when I finally make a deal, or New York, that I'd have to hit you up and figure out where to go. So.

Joe:

Absolutely.

David:

I've actually I almost it's almost it's kind of a funny story. I don't know if it's really funny. It's still probably not funny to me. But I was in North Carolina training. And I had a four day weekend and I was like, perfect. I have, I have been to Washington DC once. I'm gonna go explore and I was like, I'm gonna do that on day one. And then on day two, and three. I'm going to New York because I've always wanted to explore New York, and I'm just going to get lost on my own and then I'll drive back.

30:00 - 35:00

David:

And in DC I spent the day driving around walking around everywhere, whatever. And when I was done with the day I caught a cab back to my hotel. And somehow my phone came out of my pocket in the cab. And I spent the next three hours trying to chase the cab down. Like I knew the taxi number, I had a receipt, whatever, but like nobody could get a hold of the guy, that phone wasn't there. So it just Sure, like ended up on the black market. Who knows.

But apparently the world doesn't sell maps anymore. So the only place I found a map was like a $100 map of the US like the entire US, every gas station, I stopped in had nothing and so finally after like, you know, six hours, it's late at night. I'm pissed. I was like, you know what, I guess New York's not happening. I'll just turn around and drive south because I don't know, you know, I was like, if I drive three or four more hours north, I'm gonna, I don't know where I'm going. I don't want to risk that.

So well, not one of these days, my brother was actually there this week, but one of these days I'll make it out there because I've always wanted to visit.

Joe:

You know, it really is, it really is unlike anywhere else. And just the sheer denseness and just craziness and busyness that really is gone. I mean, you know, I try to go all over the place. I mean, I'm always on my father's side of the family in Chicago. So I spend a decent amount of my time between New York Chicago, and you know, I try to hit up a bunch of cities I just love traveling and but there's just really nothing like the insanity that is New York. You know, it really is nuts and it's everywhere you look it's just buildings and this and then just crazy people it's just, it really is a very cool place to be. It's definitely worth a couple days of just check it out.

A lot of people come here you know from smaller towns or whatever and they don't like it they hate it. They like the things that they hate about it. That craziness and just never stopping and but you know, give it a try for yourself. And it is awesome. It really is. Where are you from? Originally? You're not from Hawaii or life, right?

David:

No, I was born in NorCal. But I grew up in Arkansas. So the Midwest.

Joe:

Oh, very cool. Very cool.

David:

Much, much, much less of a city guy although I've you know, I've been to Tokyo and some other large places and I enjoyed it. I would never live there. But yeah, I enjoy it for a break. I guess not a break. You know.

Joe:

I'm dying to go to Tokyo. I want to go to Japan so bad.

David:

Tokyo is fun.

Japan itself has a good culture. It's a good time.

Joe:

Yeah. Very cool.

So yeah, and we'll hang out when you come here and with my wife just to add to the craziness that is our lives as well, just to show like, it's really never a dull moment around here. I don't know if you'd like Disney, but our wedding was actually featured on the Disney fairytale weddings, holiday special TV show last year.

David:

That's pretty cool.

Joe:

It was insane. We were getting married in Disney regardless, because she's a Disney fanatic her whole life. She got me really into it.

And then three months before the wedding, she saw that the show was accepting applicants for people getting married that October or November. So we got married November 11 of 2017.

So she applied, she sent over a story about us and a bunch of pictures. And you know, that's what they wanted. They actually called us back like a couple days after that. So then we jumped on Skype with them. They put us through to the director of the show. He loved us the minute he got he's like you’re in. We're like, what we’re in? We're on the show. It was nuts. It was a once in a lifetime experience. We had 200 of our family and friends down in Disney celebrating this craziness.

David:

That’s cool.

Joe:

It was nuts. And actually, probably the best part if not one of the best parts was that since it was a holiday special. It had you know everything was so Christmassy for us last year it was Christmas time. From the minute they came to New York to start filming us, which was in September until after Christmas.

So we had three months three solid months of Christmas time last year. I love Christmas time.

David:

Yeah, that's really cool.

Joe:

It's just last year, it never ended. My mother in law was yelling at us because her birthday is in September. And you know, we had to like to decorate for Christmas and all that because they will come in and start filming. She's like, I gotta tell you as I never put up a Christmas tree on my birthday using nuts. But you know, it was just so funny. But it was an amazing experience.

So um, so yeah, that's everything I'm doing. You know? Yeah. Buying real estate investing. Financial Planning thing. I think the masters have done you know, newlywed it's just there's so much going on. There's so much to do I that's one thing I do like though I literally never I'm never bored because if I'm sitting around doing nothing it's like oh good I can work on this I can work on that. So that's actually not a bad part of it.

I just had to order the apple air pods because just you know whenever I'm doing something I could always have these little at least one of them. I can have one of my ears and I could have my audible on. I could have my you know my podcast on you know what I mean? just constantly learning constantly doing something I just I always have to be doing something.

