My REI Plan - Part 1: Goals

I started working on my REI plan, in order to understand what it is I want to accomplish (goals), how I want to accomplish it (methods), and what I need to do to accomplish it (milestones). In this first section, I have my goals listed in order to better understand why I'm doing this. Once I have everything completed (hopefully by this weekend), I'll print it all out and review it at least on a daily basis.

---

Introduction
The Goals section of my REI Plan is to detail what it is I eventually want to accomplish by going down the path of Real Estate Investing. Without one or more goals in life, there is now defined purpose as to what needs to be done on a daily basis.

Financial Freedom
I want to achieve a point where I no longer have to worry about when (or if) my next paycheck will arrive. I want to be able to buy items without worrying about whether it will break me financially.

Retire
I no longer want to work for someone else. I no longer want to stress about job security. I no longer want to build-up vacation days in order to spend extended time with my family. I no longer want to worry about deadlines, unpaid overtime, or appeasing the food chain in order to get a meager bonus and/or raise. I no longer want to hit the alarm clock in the morning, drive 13 miles in one hour through snarled traffic, work 8-10 hours for someone else's benefit, and drive home through another hour of traffic.

Family
I want to be able to take more time off from work to spend with my family. I want to be able to spend time with my family on MY terms, and not when my JOB dictates I can. I want to be able to go to all my daughter's functions. I want to partake in outings more with my family.

Bigger Home
I want to buy a bigger house so that my family and I can feel more comfortable. I don't want to be saddled into a home that none of us can really enjoy. I want to be able to have a house architecturally built the way that my wife and I want, complete with rooms, space, and amenities that WE want. All without the fear of affordability.

Travel
I want to be able travel whenever and wherever I want, instead of relying on the once-a-year or once-every-two years trip to an affordable destination. I want to visit landmarks, cities, and countries that I've only seen in books.

Business Owner
I want to be the owner of at least one business venture aside from REI. I want to be able to control the destiny of the business and help others in the process.