At 28, I made a life-changing decision. After years of squirreling away bonuses, commissions, and any cold hard cash I could get my mitts on, I was finally in possession of a savings account that I could put to good use.

While it was certainly tempting to follow in my friends' footsteps and invest in handbags and honeymoons, I knew I had bigger financial fish to fry. Having lived the daily grind as an advertising executive in New York City, I wanted a passive income stream that would give me freedom from the 9-5 world.

The benefits of real estate crystallized, and in 2014, I put my hard-earned cash towards a three-unit building in Chicago. There's a plethora of reasons why this was hands-down the best decision of my 20s, and here are 4 reasons why I think real estate is a smart investment for anyone: