Adulting Is Easy: Making Personal Finance & Real Estate Easy

BOY DO WE HAVE A TREAT FOR YOU THIS WEEK! Lauren puts out 2 weekly podcasts, one of course being Adulting Is Easy. The second is called the House Money Podcast. Here's episode 26!

House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan have a special guest, Chris Luger from Heavy Metal Money where they discuss blog 125, which is about the 3 essential skills every real estate investor should have. The 1st essential skill is being optimistic. Alan experiences people telling him they want to invest in real estate and what stops them is they worry about every disaster scenario they might face. But what about potential amazing things? Alan calls these lottery tickets! He experienced this when the Nets moved to Brooklyn, and each of his properties there appreciated $1 million right away. The 2nd essential skill is being persistent, it is simple but not easy. You’re always needing to follow up, with realtors, lenders, tenants, contractors, cleaners, etc. And the 3rd essential skill is to have a long-term focus. Know your long-term goal and hold on to it. Chris points out that part of this is delayed gratification. Chris adds that you need to be comfortable taking on risk. Lauren says you need to be confident. Alan says real estate over football.

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Happy almost Valentine's Day! This week, Lauren brings her husband Aric back to discuss an apropos topic. Using an Equifax article for inspiration, the two go back and forth asking each other financial questions. The topics range from income, credit, expenses, debt, goals, kids, and retirement. This episode brings a lot of levity and laughs between the two, who realize after almost 5 years of marriage and 9 years together, they know quite a bit about each other, but not quite everything!

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 113, where Aric and I discussed whether couples should have joint or separate finances last Valentine’s Day.

Article referenced:

Adam started coaching over 20 years ago. He bridges the gap between financial advisors and therapists. Money can bring up feelings of fear, guilt, and shame. It’s OK to get help from others to summon courage. Ask yourself what your feelings are. What is coming up for you, even listening to this episode? You could also do journaling. It’s especially important to recognize shame, anxiety, and avoidance. Adam tells a gut-wrenching story about how one of his clients realized money killed both her parents. If you don’t face your emotions around money, it will affect you physically. You also should recognize what beliefs you’re passing on to your kids, because you’re likely to pass down some of the same thoughts and feelings that your parents passed on to you. And be kind to yourself – we’re all figuring this out! None of us were taught this. There’s really no inherent reason you should know about money. Invite a friendly relationship with your finances.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 156, Financial Independence Doesn't Have To Be Extreme, or episode 74 Empathy and Shame in Personal Finance Community.

About Adam:

Adam Koren helps people who hate dealing with their money. He has been coaching for more than 20 years, and brings care, clarity, and sanity to personal finances - especially for those who experience avoidance, shame, and confusion about them.  Adam specializes in providing judgment-free emotional support to help people untangle their unique money challenges.

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Josh’s partner, Antoinette, got him into real estate investing. As a professional referee, he was very focused on his career, but he got involved in the real estate business during Covid. Antoinette’s background is in a sales career, and Josh actually motivated her to follow her dreams like he had. When Lauren asks Josh about their “why,” he makes a great point that your why may change over time. You may not know where you want to go when you start. The opportunity recently presented itself to build new duplexes, so in addition to their health business, they’re building as well. The goal is to help Josh’s mother retire with these new builds by the end of 2024. Josh and Antoinette have a partner on these deals, which they found by introducing themselves to others as real estate investors. So, do some networking and make being an investor part of your identity (not just your 9-5, if you have one). The two then transition to talking about short-term rentals (STRs), which the couple have in the Orlando area. The experience with STRs led them to the health care business of group care homes. They’re leveraging others’ knowledge with this new venture as well, seeking counsel, not advice. It pays to know people! Lauren points out how careers are non-linear, and you can combine your skills and network to take your life to the next level. Josh rounds out the interview by going into more detail about their group home business.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 132, a fellow Floridian who is using real estate to retire, or episode 128 about managing your properties from abroad.

About Josh:

Her doesn't like bios, but he does like long walks on the beach.

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Lauren starts by asking Ruthie how you inherit a property. It’s important to have a plan for your assets. You can leave property to others through a will or trust. Another way is from rule of law. It sounds like you should choose the will or trust route. There are some obvious benefits from inheriting a property. You don’t have to come up with the money and go through the process of buying one! Unfortunately, there are downsides too. Firstly, someone who is most likely close to you has died and that’s sad. You don’t get to choose the property. Also, there can be complicated family dynamics. Pro tip: have conversations before you pass away about what your wishes are! Transfer as much knowledge as you can. Also, when inheriting a property, you also often inherit tenants. It’s imperative you do networking and build your team. Lauren’s number 1 takeaway is to get an appraisal when you first inherit the property. Try to physically go there too. At the end of the day, you need to decide if having the inherited property fits into your life at the time you inherit it. If not, it’s OK to sell!

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 33 (5 Talks You Should Have with Your Parents) and 38 (Financial Abuse).

About Ruthie:

Ruthie is new to the Twitter / X space, and is just starting to build her connections to others who are inheriting “mom & pop” rentals. You can find her on Twitter at RuthieRentals.

Connect with Ruthie:

Note: Tom had some internet issues early on in the interview, sorry about that!

Lauren kicks off by asking what the difference is between a financial advisor and a financial planner. Interestingly, they can be very different or very similar. Tom thinks anyone who panicked during the toilet paper shortage should have a financial planner (those that panic!). Also, he thinks people with complicated portfolios, like maybe doctors, as well as second generation wealth. Of course, given Tom’s licenses and certifications, Lauren had to ask about them, like the FINRA ones or the CFP. Tom believes the barriers to entry are important in this space. What about personal finance influencers? Lauren wants to know! Turns out, like almost everything, social media has positives and negatives. How do you tell the good advice from the bad? Tom suggests reading credible books, like perhaps some from Bogle. (Lauren would also recommend The Simple Path to Wealth and Psychology of Money.) As far as regulations go, regulating social media influencers might do more harm than good, according to Tom. Now that Tom has left his career, he’s loving podcasting for the Money Happy Hour. Sometimes, he records about hot takes, like when Dave Ramsey said it’s easy to get 12% returns in index funds.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 37 about Advising Fees with Jude Boudreaux.

About Tom:

Tom the Savings Captain had a 30-year career in financial services as an Advisor and leader with several large investment and stock brokerage firms. Tom holds several FINRA licenses and his CFP designation.

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Rachael starts by discussing what financial independence is: being work optional. You’ve built up enough assets that they provide you enough income that you no longer need to work. But what if you like working? You don’t have to have traditional financial goals of completely stopping work at any point. Lauren points out that your feelings about work may change, and you should be ready if that happens. Then, they transition to discussing the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement. Again, Lauren cautions against assuming a steady state for too long, you may (and probably will) change over time. Lauren asks Rachael how to give ourselves permission to spend now, meaning your life can’t all be about delayed gratification. You need to know what you value and what brings you joy. You need balance on the hustle side as well as the spending side. Don’t forget to check in with yourself regularly: do you enjoy how you’re spending your days? Rachael and Lauren close by discussing goal setting, and Rachael points out that looking at the year as a whole can be intimidating, so she plans quarterly.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 77: FIRE in your 20’s.

About Rachael:

Rachael Camp is a Certified Financial Planner, a personal finance blogger, and the founder of Camp Wealth - a financial planning firm for high earners and business owners.

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Brad Freeman aptly named his company Stock Market Nerd because that’s certainly what he is – in a good way! Brad is fascinated with stocks because you can be wrong a lot and still be very successful. He believes in leaving no stone unturned when it comes to researching stocks. It’s a little obsessive actually. For him, knowledge is both power and comfort. Researching stocks to try to outperform the market, to Brad, is a full-time job. He shares what he’s learning in his newsletter. Brad also points out that at 26-years-old, he can take on more risk than most people. He'll decrease his exposure to single stocks over time (he owns 18 stocks right now). Brad shares his own holdings and others in his newsletter. Everyone should have their own approach, according to Brad. Lauren poked at an old wound asking about a time when he was wrong – it was Teladoc (and therefore transformative M&A). Finally, Lauren just had to ask about Airbnb. The two discuss their thoughts on the short-term rental market and how that affects Airbnb. Lauren, of course, has some thoughts to share on this topic!

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 90 Stock Market History with Brian Feroldi.

About Brad:

Brad Freeman is an independent equity analyst who runs Stock Market Nerd. Brad started out working at an RIA & wrote for the Motley Fool before going out on his own. He covers a wide range of stocks within traditional "growth" & "value" buckets as well as macroeconomics. Equity research is a passion of Brad’s and leaving no stone unturned is a prerequisite for his stock picking. Connect with Brad:

Trina graduated from college in 2009, and there were not very many jobs available. She continued working in the service industry when she graduated. Trina loved gardening in her own yard, so her customers started asking her to plant their own flowers. Her first year (Apr-Jun), she generated $10,000 in revenue. She decided that the following year, when she turned 30, she’d be full-time. She met her goal and generated $175k the first year she was full time. Trina knew from the beginning that this landscaping company would be a steppingstone. She wanted it to be a lifestyle company or sell it within 5 years. It took 8, but she did it! Interestingly, Trina studied constantly about how to be a leader. She learned a lot about herself and did a lot of work on herself while she was running the business. The business operations weren’t the hard part – it was the people. Trina is a big believer in setting goals, and one of those was becoming an accredited investor. Like her other goals, she hit that, too. The two go into detail about Trina’s goals and how she sets them. In the near term, she wants to spend the nice months in Arizona (she lives up north). She’s also, of course, working on her online business. Her big goals push her on her smaller goals.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episodes 144 and 95, which are about entrepreneurship.

About Trina:

Trina Julian started a landscaping company in 2015 with the purpose of building it and selling it. Trina saw it as the fastest way to 10X her income and get off the economic floor. It worked! Now she’s building an online business because Trina wants to live abroad and have more freedom to travel the world. So, she started Trina Julian, the company, earlier this year. Her vision is to instill belief in all people that they can design the life they want. Follow her on Twitter (@TrinaJulian) and sign up for the best weekly sales tips to 10X your income at trinajulian.com.

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Since Brett bought his first house in 2022 and his first investment property in 2023, Lauren had to ask about investing in this current environment. Brett did this deal with his grandparents, and it was a great entry point for all of them! Interestingly, the deal is out of state for all of them. Brett breaks down his numbers of his first (primary) home, a townhome. Then, the two transition to breaking down the rental deal, and start by talking about working with family. His grandparents were doing a 1031 exchange of some land. They looked at 15 homes in one day before they bought a single-family home. Why would his grandparents want him in on their deal? He handles a lot of the paperwork. He’s taken on more of the mortgage and brought a personal line of credit to the deal. And there are estate planning benefits as well! A huge advantage is going through this adventure with his grandparents. And he bought of out state (he lives in Florida and his grandparents live in California) in Missouri because housing is still affordable there. Unlike Lauren, Brett likes real estate and loves the stock market. Lauren can’t help but wonder if he’ll change his mind over time.

