A couple are "financially free" thanks to an Airbnb empire they created by cashing in their retirement funds and selling their truck. Michael Elefate, 20, and his wife, Jill, 29, became financially free in November 2020 and quit their full-time jobs six months later.
Financial freedom means you have enough passive income to do all the things you want - without having to worry about where the money is coming from. The pair bought their first-holiday property in December 2019 - a home in Nashville, Tennessee, US - and rented it out to country music tourists and hen parties.
They made a $7,000 profit in the first three months and now make $6,000 a month from the property. And they were "financially free" in just six months - and then able to choose their own work hours and lifestyle.
Over the next three years, they bought six more homes - quitting their more than $100,000-a-year roles working in tech sales in April 2021. Now their $7.5 million property empire nets $360,000 a year and the pair only have to work three hours a week.
Michael, from Greenville, South Carolina, US, said: "Neither of us were very passionate about the jobs we were working - we didn't have a lot of fulfilment out of them. We wanted to take control of our time and choose what we do with it, without reporting to anyone else, picking and choosing how we do things.
"A lot of people think financial freedom is about money, but it really comes down to time freedom." They bought one home in 2019, two homes in 2020, two homes in 2021, and one more in 2022 in Florida, US.
The couple says they funded this by solely liquidating their retirement funds and profit from their first couple of properties. The pair concentrate their time on short-term rentals and creating an "experience" for the people who are renting.
Michael said: "We chose short-term rentals because of their cash potential. Hospitality gives you the opportunity to create an experience for people.
"The earning potential and earnings are much higher. We saw an opportunity to create experiences in a home that people would pay for.
"It has been a wild ride for sure, we were all in, we were so motivated to get out of our current roles and be free. For the first property, I sold my truck to be able to afford it and do alterations.
"The second property, we liquidated our retirement account - it was nerve-racking, but we were all in. It is important for people to get a coach or a mentor if they want to do this kind of thing.
"I wish I signed up for a programme as it would have helped me earn money faster." Last year they bought a $2million dream house on a lake in the mountains of Greenville, South Carolina.
In 2023, Michael and Jill plan to buy two more homes, creating a total revenue of around $1.25million, with a profit of approximately $475,000. Michael said: "We have our eight-week-old baby girl and two dogs, and we honestly feel like we are living the dream every day.
"All thanks for a decision we made three years ago. We don't have a flashy lifestyle, but we are financially free and can pick and choose how we want to spend each and every day."
