Anthony Molinaro of Toronto Star fame shares his best savings tips for young real estate investors.

You may have heard of the saying, “hard work pays off.” Growing up our parents teach us that if we work hard early on, we’ll be rewarded later in life. We study hard in school in hopes of one day landing an entry-level position and working our way up the corporate ladder. Despite advancements in technology, young folks these days face new challenges – the rising cost of post-secondary education, precarious employment and high home prices, to name a few.

So, does hard work still pay off? Anthony Molinaro is living proof that it does. Anthony made the front page of the Toronto  Star last year for his strong work ethic and rightfully so. He works a full-time job and attends university, no easy feat. He’s putting the money he’s earning to good use. He’s saving a big chunk of his paycheque – $40K a year – which he plans to invest in real estate.

But not everyone was happy with Anthony’s success. Similar to my story, Anthony got his fair share of Internet hate. Instead of being inspired, some people were jealous, a truly unfortunate situation. I met Anthony in the spring at the Real Estate Wealth Expo in Toronto and he’s the real deal. He’s the perfect example of the power of goal setting.

It’s been over a year since Anthony’s Toronto Star articles came out, so I thought it would be interesting to see what he’s been up to since then. I recently had the chance to sit down with Anthony to discuss how the articles changed his life, his best spending and savings tips and what’s in his financial future.

1. You made the front page of the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper. Quite an honour at such a young age. How did this all come about? What was your reaction to appearing on the front page?

It was quite the experience. My parents are subscribers of the Toronto Star and I would occasionally read the personal finance section because I had read The Wealthy Barber previously and had an interest in managing my finances. I saw that Adam Mayers, a personal finance columnist would answer questions that readers emailed to him about managing their finances and took a photo of his email address.

Months later I had been hired as a full-time employee at PepsiCo Beverages as an order picker and decided to contact him for advice on how to manage my newfound $54,000 a year salary. Adam was impressed by the fact I was also in university full-time and asked me if I was interested in him writing an article about it. I said sure and apparently the editor liked Adam’s article so much he put it on the front page. Quite the surprise when all I wanted was some free advice, but the 15 minutes of fame was a cool experience.

2. Going to school and working up to 80 hours a week must take a lot of willpower. What do you attribute your strong work ethic to? How do you keep yourself motivated and manage your time? What’s your best advice for others who would like to follow in your footsteps?

Contrary to the article I don’t typically work 80 hours a week. I usually only work 40 hours at Pepsi and then have about 12 hours of classes as well as time for homework and assignments. It still is quite a lot to handle, but up to 80 hours was a bit of a headline grab.

I attribute my strong work ethic to a great example set forth by my parents who were taught the same hard work ethic by their parents. You could say it’s generational.

I keep myself motivated by setting goals for myself and then achieving those goals. The reward of meeting those goals creates positive momentum and sustains motivation.

My best advice for someone wishing to work and study full-time would be to tell them you’re going to have to make many sacrifices, but with great time management it’s definitely possible.

 3. Do you ever regret working so much? How do you create balance in your life and maintain a healthy work-life balance?

Of course there are many times when I question myself for working so much. I tell myself I’m only 22, why am I wasting the best years of my life; I should be having a thriving social life and enjoying these student years before adult responsibilities fully kick in. I miss out on many social events with friends and family and it definitely bothers me, but I just remind myself that this is a temporary situation and once I graduate I’ll be so proud of myself for getting through it.

I create balance in my life by scheduling for it. I always leave my weekend nights free for friends or my girlfriend unless I’m really under the gun at school. I go to the gym regularly and play hockey on Sunday nights to keep my body and mind balanced. I definitely need more time for myself because I tend to use all my free time I have for the relationships in my life, but that’s just a sacrifice.

4. When they’re not hitting the books, a lot of millennials enjoy spending money, whether it’s at restaurants or on clothing. What’s your best advice on still having a good time, but also saving your money?

I myself am guilty of unhealthy money spending habits even though I’ve always been considered frugal by friends. My advice to millennials is to realize when you spend money you are spending your time. It took time to produce that money and when you spend it you are agreeing in the transaction that your time that you spent earning that money is worth what you are buying. And time is our most precious resource. The more money you spend, the more time you take away from yourself in the future because it will take longer for you to reach financial freedom. You can still have a good time without blowing $200 on a night out drinking. If you always have that money equals time mentality, you will find that you learn how to have a good time without spending as much money.

5. Some millennials get in trouble with credit cards and live beyond their means. How have you managed to avoid this?

I’ve managed to avoid credit card debt through self-discipline. I actually have three credit cards that I frequently use, but that is for the purpose of building my credit score. I still have a monthly budget that I stick to while using those cards and I manage my spending on those cards carefully by using the Mint budget app.

6. Similar to my story, your story was very polarizing. Some thought you did a great thing, while others weren’t so thrilled. Were you at all surprised and disappointed by the negative reaction? Why do success stories like yours tend to bring out the worst in people? How did you deal with the haters?

I was very surprised by the amount of people that disliked the article. Some people resented the fact I was being recognized because they believe working so hard should be frowned upon and not celebrated by our society. Others were concerned for my safety. Some thought I was wasting my young years and would have plenty of years to work myself into an early grave later on in life (actual quote used). Many people thought the article was irrelevant because I still live at home with my parents who help me out. I believe people become closed minded and can’t understand the mindset of other people who are different from them. Then they like to voice their opinion and won’t consider another mindset or reasoning at all.

The online haters simply didn’t understand my mindset and the reasoning behind what I’m doing for myself. I commented on the Facebook post saying that I didn’t have to work so hard out of necessity, it was because I wanted to. I also mentioned that I do my own laundry.

7. Some millennials are choosing to rent instead of buy. They’re discouraged by the high home prices in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Why shouldn’t young folks give up on the dream of homeownership? Why is real estate still a good long-term investment?

Both buying and renting can be a great solution, but it is situational. Some people may benefit from renting while others may benefit from home ownership. I believe real estate is still a great long term investment because of the leverage it offers and the pride of home ownership.

8. How has your life changed since the Toronto Star article? Are you still working a crazy schedule? Have you slowed down at all?

The Toronto Star article changed my life in that it connected me with mentors, such as you, Sean, who are successful people that inspire me. It also introduced me to the world of real estate investing by connecting me to helpful people that reached out to me and have become mentors in helping me learn the real estate investing business. I am still working the same crazy schedule but I graduate in April 2018 so I can catch a break after that.

9. What’s next for you? What are your financial goals in the next couple years and beyond? Do you still have your mind set on owning a property in the next couple years?

Since being introduced to the world of real estate investing, I now have aspirations of becoming a full-time real estate investor by the time I am 25 years old. I may end up owning a house or condo in the future, but my first priority will be purchasing an income property after I graduate. I would like to hit the milestone of having a $1,000,000 net worth as I believe this the number that I can become financially independent at.

Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.