UPDATE: Brad did collect rent for Nov 1

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 26 where I interviewed Brett about his student loans or 116 about land flipping.

About Brett:

Brett Holzhauer is a self-proclaimed personal finance nerd. He currently works at M1 where he is the Content Marketing Manager. Before that, he was a personal finance reporter at CNBC and Forbes. Along the way, he has been on his own financial journey. He successfully paid off $80,000 in student loan debt, while buying his first home in South Florida in 2022, and just recently completed his first investment property purchase in September 2023.

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Lauren opens by asking the obvious question, as she often does: what’s a mobile home? Rachel touches on the history of mobile homes and manufactured homes. They started as a home for rich people to take with them on their vacations! Now, they’re not moved very often in their lifetimes. They’re usually set on blocks, wheels removed, and hitches removed. Rachel points out that since 1976, HUD got involved and created some standards throughout the industry. Rachel shares how she became “Mobile Home Girl.” It started with wholesaling, which is what she’s doing (again) now. Lauren asks about how Rachel handles depreciating assets, financing, and insurance. She also rents out the homes and seller finances them as well, with lease options. Lauren straight up asks: what’s different about investing in mobile homes versus other asset classes? Interestingly, you need to build rapport with the park managers! Lauren shares that both her grandmothers live in mobile homes, and asks about co-ops, and Rachel explains what those are and how they work. Why hasn’t Rachel bought a whole park? Turns out, it’s a different business! There’s not as much freedom. Rachel is kind of enough to walk through numbers on not one, but two deals: her first deal and a very recent one. Lauren and Rachel end the interview speculating about the future of manufactured housing. The hope is that they are a part of the affordability crisis, along with tiny homes.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 117 real estate as a side hustle and finding your tribe online.

About Rachel:

Rachel Hernandez is an award-winning mobile home investor with over ten years of experience. As an author and blogger, her books have hit #1 on Amazon and her blog has been featured as one of the Top 20 Real Estate Investing Blogs. Rachel is also the #1 writer for Mobile Homes on Quora. She has been featured in MHVillage, Forbes, Experian, and various real estate publications and blogs. Her podcast, Adventures in Mobile Homes, is recognized as one of 30 Asian American Podcasts to Support and was nominated for a 2020 Golden Crane Award by the Asian American Podcasters Association.

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Bonds are like IOU’s issued by governments and companies. They usually come in denominations of $1,000 with different interest rates (coupons). As yields (rates) on bonds increase, existing bond prices decrease. David (Uncommon Yield) breaks all thismdown and more for Lauren. Then, they get into the importance of the 2-year and 10-year treasury rates, and what it means when the 2-year is higher than the 10-year (when the yield curve inverts). Why do bonds matter? They underpin the whole financial system. And David tells Lauren what is going on in the current market right now, and it’s actually pretty shocking. If you haven’t heard much about bonds on social media, it’s because they’re not talked about enough given how important they are to the economy. This is a great place to dip your toe in.

If you liked this episode, you may also like my past interview with David about credit cards for episode 102. About David:

David a.k.a. UncommonYield, a financial educator and teacher at Cash Flow University. He takes a unique approach to personal finance that teaches you how to get the most out of every dollar. UY is married with 4 young kids and is Midwest born and raised. Find him @UncommonYield on Twitter and Instagram.

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In honor of both our 150th Adulting Is Easy podcast episode, our 4th podversary (which was Oct 29), AND Halloween we're replaying our most popular episode from 2022. Even if you listened to it last year, you may want to check it out again. Joe is a great STR operator and we're sure you'll get something great from this one, even on a second listen!

This week, Lauren interviews Joe about his rental business, which includes both long- and short-term rentals (STRs/Airbnbs). Joe makes a great case for having both in your portfolio for diversification purposes, and you can diversify even further if you learn to get direct bookings in addition to Airbnb and Vrbo. He uses a Facebook group to get more direct bookings. If you're wanting to learn more about all aspects of investing in STRs, this is for you!

About Joe:

Joe Mease is a 42-year-old, married, father of 2, living and operating out of Denver, CO. Over the past 20 years, he and his wife have built a portfolio of 9 long-term rentals and 3 short-term rentals. When not juggling property management, he enjoys spending time with his family, going out to eat, attending local festivals and events, and traveling.

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Where better to kick off this interview than talking about what investing is? Mark talks about the difference between investing and gambling or speculating. He also goes into the foundation that should be set before investing. So, your personal finances need to be in order first! It’s important to take into account your risk tolerance, goals, and time horizon(s). Sometimes, though, you don’t know what your risk tolerance really is until push comes to shove. Lauren tells her own risk tolerance story regarding the Covid stock market crash. Of course, Lauren has to ask about how Mark handles real estate, and he sort of doesn’t – he suggests housemoneymedia.com! She also questioned how to handle emotions when it comes to investing. Understanding what you’re investing in is important. They close the interview with a message to listeners who haven’t started investing yet, but have been learning and thinking about it for a long time. Is that you?

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 142 with BudgetDog about investing for your kids and episode 121 with the Wealth Dad about index funds (the easy way to get rich).

