Hello from Croatia!!
Both families made it over here together a couple weeks ago.
Our good buddy, Ruben Furtado, and his wife Lore visited us for a few days here last week too!
We boated out together to one of the islands that we love here…it was fantastic.
Our family had a great time in Italy and we met up with our daughter in Rome as she finished a Grade 12 English Program in Europe.
After spending time in Florence and Rome we were all eager to hit the beaches in Croatia.
This year, my adventurous little brother, Nick, decided to venture into some difficult-to-access coast and discovered some pretty cool private beaches and coves.
That’s him in the picture above enjoying a little beach cave just down from us that we had no idea existed.
We have been coming to this area together with both our families for a dozen years now.
When we bought this condo on the coast it was an absolutely massive decision.
We couldn’t get financing of any sort here in Croatia so we had to make a choice…
Use every single penny of our free capital to buy this place on the Adriatic coast in cash or use that cash to buy 3-4 more rental properties in Ontario.
Back then you could buy properties around the Golden Horseshoe for $225K or so for 10%, or briefly for even 5%, down.
So we’re not talking millions of dollars here.
But to us it felt like millions at the time.
We had recently both quit our jobs and just started Rock Star.
We had mortgages on our family homes to deal with.
Carol and I had two kids under 10 years old.
Nick and Diana had their first of now two daughters.
The cash flows of our existing properties and new business were not enough to fund our lives yet.
In fact, personally, I was cash flow negative.
And each year we would have to spend money on flights for both families to get over to Europe.
We would often take a month off from working…which felt a tad scary at the time (but we knew it was healthy).
Our families didn’t speak the language.
The property didn’t have much appreciation potential (Croatia was not in the Eurozone so no one other than locals or people like us with citizenship could buy).
We wouldn’t rent it out (too difficult to manage that from so far with no trusted property managers local yet).
It was clearly a lifestyle move and not a safe financial investment.
And you know where I’m going with this…
it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
The memories we’ve had each summer with the kids.
The chance to get out of Canada for weeks at a time and not pay for hotels.
The sunshine, the exploring, the time with our local family here in Croatia, the food, the beach, the water, the boats…all of it has been amazing.
The perspective we’ve gained on our own lives by getting away from the big city for chunks of time.
It’s all been amazing.
It’s come with challenges too.
Getting little repairs done hasn’t been the easiest thing.
A bank we used in Croatia went bankrupt and closed down 4 or 5 years ago. Everyone’s deposits just vanished one day…including ours.
A totally foreign concept to most Canadians.
But after many years, and with Croatia now having entered the Eurozone, the foreign money is now flowing more quickly here.
Our condo has finally appreciated. It’s apparently now worth 50% more than we paid for it now.
But we couldn't care less about that type of ROI.
The ROI this place has had on our lives has been priceless.
We bought this condo when I was 37 years old. Today I’m 50.
Time flies.
It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race in Canada. We all have bills to pay and mouths to feed.
But life comes at you fast.
Think about it…
How many good summers do you have left to enjoy?
How many summers do you have left with your kids?
Write the number down.
Look at it.
What’s your plan for those summers?
Do you have any? Or are they just going to pass by…gone forever?
We meet so many Canadians who tell us that “when x,y and z happens, then they’ll finally get that cottage/camper/vacation property”.
And then we meet them again ten years later and guess what?
The vast majority haven’t done any of it. You can see the regret on their face and hear it in their voice.
Don’t let that be you.
Let me repeat…
DO NOT LET THAT BE YOU.
What would your 92-year-old self tell you to do right now? I doubt your 92-year-old self is going to tell you to work more, pay more taxes, and stay inside all summer.
In Canada, it’s growing more and more difficult to have free cash to make some good lifestyle decisions.
You see it on social media now regularly. People complaining that, not only can’t they save money, they can barely afford food, and rent after working a full 40-hour week!
The destruction of the middle class is underway.
We’ve been calling this for some time.
Heck, we even wrote a report forecasting this years ago.
And unfortunately we’re now in the acceleration phase.
But it’s still possible to live life on your own terms.
We see many old and new Rock Star members doing it.
You just have to spend some time understanding how the game you’re playing works.
How does your money really work?
Why do assets go up in price much faster than incomes?
How do you get some good assets?
How can you add a second stream of cash flow into your life?
Spend some time with people who have these things figured out and learn from them.
These are the things that we doubled and tripled down on and it’s made all the difference to us.
Listen, we’re just two brothers born to immigrant parents in Mississauga. They came from nothing…today we’re living life by design, on our terms.
If we can do it…you can too.
And if you want to hang around with local Rock Star Members you can join the fun, check out all the things we do with the Rock Star Inner Circle right here: www.RockStarInnerCircle.com
Or if you want to come to an introduction to real estate investing class you can register for the next one we’re doing at the end of August by grabbing your spot right here.
This Fall, we have an intense lineup of activities for Rock Star members. In September, the VIP group has its semi-annual networking dinner in Oakville.
We then have a special evening session in October for them too. Right before the October YLYT Event for all members.
And that YLYT Event is going to be a doozy! We have it jam-packed with top-notch guests.
Wait until you see all the details that come out later this month…we’re 100% pumped for this!!
And stay tuned over the next few weeks we’ll be jumping back into real estate updates right here in this email.
In the meantime, check out this amazing video that Anthony on the Rock Star team put together last week about finding tenants for your rental property using Facebook Marketplace, you can watch it by clicking here.
Are you making any investments that give you an ROI on life?
If not, time to take action. Right now.
Hope you’re enjoying your summer!
Remember, each one is a special gift…don’t waste them!
Tom & Nick
p.s. Next week, Noha on the team here at Rock Star, will be back writing this email while I’m still gone. Last week she shared a great personal story of her own views on life and real estate. Her perspectives are top notch, you won’t want to miss them!
