Adulting Is Easy

This week we're replaying one of our most popular episodes! Back to regularly scheduled programming in 2 weeks! ThanksForget passive income, find passionate income? OK, OK, you can do both. This week, Lauren is bringing you her interview with Brian Luebben. They talked about what financial freedom is, and Brian firmly believes the best way to get there is through passionate income. You must figure out what fires you up, and what you want to spend your time doing. And once 50% of your time is spent on your side hustle, go in on it full time. Your financial foundation is not sexy stuff. Brian's involved house hacking (renting part of a property out while living there) in Atlanta, GA. Brian drops a TON of actionable advice. What does your exciting life look like? Maybe it's not traveling around the world. Document this in detail, using a tool like a vision board.  Surround yourself with mentors and coaches. Your peers matter too. Confidence comes from action. Not the other way around. Your environment matters. Information is not the answer, you have to take action. YOU will be the reason you succeed.About Brian Luebben:Brian Luebben is an Entrepreneur, Podcaster, and Real Estate Investor out of Atlanta, GA. He started a DJ company in college. During his career, he made it to the top of a Fortune 500 Company in their Sales Organization, only to realize quickly that living the “corporate America life” wasn't for him. Brian now runs a successful podcast “The Action Academy” where he talks to seven, eight, and nine figure entrepreneurs on how to earn freedom in life and business. Through his podcast, cash-flowing real estate, and his Media Company, he has the Financial Freedom to do what he wants, when he wants, with who he wants.Brian left corporate job in March 2022, hopping on a one way flight, and traveling the world for 6 months straight. His new mission is to help 1,000,000 other people do the same through The Action Academy.Connect with Brian:⁠https://twitter.com/theactionpod⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/actionacademypodcast/⁠⁠https://theactionacademy.co/⁠Connect with Lauren:  ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠

Financial literacy has two parts 1) knowing your numbers and 2) knowing the terms people use in the industry. Michelle has always been passionate about numbers, especially business numbers once she became a business owner. Later, when she got her personal finance knowledge and certifications, though, she became OBSESSED. You don't have to be as passionate as Michelle or Lauren, but you should at least start talking about personal finance and learning. And it's easier to learn now more than ever. No longer are “they” able to gatekeep finance knowledge from you. Michelle then opens up and shares her story of racking up over $500,000 in debt – and that didn't include a mortgage! She proves that learning her numbers, learning the terminology, and talking about her situation improved her life. Michelle started digging herself out debt by debt (some of which had been written off by the lenders over time). Lauren reminds the listeners that we shouldn't try to keep up with others because we don't even know if they own the things they have. Trying to keep up could mean piling on a lot of debt. If you're looking to start today, get honest with yourself about your debt. Know your numbers! And make sure you give yourself permission to build and have wealth. It's not amoral (and you can always give it away). Michelle closes by reminding us that we're not alone in our personal finance journey. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 161: Beyond Broke: Unleash Your Financial Potential.About Michelle:Michelle Campbell is the author of Bluebird, a memoir that candidly explores themes of trauma, heartbreak, and the resilience found in life's struggles. She is also the founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals through financial literacy and fostering economic stability. MICHELLE CAMPBELL was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and began her educational journey in South Dakota before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, to continue her studies. During her academic pursuits, she launched a real estate investment firm, marking the beginning of her entrepreneurial path. Over the years, Michelle expanded her ventures into various industries, including horticulture, where she founded an interiorscape company, and logistics, where she established a commercial trucking business. Drawing on the insights and expertise gained across these diverse fields, she transitioned into a career in the financial services industry. She enjoys traveling, cooking, exploring diverse cuisines, organizing, dancing, indulging in spa treatments, and spending quality time with her cherished Pomeranian.Connect with Michelle:https://bymichellecampbell.com/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561259970143https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdmemoir/https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-c-1a697b318/Connect with Lauren:https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/About Lauren:Lauren Keen Aumond is passionate about personal finance. She hosts the Adulting Is Easy podcast, where she helps make adulting easier for listeners by making money easier. Lauren became a millionaire at age 31 through high income, investing in stocks, and owning and managing real estate. She was able to leave her 9-5 at age 33 and now manages her short- and long-term rentals on the west coast of Florida with her husband. For fun, Lauren plays tennis, spends time with her family, drinks red wine, travels, and boats.