About Mark:

Mark Roussin, CPA, is owner of Roussin Financial, which is a company dedicated to not only educating but empowering investors to become their own Money Managers. They do this through 1 on 1 coaching, to which they have a 6-week Investing Accelerator course where participants work with Mark 1 on 1 to develop a customized Investing Plan, but they also have short-term workshops we do as well. You can find Mark on X and Instagram at @Dividend_Dollar and you can also follow along on YouTube at Mark Roussin, CPA where he publishes 2 videos per week and does 1 live show EVERY Thursday.

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Alan grew up with public school teachers as parents, so he saw wealth as a child, but he never had any. That’s why he wanted to have a million bucks by 30 – and write a book about it! He started this journey right after college, at the age of 21 or 22. Alan’s first step was to live off a small percent of what he was making. How did he save so much? He “hid” money from himself by having his HR department send a huge percent to a bank across town (remember, this was 20 years ago). Every January 1st, he would go see what was in there and use it as a down payment on a property. His first amount was $10,000, which he used to buy a $99,600 condo in Brooklyn (when no one wanted to buy real estate in a post-9/11 New York City). Lauren can’t help but ask the question: was it hard? Alan made everything a game and kept his future self in mind. And he’s really good at delayed gratification. Back to that first condo, Alan rented out his living room in an early version of house hacking! Then, the two transition to talking about life after becoming a millionaire. Both agree you should be frugal to start as you set your foundation. They also emphasize growing your income at the same time if you can. As you grow your wealth, more doors open, but you have to start somewhere! Finally, Alan and Lauren talk about their new venture with Tom the Frugal Gay called House Money Media.

If you liked thisepisode, you’ll also like episode 85 with Tom Brickman the Frugal Gay about how he became FI and left his day job.

About Alan:

Alan Corey started with a $99,000 condo at the age of 22, Alan has had a passion for real estate for half of his life. He grew his net worth to $1,000,000 by the age of 28 and was able to retire from the corporate world to focus on real estate full-time. Currently “maxing out” in real estate, he now manages a $50 million dollar portfolio of over 300+ doors, is a top-producing Atlanta real estate agent, and teaches real estate investors worldwide through books, podcasts, courses, and speaking engagements. His published books on real estate "A Million Bucks by 30" and "House FIRE" have been touted as both very humorous, yet educational and actionable. A "Real Estate Maximalist" through and through, Alan helps investors of all levels transform their life through real estate.

Buy Alan's Book:

What started as a conversation about buying a vacation home led to the realization that they couldn’t even afford a vacation! This week, Lauren interviews the Debt Free Guys, David and John, about their journey of getting out of debt, which leads to a whole conversation about their journey to becoming the Debt Free Guys, which wonderfully includes house hacking. The first step, once they realized they were in a financial mess, was to go through their inflows and outflows. That led to further questioning about their money stories: why did they overspend? We all have money stories that we must work through so we can understand ourselves. David and John explained to Lauren that they were able to dig out of debt using a budget, which in their opinion is key for getting out of debt. They were candid enough to share that their budget was a little too much like a crash diet, leading to a debt bounce back after they’d paid the original debt off. That led to a true lifestyle change. That brough Lauren to one of her favorite topics: house hacking. The Debt Free Guys are kind enough to share their experience house hacking a duplex in Toledo, OH. Are they going to house hack again soon now that they’ve been there a year? They aren’t sure, but they do want to retire to a small town in Spain. They agree on that.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 138 with Justin from the Price of Avocado Toast, where we talked a lot about blowing through a settlement, getting into debt, and crawling back out better and stronger on the other side.

About the Debt Free Guys:

David & John Auten-Schneider, the founders of Debt Free Guys® and the hosts of the Queer Money® podcast.

Chris Campbell has 12 credit cards – more than even fit in his wallet! Lauren asked about the difference between rewards, cash back, and travel points. Chris is a big fan of travel rewards credit cards because you basically get a better return on your spending, more than you’d get with cash back, up to 3x times more! According to Chris, you can routinely get 6% back rather than the normal 1-1.5% cash back. Chris is partial to the Chase Sapphire credit card. If you combine rewards with loyalty programs, such as at Hyatt, and you’re really cooking with fire. Some cards have sign up bonuses. They also sometimes have special categories with extra points, so for example you might have a card you prefer to use for gas. There are communities online to help you understand these nuances. High-end card have annual fees, but their benefits often outweigh those. Award wallet is one way you can track your rewards. Also, using your online logins. Lauren and Chris also discuss credit scores and the impact having credit cards has. Huge reminder: paying ANY INTEREST AT ALL means the rewards are not at all worth it! What does Chris do with extra points? Hotel upgrades! Finally, Lauren asked Chris about business credit cards.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 102 about Credit Cards with Uncommon Yield.

About Chris:

Chris Campbell, a fire protection engineer and code consultant based in Washington DC. He has a bachelor’s and master’s from University of Maryland in Fire Protection Engineering. Chris has used his analytical side to become adept at navigating credit card rewards since 2014, Chris and his wife haven’t paid for a personal flight nor hotel. When Chris isn’t consulting or using his travel rewards, he’s spending as much time as possible with his wife and their 3 young children. Resources Mentioned:

Ward Wallet

ThePointsGuy.com

Lauren had to start by asking about his entrepreneurial journey to date, which is extensive even though he’s only 24. Andres’s drive may have simply continued when he quit baseball after taking it very seriously for 14 years. That’s when he was introduced to the world of sneaker sales. While still in college, he created a company flipping sneakers. It was a “very profitable 8 months” before the stores closed for Covid. Meanwhile, Andres was renting licenses for bots that sourced sneakers in a Discord community. At its peak, he was making about $14k profit per month with 9 employees, but Covid shut that down too. Andres then went and got a “real” adult job. This job still allows him to build on the side and fosters his entrepreneurial spirit. Lauren agrees with this approach: get into sales and bank that money early. It’s what she did. Add a financially savvy partner to the mix? Then, you’re really cooking with fire. Andres and his girlfriend are setting a strong foundation now. Interestingly, Andres credits some of his early struggles with his willingness to sacrifice now to set a foundation. Both Andres and Lauren agree that young people should live frugally longer than they do. And it’s so much easier if you instill those habits early on.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like our bonus episode between episodes 110 and 111, which is a Twitter Space about sales. Also number 140, about building online businesses.