35:00 - 40:00

David:

I like it.

So for those of you listening, we did this show more to showcase The hustle and what you can be doing in your free time people talk about not having time, the reality is that you need to find your why and figure it out because there's a way so if Joe here can work a full time job as a New York City police officer, arguably one of the most ridiculous schedules out there, and probably most busy jobs you will find, as well as running, you know, a couple different side hustles and becoming a real estate investor and still finding time to be, you know, a spouse and have time with his family. You can do it. And that's kind of where we showcase we wanted to show that side because people always talk about the success and the overnight success and this, that and the other for podcasts. But the part people don't show is like, the part that sucks when you first start out.

So we're showcasing Hey, look, this is everything that's going on. And then we're gonna do a part two or part three, or whatever, and say like, hey, look, this is where I made it. I'm now an overnight success. I hate that term. That's why I always airport it. Because people say, Oh, yeah, overnight, because they finally got their book published after six years of work. And now you know.

Joe:

No, let me tell you something, it really is. That is what I want to get across to people is that when you're in it, it's tough, man, it's like, there's just no, right that that you're just the head is down, you're in the tunnel, and you're just going and going and going. And it's just it seems like, you know, this is just never ending, like, and then you go on Instagram, and you see this guy, he's selling his thing. And this guy's famous for this and this and it's like, you know, you get like, pissed off reading about all these people. Because it's like, God, I'm working so hard. And it seems like everyone else got it going on. But me but everyone that is successful, went through this stage, you gotta do it, you got to grind it, you got to grin and bear it, it's just there's no other way. There's just no other way to go.

So right now, this is my tough part. But you know what, you keep pushing it out, you get the times gonna pass anyway, you know, five years, one year, 10 years, it's gonna pass anyway, if you're doing all these little things, these little steps and working, working, working. The way you'll come out in the end of it is eventually it's what you, you know, what you want, you'll say, you know, live a few years, like no one else will, so that you could live the rest of your life like no one else can. And I really do see that, you know, I finally got some light. You know, coming through into my tunnel, I closed my first financial planning deal last week. So that was finally like, you know, a couple months of work and grinding at that. Alright, I got a little reprieve. You know, we closed my first deal. Good.

I sold my first house. We closed on that maybe three or so weeks ago. That was nice, too. Because, you know, I got my license in, like, beginning to mid 2018. And I just grinded for a couple months and just nothing's going on, nothing's going on. And then I got the listing. And I wouldn't I didn't stop until I sold that listing. And you know, I got a nice little commission check. And it's just, it's nice. It's just, you know, there was a little bit of light I finished at the set right around the same time I finished this, the master's degree. So that's off my plate.

It's just like, you know, you just gotta keep going, keep going, it's gonna happen. And you know, this just, I'm trying to reach this message to those guys who are guys and girls who are like me, you're in that stage where you know, you're in the going part just it's going to happen. It's going to happen, believe it or not, just keep fighting and don't stop. Because if you stop then it's like you did all this and then you just got to go back to mediocrity anyway, it's like full luck. You know, so just just just keep fighting. Keep going. Absolutely.

David:

Yeah, just take some time. So before we start to wrap things up here, I want to hear a little bit more about this blue wealth?

Joe:

Sure.

So blue wealth. Got a cool logo. It's got a rhino in it. Check our Instagram out. It's @BluewealthPD. That's Peter David. You know, PD, actually, it's like your initials backwards.

David:

Yeah.Yeah.

Joe:

So @BluewealthPD, like, you know, so I'm honestly looking to make this huge. I want an almost like a, like a bigger pockets esque forum, eventually in a couple years. And then it's all encompassing, and can be a community of people. Mostly, obviously, like I said, we're going for like first responders, police officers. But you're coming together to discuss and learn about, you know, correctly setting yourselves up for the future.

So I actually created a five step educational series that you'll get once you subscribe to our emails. So once per day, you subscribe and then you get your welcome email. And then after that once per day for five days, you'll get an email with some financial knowledge in it. Anything from how the stock market works, two good ways that a police officer with such a varying schedule still makes some money outside of the job. It's designed to give you some information that you may not have known or expand your current knowledge on these subjects, and we just want you to sit down with us at the end, which is complimentary. And we want to make sure that you have the correct investments for you. And that when it's time to retire, you know, six months later, I don't want you ending up working as a security guard in the hospital, that you're used to drop the purpose or fat for the last 20 years, you know, so it's like, I got to sit there and deal with it all over again, you know, for the next 20 years, your life.

40:00 - 46:57

Joe:

Listen, if you want to do that, that's fine. You want to taste the action, again, whatever it may be, but I don't want you to have to do that to stay afloat. I mean, you know, everybody wants to be the grandma or grandpa, or whatever that can help their children and grandchildren succeed in life. I mean, you can, if you play your cards right, you can give your grandchild a house as an investment when they're born, like, like Brandon from BiggerPockets, they gave his daughter, you know, his daughter has a house, she's two years old. And you teach them all about that, as they grow up, like, this is your investment, this is your house, this, you know, this isn't the stuff that you get in school, and you know, then they'll be, they'll have 1000 times more of a chance of being successful themselves, and you know, then they can pass it on, there's nothing more fulfilling than that.

