I totally understand how you feel. I am in the same situation, so in determination I just looked at other avenues a little ‘out of the box’ from all the educational CD’s I’ve been listening to. I share these in case one triggers you to give it a go.

1) When getting to know an area, I drove street by street to found the worst house in the best street and even though it wasn’t for sale, I approached the home owner to see if they wanted to sell.
This hasn’t paid off yet, but I’ve got nothing to lose. My hope is that just by persistence that I will find someone who wants out and I may find a bargain.

2) I started talking about my property ideas and goals to a select few who I knew could invest, but didn’t have the time. My parents don’t own their home, so I couldn’t go there, so I asked my older friends. A friend of mine has $ and equity to invest but not the time, so I bought the CD on doing a joint venture (this is a partnership type thing in property) by Rob Balanda & you can also buy info on this from Reno Kings who you can pay to hire as a mentor to set up the first one. This way I do the hard renovation work in my evenings and weekends and he funds it all. We share in the profits on sale. I haven’t sold it yet, but when we do, I will have enough deposit to add to my savings for one of my own. He’s happy, & I’m happy.

Don’t give up buddy. I hear your frustrations. Just channel those into trying one practical step to move forward. If the one I am trying above doesn’t work for you, then ask others for more practical hints to get started. I am sure there are other ways.

You are right, the investing world is different to when our parents grew up. But you know, that’s what makes us x Genners so resilient – we are used to coping with change so we just find another way around it. I’m not going to let circumstances dictate my life. You can choose that too. Sure we acknowledge our frustrations and weaknesses in our financial position, then channel this energy to find a different way out.

P.S. The other thing I do is keep getting educated, so I am better understanding and recognising my practical options – I feel more empowered this way too. I have a few friends who split the cost of educational resources and we share them. This might help too.