Also mentioned: Episode 130 with Suni and Episode 75 with Tracey.

About Andres Sanchez:

At 24 years old, Andres has already founded 4 companies. Two of them, one of which was founded with his best friend and business partner, each went on to do 6 figures in sales. Due to Covid, only one of the businesses still operates. Andres’ newest venture is the podcast The Virtual Ventures Podcast where he interviews amazing entrepreneurs (like me). His day job is a software sales role at a top 20 tech company!

Connect with Andres:

Jo has been in the short-term rental space for 8 years. He’s done both arbitrage (renting a unit from a landlord on a long-term basis and listing the unit as a short-term rental) and property management. Get this – Jo charges 20% of the NET INCOME for his PM services. The meat and potatoes of the conversation shifts to the “Airbnbust.” Jo goes into detail about his entrepreneurial ventures, including a dog resort, to guess what the future holds for the short-term rental space. He thinks it’s a bit of a trend that is slowing down, soon to plateau. But there are things hosts can do to prepare for this. Then, Lauren had to know more about the dog resort. Going through the hurdles associated with entrepreneurship will make you very resilient, and you’ll walk away from this conversation motivated to start if you haven’t already. And of course, short-term rental ownership means having properties you’re proud of and you can enjoy.

If you liked this episode, you will also like episode 128 about managing STRs from abroad and episode 141 about STR cleaners.

Sponsored by: https://touchstay.com/

About Jo:

Jo Chan and his team are property managers for short term rental at a handful condo hotels in Miami. They also clean/turnover properties for other hosts. As a licensed realtor, Jo also helps owners acquire and manage their dream vacation homes and when it’s time to move on he helps them sell to the next owner. 

Connect with Jo:

Lauren and Dave start by discussing some mistakes he made early on in his investing career. It started out OK. He was into the book The Wealthy Barber. He actually started investing religiously at 19 years old! Once he got out of college, he started raiding that investment account. So, that was the first big mistake. The second one was marrying the right person who encouraged Dave to draw down his retirement accounts for present wants. Then, the two discuss how to potentially not marry the wrong person. After that, they finally get into the meat and potatoes: dividend investing. Dave lays out the dividend investing strategy and some examples numbers. He explains what DRIP means. Lauren asks what Dave has in his portfolio: approx. 24 stocks (and a couple ETFs). Next, Lauren and Dave discuss his goals and retirement plans, given he’s 50 years old and has had to start over multiple times. His attitude is really good. Dave wraps up with some encouraging words that will motivate you to get started.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 115 with Dream Dividend or episode 64 with Dividend Hero (Ross).

About Dividend Dave:

After 30 years of making all the investing mistakes possible Dave is finally on a path to financial freedom. He is primarily focused on the dividend investing strategy but also trying to increase his streams of income thru monetization of The Passive Income Podcast. Since recently turning 50 he knows there are only a few good years left to get his financial house in order.

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According to Chris (and probably all STR hosts really), your cleaner is your most important team member. With a low performing cleaner, you’ll have a low performing property. Chris outlines 5 ways to find cleaners: 1) messaging other hosts on Airbnb, 2) searching online and reading through websites, 3) drive around at check out time and talk to cleaners, 4) local investor groups, like on social media, and 5) apps, like Turno. Both Lauren and Chris recommend having the same cleaner or small group of cleaners so they’re familiar with your properties and it isn’t different people in and out of there every day. Chris offered more advice. Don’t be afraid to ask for references. Interview multiple cleaners. Give them positive feedback. Pay them well. How to price your cleans? You can use the “enemy method,” online data sources, or getting quotes from cleaning companies. Lauren points out that short-term rental cleans are very different from typical cleans. The cleaners should think differently too. But make sure they know what their responsibilities are up front. Checklists help with this. Chris is open about some rubs he’s had with cleaners: propane tanks, missing TV, cornhole sets being misplaced, etc. Chris’s final thoughts: use data and educate yourself before you jump in.

Lauren and Paul talked about what it was like to work at Airbnb when the startup environment had so much money flowing through it. They touched on the short-term effects of Covid, as well as the longer-term ones. It seems like there’s more curiosity from the general public. Of course, they had to touch on the “Airbnbust” idea. Some areas are certainly becoming oversaturated. Paul gives great advice on underwriting your deals: think of the bear case and the bull case. In the last few years, it’s easy to wonder if people underwrote based on bull cases. Lauren and Paul discussed about tiers of homes: large/luxury homes, “comfort plus,” and “economy.” Paul believes that “comfort plus” place is where you want to be. Some economy-type travelers may treat themselves to a nicer stay. The usual luxury travelers may go to “comfort plus” when tightening belts. Overall, Paul recommends diversification to meet the demand where it is. Whether you’re in short- or long-term rentals, look at the annual returns. While none of us can predict the future, Paul believes their will be a culling of short-term rentals over the next few years, but that’s healthy. Paul and his company Summer overall are bullish on this industry and are excited to see what the future holds.