Wealth is defined as the people Greg works with as having enough money to do what they want and need to do. They live in a “post-budget world.”  The first-generationwealthy are building their wealth in non-sexy ways, like consistent investing over time. This might be in their own companies or retirement accounts, for example. Most millionaires don't inherit money. They build wealth themselves slowly and consistently over time. All this talk about first-generation wealth begs the question about the second generation. How do you manufacture the hunger?The reasons for financial failure are 1) lack of purpose, 2) lack of a plan, and 3) lack of discipline. That's why the 3 financial superpowers are 1) Power of Purpose, 2) Power of Plan, and 3) Power of Execution. Having a purpose and a plan helps you avoid decision fatigue. You're also easily able to reset if you “mess up.” Having a clear purpose is the most important thing. You don't even need to have a high income! If you haven't started, though, it's important that you getstarted ASAP with an emergency fund (“financial shock absorber”). Having a plan keeps you from comparing yourself to others, which is key. You compare yourself to only yourself. Anybody can do this and become first-generation wealthy.If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 199: the 3 pillars of prosperity.About Greg:The founder of Luken Wealth Management, Greg Luken. He began developing math-based investment solutions forclients in the early 1990s. For nearly four decades he has been working primarily with first-generation wealthy – men and women who have built their own wealth from nothing. It is this experience that inspired his new book, “Unleash YourFinancial Superpowers: How the First-Generation Wealthy Do It and How You Can Too!”Connect with Greg:Website: www.Luken.pro/bookSocial media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryluken/Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Unleash-Your-Financial-Superpowers-First-Generation/dp/1637633726/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15CWTLORDV2FO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8vA2_I19D7ARio0ujOyTV6QoPRNgTnO7LYp-CqEt25vGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.XcoQWumVArdVlJ8wDpKHGcuFWzXKoQFKIgJ-j0SvjdM&dib_tag=se&keywords=unleash+your+financial+superpowers&qid=1744659519&sprefix=unleash+your+financial+%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1Connect with Lauren:https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/ About Lauren:Lauren Keen Aumond is passionate about personal finance. She hosts the Adulting Is Easy podcast, where she helps make adulting easier for listeners by making money easier. Lauren became a millionaire at age 31 through high income, investing in stocks, and owning and managing real estate. She was able to leave her 9-5 at age 33 and now manages her short- and long-term rentals on the west coast of Florida with her husband. For fun, Lauren plays tennis, spends time with her family, drinks red wine, travels, and boats.

We are exposed to a lot of information about the economy and markets. Much of it is useless. It's also very short-term focused. Mick's goal has been to cut through the noise and mellow people out as it relates to their money. In his book, Chapter 4 is about the man who did everything wrong and one who did everything right. The key to remember as you're reading this chapter (or listening to this conversation about it) is that we all have the psychological potential within us to be either person. Mr. Wrong initially chose an advisor who was known for putting all eggs into one basket, and when that basket (bonds) went down, he switched to Mick's firm. When Mick's firm started rebalancing into stocks and stocks went down, Mr. Wrong changed course again. This story leads to a spirited discussion about diversification. One way to manage expectations is to speak of hypotheticals in real dollar values instead of percentages. The couple that did everything right, on the other hand, chose to take a conservative approach to diversification. They understood what could happen to the value of their portfolio upon a downtown. When one came, they decided to buy even more stocks. In the end, they didn't draw down their principle at all over the course of their whole retirement! In order to behave like the folks who did everything right, the most important thing to do is get started. Invest what you can. Try your best to understand your own risk tolerance. Over time, re-balance your portfolio if you ideal allocation becomes skewed when one asset class has been up over time. Mick reminds us that when investing with an advisor to pay attention to fees. And he closes by letting us know that our experiences can be life tuition. Try to look at it that way.If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 168: Keep Finance Personal: Get Your Time, Energy & Financials Right.About Mick:Mick Heyman, CFA, is the author of “Mellow Your Money: How to Surf the Market and Build Wealth without Stressing Yourself Out” and the Founder of Heyman Investment Counseling. With a 40-year career in wealth management, Mick has built a reputation for helping individuals grow and preserve their wealth through a stress-free approach to investing. Mick holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Northwestern University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). In addition to his book, Mick shares his insights on sound money management through articles on LinkedIn and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. Residing in San Diego, Mick enjoys an active lifestyle, engaging in tennis, golf, surfing, and practicing meditation, yoga, and qigong (she gong). He also has a deepappreciation for mystery novels and Russian literature. To learn more about Mick's approach to investing, visit mellowyourmoney.com.Connect with Mick:https://mellowyourmoney.com/Connect with Lauren:https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/About Lauren:Lauren Keen Aumond is passionate about personal finance. She hosts the Adulting Is Easy podcast, where she helps make adulting easier for listeners by making money easier. Lauren became a millionaire at age 31 through high income, investing in stocks, and owning and managing real estate. She was able to leave her 9-5 at age 33 and now manages her short- and long-term rentals on the west coast of Florida with her husband. For fun, Lauren plays tennis, spends time with her family, drinks red wine, travels, and boats.

