I did basically this from 21 to 38. The internet’s reaction reminded me why so many people never start.

I posted what I thought was a pretty simple idea on X:

“If I were starting over today at 44, here’s what I’d do.

I’d start with a house like this. $39,900 in Toledo, Ohio.”

Tom’s original X post about starting over at 44 with a $39,900 house, showing the listing at 612 Thurston Street in Toledo: one bedroom, one bathroom, 705 square feet.
The original post and the $39,900 Toledo listing.

The house was nothing glamorous.

One bedroom. One bathroom. 705 square feet.

It wasn’t in Dallas. It wasn’t in Austin. It didn’t have quartz countertops, a giant kitchen island, or one of those fucking barn doors HGTV convinced everyone they needed.

It was just a house.

And that was exactly the point.

Because if I were starting over today, I wouldn’t start by asking myself what house I wanted.

I’d ask what house I could actually afford.

That distinction changed my life.

I basically did this from age 21 until about 38.

I didn’t start with dream properties in dream neighborhoods. I bought what the numbers allowed me to buy. Sometimes that meant properties other people didn’t want. Sometimes it meant neighborhoods other people laughed at. Sometimes it meant doing work myself, dealing with tenants, fixing ugly shit, and learning things the expensive way.

But every property taught me something.

Every little bit of equity mattered.

Every mistake made me better at the next deal.

Eventually those small decisions stacked into something much bigger.

That’s how this shit usually works.

Not with one giant move.

With a bunch of boring, imperfect ones.

And Then the Internet Arrived

And then the comments started.

These screenshots include profanity. Tap any screenshot to view it full size.

One person said you’d have to “gamble your safety and live in filth.”

Matt V says the plan means gambling your safety and living in filth.
Matt V’s reply.

Another laughed at the idea of renting or flipping in Toledo.

Jim MacDougal mocks renting and flipping in Toledo and says, “You look like Ohio.”
Jim MacDougal’s reply.

Someone called me a “low IQ idiot.”

lilbitcoin914 calls Tom a low-IQ idiot and says he knows nothing.
lilbitcoin914’s reply.

Another called landlords “preachy pricks.”

Coleman Sellers dismisses landlords as “preachy pricks.”
Coleman Sellers’s reply.
Jason Sarcinelli calls Tom an idiot who is out of touch with reality.
Jason Sarcinelli’s reply.
Scotty_Boom’s reply uses a personal insult to attack Tom rather than address the plan.
Scotty_Boom’s reply, a personal attack.

And then, because apparently discussing an inexpensive house in Ohio is enough to completely melt people’s brains, a few commenters went straight into racist garbage.

One person blamed Black neighbors for hypothetical burglaries.

Another simply described Toledo using a racial slur.

That’s not financial analysis.

That’s not real estate analysis.

That’s just trash.

And underneath all of it was the same idea:

“I would never live there.”

Okay.

You don’t have to.

That completely misses the point.

The lesson isn’t “everyone should move to Toledo.”

The lesson is that your first move does not have to look like your final destination.

Somewhere along the way, we convinced people that if they can’t immediately afford the house, neighborhood, city, or lifestyle they ultimately want, then the entire system is impossible.

I don’t believe that.

You might have to start smaller.

You might have to move farther out.

You might have to buy something ugly.

You might have to live somewhere your friends don’t think is impressive.

You might have to sacrifice some convenience.

You might even have to tolerate people on the internet thinking you’re an idiot.

Who fucking cares?

A $39,900 house isn’t automatically a good investment because it’s cheap.

It could have foundation problems.

The roof could be shot.

The plumbing could be ancient.

The block could suck.

The numbers could still make absolutely no sense.

You still have to inspect it.

You still have to understand the neighborhood.

You still have to run the numbers.

Cheap does not automatically mean good.

But expensive does not automatically mean better, either.

Adrian asks Grok whether the plan could work. Grok responds positively while noting inspection and safety risks. The automated claims are unverified.
Adrian’s question and Grok’s response, included as part of the conversation. Grok’s figures and claims have not been independently verified.

And dismissing an opportunity because it doesn’t look impressive is one of the easiest ways to stay exactly where you are.

Not “move to Toledo or you’re a failure.”

Not “any $40,000 house will make you rich.”

Just this:

Stop waiting for the perfect first move.

Make a good first move.

If you can’t afford the $400,000 house, maybe the answer isn’t sitting around being pissed off that you can’t afford it.

Maybe you look at the $200,000 house.

Or the $100,000 house.

Or, yes, maybe even the $39,900 house.

You learn.

You improve it.

You build equity.

You save.

You make the next move.

Then another.

That was pretty much my twenties and thirties.

I wasn’t trying to look rich.

I was trying to become financially independent.

Those are very different goals.

And looking back, some of the least impressive purchases were probably the most important ones.

They gave me experience.

They gave me confidence.

They gave me options.

Most importantly, they got me moving.

There will always be somebody telling you why something won’t work.

Sometimes they’ll have a legitimate point worth considering.

Listen to those people.

But sometimes they’re just sitting on X calling strangers idiots and dropping racial slurs under a picture of a $39,900 bungalow in Toledo.

You probably don’t need financial advice from those people.

You don’t have to start with your dream house in your dream neighborhood.

Start with what the numbers actually allow.

Build equity.

Learn as you go.

Use the first move to get to the next one.

Too many people are waiting for the perfect first move instead of making a good first move.

I’d rather start ugly than never start at all.