Justin received a settlement at 24 years old from his grandmother’s death from mesothelioma. He had just started dating his now wife (Haley) at the time. Not only did they spend all of it, but they also ended up in debt (although they did put a down payment on a house). Vacations, an engagement ring, a time share, but where did the rest go? They don’t really know. This situation was not sustainable, and they realized it when they bought pumpkin muffins while Haley was 8 months pregnant. Justin did some soul searching on the way to work, then they got on the right financial path. It took about 3 years to go downhill and about a year and a half to get back on track. Justin is very open about their struggles on their journey, and how they felt at the time, including the shame and guilt. One thing that helped was positive affirmations: I deserve to have wealth, etc. Until we know better, how can we do better? Justin goes into some tactical details of how they got rid of the debt: cashing out their Roth contributions (not really recommended but something they did), downgraded both of their cars, threw stimulus checks at it, sold items they weren’t using, he got a second job as a bartender, and trimmed their budget. Finally, Justin shares some examples from his and Haley’s financial coaching business.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like 118: Friends, FOMO, and Finances.

About Justin Brown-Woods:

Justin and his wife Haley are a millennial couple that began their debt-free journey in the Fall of 2019. After blowing through a $600,000 lawsuit payout and racking up over $220,000 worth of debt in three and a half years, they got serious about changing the narrative they had created for their lives. Within 18 months, they had paid off over $130,000 of debt and restarted their wealth journey. Connect with Price Avocado Toast:

Today, Lauren interviewed the team from Nexus. Konstantin started investing 10 years ago. You get more from your money when you invest it vs let it sit in a bank account. He’s become fascinated by the numbers behind investing. When it comes to the culture around investing, many people think investing is inherently complicated. Index funds are not complicated and are a great place for new investors to start. You don’t have to day trade or read earnings calls. Should there be a foundation set before investing in index funds? Yes – some knowledge. Once you start learning, you realize it’s pretty risky not to invest. What else should you do before investing? Simple – you need to know what your short-, mid-, and long-term goals are. Another part of foundation setting, other than knowledge and goal setting, is your emergency fund. Chen-Chen answers how large they should be and if/where it should be invested. Lauren’s is in a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA). Emergency funds should be liquid.

If you liked this episode, you may also like episode 56, simple financial advice with Jrod.

CJ “walked on” to the NFL when he went undrafted, so Lauren of course had to ask him about that experience. They quickly transition to talking real estate. He house hacked twice to start, once with a duplex and once with a triplex. As a reminder, house hacking is when you buy a property, live in part of it and rent the rest out. He dipped his toe into short-term rentals with the triplex because it was a small studio. With that proof of concept in hand, he started thinking bigger: a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom lake house a couple of hours away. CJ and his wife loved the idea of having their own lake house, as they had seen many people with second homes growing up. CJ goes into his tech stack as well: PMS, pricing software, etc. The two also talk about the types of guests he gets in the studio vs the lake house. It’s HUGELY important to keep the types of guests in mind. CJ also talks about his experience with pets. Pro tip from Lauren: when you’re setting up your first STR, document everything as if you’re going to have a second. Finally, CJ gives advice on what you can do TODAY to get started in real estate.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 124: NFL Players Side Hustle too.

Sponsored by: https://touchstay.com/

About CJ: CJ Smith and his wife own 6 units, including 1 short term rental. Played 2.5 years in the NFL. I work in sales and is from Minnesota.  Connect with CJ:

Change of pace this week! Lauren interviewed Clint Murphy to celebrate the 100th episode of his podcast, the Growth Guide. The two discussed success mindsets and a bunch of other topics, since the two know each other very well from doing live Twitter Spaces weekly for an entire year. This episode is being posted on both feeds today. Huge congrats to Clint and the Growth Guide team on hitting this milestone, and thanks for including Adulting Is Easy in marking this milestone!

Lauren asked Clint about finding balance, which he admits he’s still working on. Clint is big on goal setting, so the two discussed 5-year goals, and even changing your goals over time. A lot of hitting your goals involves building your “get sh*t done muscle.” How? He loves the tactic of streaks – or at least being “daily-ish.” Clint recommends slowing down and being present and has some great tips for getting into flow. He also talks about finding your passion and using your skills to make money, pursuing your passion on the side can be a totally OK answer! Then, Lauren and Clint transition to a discussion about learning, starting with empathy. Your learning can compound just as much as any investment. And speaking of investments, Lauren asked Clint about some real estate investing “failures.” The Murphy family has had some setbacks, but they’ve more than risen above. They’ve taken some rough hits for a short time. “Failure is your stairway to success.” Clint recommends moving from content consumer to content creator. Being in the top 10% isn’t that difficult. Back to real estate investing, Clint mentions that you can’t become wealthy without leverage. He also outlines the “Kardashian effect,” which means comparing your current situation to someone’s best situation. Hint: don’t do that.

If you like this episode, you may also like episode 37 (the first time Clint was on), which is called Overcoming Financial Setbacks and Owning $9mil in Real Estate.

About Clint: Clint Murphy is the CFO of a real estate development firm and Twitter rock star based in Vancouver. He’s also a writer and lifelong learner. Clint is a multi-millionaire real estate investor who achieved financial independence by age 40. But more importantly than any of those accomplishments, he’s also a devoted husband and father. Clint is passionate about personal, professional, and financial growth.