Lauren kicks off by asking who Sabrina asks for advice. She leans on supportive individuals and does not ask those that are not supportive of real estate investing and risk. Sabrina'sfirst job out of college was selling mattresses, and so she figured selling big ticket items like houses would mean making bigger money than selling mattresses. Lauren, whose career was in sales, points out that increasing yourincome is a key part of personal finance. Speaking of personal finance, Lauren asks how Sabrina bought her first investment properties. Her first home appreciated enough to buy an investment property when she sold it. As sheworked her way up in tech sales, she made more and more money, saving a big chunk of it. That's how she bought additional properties. Sabrina's goal is to be financially independent by age 43. Currently, Sabrina has 3 properties, and she tells us how they're performing. The one that is paid off has 10% ROI. Her second property is appreciating and doing a bit better than breakeven. Her third property is just getting going now. Lauren asks Sabrina who she thinksshould get into real estate. Basically, anyone can as long as they act in spite of fear! They close the conversation by looking toward the future, and Sabrina would like to add at least 2 more properties. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 147: 51k in Debt to House Hacking or 128: Managing STRs from Abroad.About Sabrina:Sabrina Carrender is one of Lauren's best friends whom I met in college. Sabrina has been interested in real estate for many years. She was a real estate agent for 6 years and a property manager for 3. Knowing she had the interest and the skills to build her own portfolio, Sabrina worked hard and saved cash for 3 years to buy her first 2 rentals (in 2022 and 2023). She added her 3rd property in 2025. Sabrina currently lives in Naples, Florida, where she runs her own business (Lovegood Lingerie) and loves spending time with friends, traveling, gardening, and doing yoga.https://lovegoodlingerie.com/Lauren's guides and course:https://adultingiseasy.gumroad.com/ Connect with Lauren:https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS' DAYRather than posting a new episode that no one takes seriously, this week we're replaying one of our most popular episodes: GO TO THE INVESTING GYM BUT MAYBE DON'T GET AN INVESTING TATTOO. Enjoy!----------------------------------------------Decade Investor aka Kolin drops dozens of gems in this week's interview. As a 24-year-old with a $250,000 stock portfolio, he knows all about slow and steady investing. Lauren and Kolin go over the 8th (or is it 1st?) wonder of the world, compound interest, with real-life examples. No matter your age. whether you're in your 20s or 50s, you'll walk away motivated to start investing, even if it's $5 per week. Get comfortable having money that isn't yours to spend right now. Make your future self your best friend. You can build your investing skills like you build muscles at the gym, but you do need to START! Lauren lays out what the 4% retirement rule is. Kolin addresses young parents. He also takes a stance on what percentage of your income you should be saving (which might surprise you). He also addresses rumors on whether he got a VOO tattoo, representing $100,000 in Vanguard's S&P 500 index fund.About Kolin:Kolin goes by Decade Investor on social media. He started his account in 2020 to get other young investors, like himself, excited about investing for the long term & to spread the good word of investing to all who come across his content!Connect with Kolin:Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/DecadeInvestor⁠Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/decadeinvestor/⁠YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@decadeinvestor⁠Subscribe to the Adulting Is Easy YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@adultingiseasy⁠Donate to the show:⁠https://cash.app/$AdultingIsEasy⁠Connect with Lauren:  ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠

