From Military To Millionaire – Landlord Studio Podcast

In today’s episode, we interview David Pere From Military To Millionaire.

David is an active-duty Marine and together with his partner in crime and wife Kimberly he runs his brand called “From Military to Millionaire” devoting his free time to help service members, and veterans, learn how to build wealth through real estate investing, entrepreneurship, and personal finance!

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Military to Millionaire – with David Pere

We had the pleasure and privilege to sit down with David for Military to Millionaire to talk about how he has gone from a serviceman to a millionaire, utilizing real estate to build wealth and achieve financial freedom.

In this podcast, we take a look at David’s story and dig into how you too can become wealthy in the military with some good habits, some savvy investing tactics, and by taking advantage of all the resources available to you.

Below we outline some of the key points and answers from the interview. For the full interview watch the video above or head over to our podcast on your preferred podcast channel.

Why and how did you start Investing in Real Estate and not something like Stocks?

I did do some stock market investing as a young marine and I made a decent amount of money. Then I lost it all. I just couldn’t figure it out and I guess what kind of turned me off from that, aside from just losing a bunch of money, was the fact that it wasn’t something I could control.

One of the things I really like about real estate is that I can control it. Obviously, stuff can still happen, but I can control if I’m going to increase rent, I can control if I’m gonna shop for new insurance or shop for new garbage services. If something goes wrong you can improve things rather than just kind of holding on for the ride.

What actually set everything off was the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I’d already looked at buying real estate at some point before and I talked myself out of it because I didn’t know what I was doing. I read that book and realized it’s really not that complicated, I can figure this out, and so within three months of reading the book, I bought a duplex.

Does the military offer resources to educate servicemen on investing and wealth-building?

Yes, the military does. Although, I didn’t know anything about it when I got started and a lot of servicemen don’t either.

I’m actually a command financial specialist now. I’m one of the guys in my unit who can talk about finances and talk about investing. Unfortunately, a lot of times people only come to me after they’ve made a mistake and they need help. But there are actually spots on base that offer courses if you want to learn about business and entrepreneurship.

This though is not the primary mission of the military which is why I ended up finding the information that got me started through books and doing my own research on the side.

Ironically it’s actually easier to find information on investing if you’re scrolling through Google rather than looking at the Marine corps. While the information is there, there are a million other things going on so it’s hard to find.

What kind of real estate investing is your preferred style?

I’ve done a bit of everything… but my ultimate preferred strategy is long-term buy and hold rental properties. At the end of the day if I make a million dollars today, what am I gonna do with that? I’m gonna turn around and put it into rental properties that will pay me cash long-term and will in 15 years’ time be completely paid for.

So, why not just start with that strategy? It’s about creating positive cash flow and ultimately if you’re taking out any sort of loans, they will actually pay themselves off.

Do you invest locally or do you manage your properties remotely?

I always say the first thing servicemen need to learn is how to invest in real estate long distance. At some point whether you like it or not you’ll be moving so eventually you will be managing your property long distance.

Read our article: 11 Essential Tips for Managing your Properties Remotely

Why do you think your story resonates with people?

I have had some great successes and some spectacular failures. My whole community, if they pay any attention to my story, all know that I lost thirty thousand dollars on a flip earlier this year so I think part of what people like is transparency and honesty.

As far as the military goes, okay I’ve been in for a while, but I’m not an officer, I’m not a Navy SEAL. I am your normal no college degree (I have an associate degree now), not really much education, nothing special, enlisted dude, and my fancy job in the military is driving trucks.

“I am just your normal, not really much education, nothing special, enlisted dude, and my fancy job in the military is driving trucks. If I can do this then you can too.”

David Pere - MILITARY TO MILLIONAIRE

What advice do you have for servicemen looking to retire from the military?

1. Get your expenses in check.
2. Thrift Savings Plan like the military 401k have great tax advantages and can make a good emergency fund.
3. Spend some time learning everything you can.
4. Save some money.

Ultimately, don’t get wrapped around buying the property and doing all this crazy stuff just yet. Build your financial foundation and your educational foundation.

Where can you find and follow David Pere?

• Visit the Military to Millionaire website
• Follow him on Instagram
• Join the Military to Millionaire Facebook Group
• Follow him on Twitter
• Subscribe to his Youtube Channel