Connect with Clint:

Imagine slowly losing one of your senses. For 10 years, you know your time is limited with this sense you were born with but are destined to lose. That’s what happened (and is still happening) to Adam of the Blind Luck Project. Adam is kind enough to detail what it’s been like losing his vision. It’s an emotional conversation, but of course Lauren and Adam do talk about how Adam is making the best of it. Long term disability insurance plays a big role in this episode. It’s impossible to listen to this story then feel like you can’t accomplish your goals, especially if you have nothing standing in your way. Adam left the workforce at 32 and is making a great life for himself. You can too.

If you liked this episode, you may also like episode 91 where I talked about my car accident and the financial impacts from it. You may also like a more traditional FIRE story as told in episode 77.

About Adam:

Adam is the friendly sasquatch aka Blind Luck. He retired at age 32 from a career in Aerospace Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing R&D. Adam has a degree in Construction Management from the University of Washington that he received in 2010. His FI/RE story was born out of necessity due to a degenerative eye condition that forced him out of the work force earlier than originally planned.  Thankfully, Adam was able to think outside of the box and make a comfortable early retirement a reality. Since December 2019, he’s been living the FI/RE Dream. Connect with Adam:

This real estate investing journey started when Mike and his wife bought a house in Florida from Ohio, and started short-term renting it to friends and family only in between using it themselves. Then, the family moved to North Carolina for work. Mike got fired while his daughter was in high school. His wife also got fired. They moved into the Florida house for a short time. Now scrambling a bit, the family bought a fixer looking for appreciation, then did arbitrage. What is short-term rental arbitrage? Mike rented the house to a tenant who would be the STR host. He did the maintenance himself. He met the arbitrager through Bigger Pockets. The value proposition for him: save time and learn. Then a bit later, Mike took the management over. In the meantime, they were building their portfolio. Now, Ronnalee is retiring and taking over the STR management of their portfolio and others! This is a story of guessing, learning, and letting the real estate investing “career” unfold as you go.

If you liked this episode, you will also like Episode 123: When You House Hack an STR and It Has Mold But You Still Make Money and Episode 119: Cost Segregation.

Athena got into the personal finance content creation world to help the Latina community (and everyone) learn along with her. She’s passionate about helping her community because of the wage and income gaps present. Athena discusses the importance of diversifying income streams, as well as her investment portfolio. Since she literally wrote the (for dummies) book on budgeting, of course Lauren and Athena dove deep into this topic. The first method they talked about was zero based budgeting. The second was the 50/30/20 method, Lauren’s favorite. The third budgeting method discussed was the cash envelope method, Athena’s favorite. Finally, they talked about the pay yourself first budget, which is often not thought of as a budget at all! She offers tactical tips for sticking to a budget, like having groceries delivered. Athena also recommends an accountability partner, which can even be anonymous. Everyone should have a budget because it’s the foundation on which all personal finance goals are based.

About Athena:

Athena Valentine Lent is a finance columnist for Slate and the author of Budgeting for Dummies (Wiley, 2023). Her writing has appeared in BuzzFeed, Prudential, The College Investor, GOBankingRates, Money Under 30, among other places. Her personal finance blog, Money Smart Latina, won the Plutus Award for "Best Personal Finance Content for Underserved Communities" in 2020 and was nominated for "Blog of the Year" in 2022. When she's not working, you can find her reading a Stephen King novel with her main man, a polydactyl cat named Harrison George.

Connect with Athena:

Lauren starts by asking Suni about what it was like to compete in the Olympics. Then, they move onto a gut wrenching aha moment at the corporate job. Everyone around her was making more and doing less! Cue the personal finance wind tunnel. Suni is still working on balance, after growing up working extra hard as an athlete. She breaks down her 10 doors and reminds us you don’t have to grow for the sake of growing. Remember what your goals are! Get this… you can pay properties off if you want! The two dive a little deeper into her short-term rentals, like making the initial STR choice because it was a small, weird space. Suni furnished her first one with used furniture. It was “fine.” She details converting a duplex into a triplex, and whether it was worth it or not (it was!). It’s not all rainbows and butterflies though…. Lauren and Suni talked about both the pros and cons of STRs. Finally, she talks about her Nightmare Before Christmas themed Airbnb. Is this the future of STRs?

Sean got into personal finance when a boss told him to focus on his retirement. Even though he was just out of college, he listened! He and his wife have been invested every 2 weeks for almost 9 years. They’re more than set for retirement at this point. Lauren and Sean talked about maxing your match in your 401k vs maxing the match. The Wealth Dad broke down stocks, index funds, and ETFs, and why index funds are a great way to get rich and stay rich in the long term. He touched on meme stocks and the idea of “getting rich quickly.” The two agree that the max you should set aside in your portfolio for gambling and speculating is 10% (ideally less). Sean broke down his portfolio piece by piece and the breakdowns. Spoiler alert: the whole portfolio is in stocks right now, which makes sense for a 31-year-old. He recommends reading two books before you invest. Sean’s kids are very young, and he’s already investing for them. Naturally, Lauren asked about that and Sean gave his take on investing for his kids. What scares him the most for kids? It’s not college – it’s home prices! The idea is having your kids live a better quality of life than you did. It sounds like Sean had a great upbringing and he’s using that as a blueprint for his kids. He might hide the wealth though by keeping their townhome. Finally, Sean gave his thoughts on side hustling, with the goal of increasing disposable income. If you can do what others are unwilling to do for a few years, you’ll live how others can’t in the near future.