Um, another cool thing is we're actually looking for cops to join us from every department across the country, and be a blue wealth like representative in their respective department, in their cities and towns. So, you know, you can join our team. I mean, there's nothing better than making a little bit of money, while legitimately helping people, help generations of their family. So, you know, email us if that interests, you know, email us @[email protected] You know, that would be cool. We're really trying to start something big here.

David:

I like it. And I like the name. It's catchy.

Joe:

Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah. And then I guess, just just lastly, I know, you know, that your question is always like, if you help, you know, if someone young, or whatever came up to you and asked you for some general advice, you know, what would you tell them?

So, I'll end with that, you know, it would be tough to consolidate so many things into just a few minutes. And I'm only 27. I mean, I'm not that much older, I still, you know, I still need a lot of advice myself. But essentially, it's just start now, you know, start learning about doing real estate investing, pour over BiggerPockets, until you can't physically read another word without your head exploding. And then do that again, tomorrow, you know, start your retirement account, put money away, always, you know, start a whole life policy and let that cash value value build.

Now, real quick, this is, this is especially important if you ask me, because you could touch that money. It's not like a 401k, where you have to wait until you're 59 and a half, and then you start to be taxed on that, etc, etc. This is post tax completely liquid and always growing at a very decent rate. And it's safe, it's safe. You know, I only just found out about this at 27 years old. But if I knew about this whole life policy with cash value, if I knew about this when I was 18-19 and started putting away back then I'd have enough money right now to take out tax free. And I could put down payments on a few investment properties. I mean, it drives me nuts that I didn't know about this, I could literally have zero properties right now I can go from zero to three, with no sweat off my back. You know, it really it's been driving me nuts. I didn't know that. I didn't know about this. And I feel like most people don't.

You know, you hear life insurance? And you're like, Oh, yeah, okay, life insurance, I don't have a family right now. I'm not old, I'm not going to die, you know, blah, blah, blah, I don't need life insurance you can use while you're alive. You know, it's, it's, it's crazy. A lot of people don't know, it has to be, you know, it has to be the right policy. But if you set yourself up with the right one, life insurance is another investment vehicle for you to supplement your 401k and your houses and your this and whatever you got going on. This is always another good one to have.

And I'm not talking about this just to solicit business because yes, I do. I have my life insurance license, this is what I'm trying to help people with. But go get it on your own whatever you whatever you want. Don't, you know, just research it, we go talk to someone, you can always shoot me an email, we'll talk about it. It's so it's such a good investment to me. I really, I love the thought of it. You know, you're literally putting money away into this that's, that's gaining like mine, for instance, my life insurance policy is six and a half percent interest. I'm getting my money.

I mean, where are you gonna get six and a half percent interest safely with literally no risk? You know what I mean?

David:

Yeah.

Joe:

So I definitely think that that's something that people should, should look into and start if I would have started this, like I said, when I was 18 I can get those investment properties now. So just look into it, you know, on top of everything else, that's another thing. And, you know, listen, don't wait to get any of your investments, you know, get your investments and wait, right? That's what they say and keep adding to them. But Listen, that's my advice to someone younger than me. It's just learn, never stop learning and work. You know, don't use your full years in college as an excuse not to work. I was a salesman full time at a Lexus dealership in Brooklyn, I was making I was 20-21 years old, I was making like, 50,60 $70,000 a year as a college student.

And I did a lot with that money, you know, I was able to save it and get some things. It was, you know, don't use college as oh, this is, you know, for years to just mess around notes. You know, you're putting yourself at a big disadvantage. Have fun, have plenty of fun. But just work, save, learn, and just start because listen, 10 years from now, which goes in the blink of an eye, you know, you'll be saying, you know, wow, I should have started this 10 years ago. And so, so start now. And then you don't have to say that in 10 years, you know, you'll be too busy on your eighth vacation of the year. You know, so that's, that's, that's my thing. Just start now.

David:

Yeah. Take action. It's a big one.

Joe:

Absolutely.

David:

Awesome.

Well, hey, Joe, I really appreciate you coming on here and talking for this part one, and I look forward to touching base here in a few months, a year, whatever, and seeing exactly where everything went with this and watching it grow.

Joe:

Absolutely.

And I like that. That's accountability. So now, I have to keep working through.

David:

If part two is me talking and saying, I don't know what happened to Joe. I can't get a hold of him. I guess he failed. That I'm doing a partridge now. Just kidding. No, no, I'm excited. Yeah, we'll stay in touch for sure. And beer when I come out there.

Joe:

Absolutely. We'll go out. We'll have a good time. I'll show you New York.

David:

Sounds good. Have a great day.

Joe:

You too, brother. Thank you.