If you own rental properties to earn passive income, The Lifestyle Investor: The 10 Commandments of Cash Flow Investing for Passive Income and Financial Freedom will be helpful! The author, Justin Donald, built his wealth through a series of passive investments and now shares his secrets via his books and Lifestyle Investor podcast. The Lifestyle Investor book became a #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller in 2020, boasting over 480 5-star ratings on Amazon.
Donald shares his story in this book, describing how he gained financial freedom through investments rather than a 40-hour-a-week job. He encourages readers to think about money as an avenue to free up our scarcest asset—time—so we can spend that time doing what’s important to us. Donald then delineates some principles for lifestyle investing and debunks some common myths. In the “10 Commandments” section, he covers reducing risk, creating cash flow, and using leverage to your advantage. He wraps up with a glossary of resources to facilitate further study.
The Lifestyle Investor is easy to read and offers straightforward strategies. Each case study illustrates a creative approach and specific deal terms to quantify the author’s method. While the author excels at teaching new investors, experienced investors will also find helpful advice.
However, despite the book’s claim that anyone can become a lifestyle investor, each case study involved investing larger sums than the average person would have on hand. In addition, the author recommends investing in mentoring and professional services—another unreachable goal for the small investor.
Another reviewer pointed out that while The Lifestyle Investor’s mindset could apply to any economic environment, the strategies could become untenable in five or ten years, particularly in a volatile market or during economic downturns.
Despite some drawbacks, The Lifestyle Investor has many useful tips for investors who want to tweak their investment strategies. If, like Justin Donald, you want increased financial freedom and quality of life with a decreased workload, his low-risk method of cash-flow investing might be for you.
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Rentals America provides full-service property management for residential rental properties. Our team is completely dedicated to property management, and we’re here to help landlords navigate the rental market.
