2014

Man… 2014. A new year and another step closer to retirement. The plan for this year is very very simple: work. I have to work and make as much money as possible, as this should be my last full year of working two full-time jobs. But, as Kiyosaki famously said, it’s not just about working hard. It’s equally important to work smart.

Property Management

In order to maximize my earning potential, it is extremely important that I get Kylie Ray’s old apartment painted, carpeted, and rented out as soon as possible. The bank job still has me working overtime on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so my time to take care of painting and other real estate issues are extremely limited. I have Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8am to 11am, and then I have Mondays from 3:00pm until 9pm. All other times are reserved for work and sleep. It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours to finish painting the remainder of the apartment, and only about an hour or so more to clean everything up. I would be very happy if I can get the place rented out before the end of January. After having paid the mortgages and National Grid bills already, I should be able to make 18k by the end of January thanks to the five paychecks I’m getting this month (five Fridays), which would be a great start to the year.

The Jobs

The jobs should be just fine this year. I should have no problems adjusting to the new boss, Eddie, at the bank job. He’s a spineless bitch, so I should be able to handle him well. With peak season over, things are finally returning to normal at the shipping depot. I’m sure I can handle whatever new and stupid rules they’ll make up. Once I hit around $47K, I’ll stop working Tuesdays at the shipping depot. That means I’ll have Monday through Thursday that I will only work one job. Working both jobs in the middle of the week is such a pain in the ass, and I’m so happy this will be the last year for that nonsense. It will give me more time to take care of tenant issues, and allow me to finally enjoy living in what should be my new basement apartment.

From Batcave to Basement Apartment

I would like to have the basement apartment done before next winter begins. I would absolutely love to be soaking in a Jacuzzi tub, and then lay down on a nice big bed and turn on my flat screen TV to watch old TV shows and go to sleep. That’s a very nice and warm thought, which is perfect since I’m freezing my ass off right now. The first step is getting rid of all the garbage in the batcave which will require a small U-haul truck and a trip to the city dump. The next step is painting the ceiling and putting down the carpet and/or tile. I’m still unsure whether the tile will be carpet, ceramic, or both. The next step will be to figure out how to drain the sewage when it backs up. Once all that is done, I can finally get to the fun part: buying and installing appliances. Once all this is done, I will finally have a place to call home, and can no longer be referred to as the Homeless Landlord. No more batcave. Home at last.

Property Delta

I want to do nothing but make money this year, but I’ll keep an eye out for potential properties. I’m sure there will be tempting purchase opportunities, but I’d really rather wait to buy a nice big $300k property in 2015. I’m tired of the 2- 3- and 4-unit properties, and having too many of them can be counterproductive. I want a big slightly modern property with lots of units that can make me at least $2500 a month. Once I get that, I can save up money and begin to ride off into the retirement sunset. So, no Delta this year. But, if something becomes available that looks too good to pass up, I will consider it.

Et Cetera

I hope this will be the first year that I don’t have to write a post about women. Nikita Simone and I are done altogether after she got mad that I didn't speak to her during the Nigeria trip. I honestly didn't care who broke it off or how, just as long as it's over and done. There is no current upside to messing with women, and I’d like to stick to just working. When all is done, I can screw and have all the fun I want, but not now. Along with women, I’m also not stressing going to the gym or learning Yoruba  this year. Through good eating, I’ve been able to maintain my weight and health. The most I’ll do is to run up the bank job stairs with small weights whenever I do my rounds. As far as Yoruba goes, I may never go back to Nigeria so I see no point in learning it right now. Maybe next year, but definitely not this year. I only went up to Chapter 6 in my Yoruba book and was able to understand 60% of what people were saying when I was in Nigeria. That’s pretty good, and I’m sure I’ll be able to speak it fluently as time goes on. No stress.

So that’s about it. $50K by the end of 2014. A basement apartment I can be proud of and relax in. Keeping the occupancy rates at 100% and the vacancy rate at 0%. Those are my goals and I’m a little excited about how things will turn out. My last year of full-time work at 2 jobs. With no further distractions, I should be good to go. There’s no Nikita Simone. There’s no Nigeria trip looming. There's no more waking up to 85 degree weather and the sounds of roosters sounding their morning alarm. There’s just me, my tenants, and my jobs. Mr. No Days Off is back, and not a moment too soon.