Growing a Portfolio and a Family at the Same Time

I listen to and read a lot about real estate investing. 

It's 95% men. 

Their stories are about the same: they work all day and their wife (or someone) is looking after their kids and home life.

While most list their family and children as their hobby, not once have I heard these men talk about the challenges of managing their family logistics with building their business.

Balancing Financial and Family Priorities

For me, and perhaps many other women, the bulk of family logistics is my job.  My husband dutifully marches off to work every day while I manage every other aspect of family life.  We get it all done this way.  However, I also spearhead our personal finances, and our real estate investments.

How I do it:

Sometimes I don't
Simple as that - priorities are always shifting and the family is always number one.  So, sometimes I make a lot of progress, other times I don't.

Goals
Every year I make a list of goals for the year.  Travel, personal, financial. I make a vision board that I lives on my bureau mirror so I see it everyday.

There are my everyday, unwavering goals.  Things like being the best parent possible, and looking after my health.

Then there are intermediary goals.  Things that are short-term assignments.  Tasks like putting away the winter stuff, reviewing our investments, or looking for our next rental property.  Items that are mutually exclusive, take many days or weeks to accomplish, are certainly important, but are not urgent on a daily basis.

Lists
I am an avid list maker.  I write and re-write them weekly, if not daily. This guides my daily and weekly actions and priorities. It gives my day structure and purpose.

Slow but Steady
Like many things in life, many small steps must be taken to reach a goal.  With so many competing priorities and demands on my time, our real estate portfolio has grown in fits and spurts.  But I continue to take those steps one at a time, and I am satisfied with that.