From High Earning W2 Overseas to Financial Independence thru Real Estate with Billy Keels

Achieving financial goals requires constant education, networking, and self-awareness.

In this episode, Taylor welcomes Billy Keels back to share how he achieved his financial independence. Growing up in a lower-middle-class family, Billy faced rejection twice for his dream job. After taking a one-year sabbatical, he worked and traveled through 58 countries by age 26. He settled in Europe and worked in the IT industry for over 20 years, all while investing exclusively in the US. 

Throughout the conversation, Billy shares how he learned from his mistakes and developed processes for customer service and attracting good tenants to scale up his real estate portfolio eventually. He also talks about how he solved his tax problem by moving toward the energy sector and investing in opportunities that allowed him to keep more of his income for passive income streams. Achieving financial goals requires constant education, networking, and self-awareness. Tune into this episode as we dive deep into Billy’s journey toward financial independence and how you can learn from his experiences to achieve your financial goals.

[00:01 – 08:49] Opening Segment

• Billy’s background and career
• Retired from his corporate life thanks to his investments

[08:50 – 20:12] From Financial Crisis to Long-Distance Investing

• Research into investing led to long-distance investing
• Focusing on processes rather than specific properties
• Improving customer service and attracting the right residents 
• How Billy became an accredited investor and invested in more significant multi-family buildings, hotel development projects, ATMs, and energy equipment
• Ways to keep more income tax in the energy sector

[20:13 – 33:57] Navigating the World of Oil and Gas Investing

• Investing in the energy sector provides substantial income tax benefits and future returns
• Oil and gas investing can be risky and requires due diligence
• Asking questions is vital to make informed decisions as an investor
• Discussion on Paris Agreement and reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere
• Use of technology to capture carbon and produce additional oil and gas from known reserves
• The importance of having a diverse set of assets and vehicles to achieve financial goals

[33:58 – 39:29] Closing Segment

• Favorite book: The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin
• A key tool for business: Video conferencing
• Where to travel this 2023: United States

Quotes:

“It was a matter of how do I take all of these different assets, these different vehicles, combine them, to truly help get me to the goal?” – Billy Keels

“Every single time you have a question, it’s really important to ask. Because the worst thing that can happen […] is that person can’t answer you, and that should be a really big red flag.” – Billy Keels

“Unless it’s actually moving, it’s investing, it’s doing stuff, it’s taking risks, you’re losing every day anyway.” – Billy Keels

Connect with Billy!

Website: www.firstgencp.com/paylesstax 

Podcast: Going Long Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels/?originalSubdomain=es 

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