Now that we’re in the new year, I want to reflect on my 2022 investing goals and share my plans for 2023.  These are the goals I’m putting in the 2023 Guide to Colorado Real Estate Investing Strategies.  Check out our submission guidelines to include your investing goals in our annual, crowd-sourced book.

2023 Investing Goals

Reduce Personal Spending

This may be surprising, but one of my main focuses this year is getting my personal finances a little tighter and not necessarily investing in real estate.  I increased my personal spending quite a bit over the past year, and I’m doing my homework to figure out where that spending is coming from.  My husband and I have been tracking our expenses for close to a decade now, so my plan is to take a deep dive into the finances and see what areas have grown and what we can do to mitigate the expenses.

Our family size has doubled in the past couple of years, and we’re not as frugal as we’ve been in the past.  I want to identify expense categories and see if we have alternative options.  For example, I noticed our auto insurance increased significantly, so I reached out to my insurance broker and got a couple of quotes from other major carriers.  I was able to reduce that expense by 40%!  While I’m not clipping coupons, I am seeing if there are easy wins that can save my family money. 

If possible, I’d like to reduce our personal living expenses by 25% of last year’s spending, getting us back to our 2021 level of spending.

How does this relate to real estate investing?  My husband and I are focused on finding the rental property number we need to be able to retire.  If our rental properties aren’t adequately covering our expenses, then our investing goals will change.  If there’s a way to reduce spending to keep the original number, then we’ll adjust.  However, if we truly are living a more expensive lifestyle, we need to adapt our rental property goal.

Stabilize Rental Properties

During my first acquisition phase of real estate investing, I bought 10 properties between 2016-2018.  From 2019-2020, I didn’t buy any.  Instead, during that time I sold two properties and parlayed the proceeds into purchasing a family home.  But most importantly, I worked to get the remaining properties stabilized and managed efficiently.  I figured out a lot of the bugs from self-managing, took care of major projects, and got the properties exactly where I wanted them.

From 2021-2022, I purchased more properties, adding eight units to my portfolio in 2022 alone.  My goal last year was to purchase just four properties, so I doubled that goal. 

Thus, my 2023 goal is very boring: I don’t want to buy or sell anything, just stabilize what I acquired in phase two.  My plan is to get these properties to run like well-oiled machines by making capital improvements and increasing their efficiency. 

This is important for my strategy because I don’t want to get caught up in buying and not be able to maintain my current trajectory.  Once I make sure they are performing well and there are no duds, then I’ll look into buying more properties. 

2023 Real Estate Agent Goals

Colorado Springs Real Estate Investing Podcast

Last year, I wanted to publish 52 episodes of the podcast, with at least 6 focused on Pueblo.  In the end, I published 51 episodes, though I technically recorded 52.  Since I took some leave during the year and the general purpose was accomplished, I call that a win. 

This year, my goal is to publish another 50 episodes.  I want to keep getting Colorado Springs and Pueblo market information published on an ongoing basis so investors are well-informed. 

Transaction Goals for Southern Colorado

In 2022, I wanted to increase the number of closed transactions by 30%, 15% of which were Pueblo.  Our team came pretty close to that goal, so I’m happy for us.  While I’m not making excuses, the market threw a wrench in our plans, and people’s sentiments changed midway through the year.  However, we’ll keep looking for new resources and strategies to help our clients. 

This year, I want to match the team’s transactions from 2021.  I’m not increasing this goal because right now, buyers and sellers are very confused about what’s going on, the market is volatile, and I think a lot of people are waiting to see how things land.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes the next few months for people to start transacting again. 

Make Your Own Goals for 2023

I hope sharing my investing goals for the year will help inspire and clarify your own goals.  Reach out to me with any questions, and be sure to share your goals in the 2023 Guide to Colorado Real Estate Investing Strategies.

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