About Sean:

Sean, the Wealth Dad. Sean is a husband, father of 2, and investor. He works a 9-5 and side hustles as well.

Books Mentioned:

Just Keep Buying

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

Bogleheads Guide to Investing

Millionaire Next Door

The Simple Path to Wealth

Psychology of Money

Connect with Sean:

James has 2 deaf parents, and he thought other families talked about money (which probably wasn’t true). So, he started researching money and found the FIRE movement. He grew up in near poverty (my word, not his), and decided he wanted his financial future to be different than his past. James knew the best way was real estate. He and his wife, Emily, were able to retire with 10 doors. It only took them 3 years to do it! They’ve converted a handful to short-term rentals (and mid-term). The two split responsibilities, with James doing the day-to-day and Emily handling the bookkeeping. James goes into more detail about what their process looks like. He talks about the systems they have in place for the long-term rentals. Get this, he doesn’t handle turns. He only handles the full renovations, of all things. What real estate? You get to FIRE more than a decade quicker than you do with the stock market. How do you get around the late-night toilet calls? Only buy places with 2 toilets! Tenants should only contact you overnight for fire, flood, or blood. James and Emily are still trading up and doing deals, even in retirement. Short-term rentals are not as hard as you think. Basically, it’s the furniture at risk. So, don’t be afraid to take the risk!

About James:

James and his wife, Emily, were just two regular people, working regular jobs, living in a regular town when they found the financial independence movement. They went all in and focused on real estate buying their first property in 2017. Within two years they had 10 units and enough cash-flow to leave their jobs. Now, they’re still two regular people, but they live an extraordinary life of travel and adventure while self-managing their small portfolio.

If you liked this episode, you will also like episode 103: FIRE Using Real Estate and 148: New Investor Buys 1 LTR and 2 STRs in First Year.

Danny started his career in investment banking. His wife was a lawyer. This was NOT conducive to the life they wanted to live. Lauren interviews Danny about side hustling, using Amazon FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) to leave his 9-5. Rather than take on flipping product full time though, he sold that business. Between that sale and real estate, his family is financial free and expanding - the two welcomed a baby girl last year. Learn how to balance your W2 with your side hustle and what to expect when you leave the 9-5 world behind for good!  

About Danny V:  

Danny is a recovering W2 nerd with a passion for helping high earners reach financial independence. At age 26, he founded an eCommerce company and built it to $2M per year in revenue -- all while keeping his day job. He sold that business in 2022 and diversified across more than a dozen commercial real estate syndications as a Limited Partner. He's now building Wealth2 and sharing advanced strategies to grow your side hustle, invest in tax-advantaged commercial real estate and build a diversified cash flowing portfolio.   

Connect with Danny V:  

Bernadette (Bernadebt?) Joy went from being in debt to crushing her money goals and now she helps others too! She tells Lauren how cutting too much from your budget can be unsustainable. You must think about your mental health. A lot of people in debt suffer in silence, and it shouldn't be that way. It’s normal to take on debt for things, like houses, cars, and school. What would your life look like without loans? Shame, guilt, and depression can be associated with debt. Bernadette even said her psychology degree may be more useful than her business degree. It's important to explore assumptions, like “I need to have $10,000” in my checking account? The two discussed the debt snowball vs. debt avalanche. Bernadette has seen more success with snowball than avalanche. And knowing there’s a mental health aspect to consider as well, i.e. the heavy burden of owing your family money. She offers tactical tips like, it may make sense to pay off a recent loan if interest isn’t accruing yet. Listen to learn how to crush your money goals!

About Bernadette:

Bernadette Joy launched Crush Your Money Goals® in 2020, a money media company, to serve up practical and fun educational content. She's taught thousands across the country her simple strategies to pay down debt, save more money, invest with confidence and pursue financial peace. Joy paid off $300,000 of debt in three years and built her first $1 million net worth in her 30s as a first generation Filipina-American, the eighth of her father's nine kids! She's been featured as a money expert on CNBC, Good Morning America, Business Insider and named to The 25 Most Influential New Voices of Money by NextAdvisor in partnership with TIME magazine. Connect with Bernadette:

Danny Rusteen wrote the book on hosting. Actually, he’s written 2 of them. According to him, living in Airbnbs is a life hack, it actually makes your life less complicated. That’s why he does it! Lauren has been rotating among her own units for years. This is a good thing – hosts should stay in their places at least a couple of times per year, according to Danny. He suggests spending time in the towns where you’re going to invest. Controversy alert: he thinks you should take your own pictures. Danny talks about being employee number 700 at Airbnb. Lauren and Danny touched on the relationship Airbnb has with both guests and hosts. Will they always be so dominant? Airbnb has been souring its relationship with hosts for a few years now. Lauren suggested thinking of Airbnb as a marketing platform, and definitely using other platforms and direct bookings as well. How about getting bad reviews removed? Make the customer service rep’s job easier. A gap may be widening between all star hosts and others. Danny’s new book helps hosts from soup to nuts. Listing tip: highlight in your listing copy what they can’t see in the pictures. He talks about cleaners: go local! Finally, he talks about undiscovered vs discovered markets.

About Danny:

Danny Rusteen is a former Airbnb employee, Superhost, and author of the best-selling book for Airbnb hosts "Optimize YOUR Bnb: The Definitive Guide to Ranking #1 in Airbnb Search". He recently published a new book for short-term rental hosts titled "Profitable Properties". He lives in Airbnbs (more than 2,000 nights), runs a remote property management company and invested in a vacation rental in Colombia last year.