Millennials saw their parents work for 40 straight years, and many are considering taking some time off from work, aka taking sabbaticals. Again, Lauren and her guest discuss the book Die with Zero. Sabbaticals allow you to travel, catch up on life tasks, re-evaluate life choices, and alleviate burnout. They're usually 3 months to 1 year long. A mini retirement, on the other hand, can last years, and you may be making some income during that time, perhaps by doing contract work. At the end of the day, money is a tool, and it doesn't make sense to accumulate for the sake of accumulation. You're a whole person outside of your job. And a sabbatical can help you remember that. If you're feeling uneasy about your life path, consider planning for and taking a sabbatical. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 185: A Smorgasbord of Personal Finance Tips. About TJ: Theodore Joseph (T.J.) van Gerven is a financial planner and the founder of Memento Financial Planning that aims to help maximize your resources and is passionate about helping millennials to use money intentionally as a tool to build toward financial flexibility while accomplishing various goals on the path to independence. Connect with TJ: https://mementofinancialplanning.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjvangerven/ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

More people are choosing to be child free. Is there a difference between being childless and child free? Lauren thinks so, but it's a gray area. When coming to Bri for financial planning, her clients are not telling them why they've chosen not to have children. Presumably, there are financial implications. Lauren asks if there is a moral obligation to have children. They also touch on whether it's selfish to have or not have kids, and there are arguments on both sides. Whatever the case, once you choose not to have kids, this opens up a lot of flexibility because you're not usually as worried about leaving a legacy and creating generational wealth. This line of questioning leads to a discussion about dying with zero (side note: Die with Zero is a good book!). Many of Bri's clients are focused on charitable giving, and they build this into their financial plans. Lauren asks how people with kids can be supportive and kind to those who do. Firstly, don't assume they have more time or money than you do. Don't assume a sibling without kids should be responsible for taking care of your parents, for example. If you liked this episode but want another perspective you'll like episode 142: Investing for Your Kids with BudgetDog. About Bri: Bri Conn is the Chief Experience Officer of Childfree Wealth, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and Permanently Childless people. She is also a Childfree Wealth Specialist® and the co-host of the Childfree Wealth podcast.Childfree Wealth has been featured on Fortune, Forbes, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Business Insider, CNBC, and many other publications.In her free time, Bri loves hiking, running, and generally anything that involves being outside. Her core values are community, education, social participation, & sustainability. Connect with Bri: https://childfreewealth.com/childfree-guide/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-bri-conn/ https://childfreewealth.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

About this week's interviewer (not guest!), Clint Murphy: Clint Murphy runs both The Growth Guide podcast and newsletter: become better, achieve more, and reach financial freedom. During the day, he and his partners run a real estate development firm, which they're working on scaling. Clint's vision is to become more passive over time, while spending half his time in Vancouver and half abroad. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episodes 71 and 72, where Lauren was interviewed by Chris of Heavy Metal Money. Also, check out, episode 134, when Lauren interviewed Clint for his 100th episode. Clint kicks off by asking Lauren about money stories imparted upon her by her parents. Lauren credited her curiosity with her early knowledge about money. Lauren knew they were living well within their means, and keeping up with the Joneses was not a part of their lives. Clint then guides the conversation to Lauren's much younger sister, and how that influences her path. Lauren's brother got into drugs when he was very young, which caused Lauren to take her relationship with her sister very seriously. Lauren taught her everything, and this extended to money. Clint asks whether what Lauren's brother was going through caused her to “adult” earlier, so Lauren shares how and when she got her first house. Next, the conversation transitions to college and early career. Getting into sales was a huge part of Lauren's financial journey, but she started in retail at Toys R Us. Next, Clint dives deep into Lauren's relationship with her husband and their nexus in real estate investing. Going into Covid, they had a primary home and a duplex, but it was right when Covid was starting that they started expanding, which resulted in a good deal and a very bad deal, which included a squatter. It doesn't take long into Lauren's real estate investing interest to bring to back to her personal finance roots, and that's where the interview goes next: retirement, and retiring early. Next, Lauren tells Clint the origin story of Adulting Is Easy, the blog and eventually the podcast. Naturally, they eventually dive into the FIRE movement and personal choices Lauren and her husband make. The two close by looking forward to the next 5 years while acknowledging the last 10. Connect with Clint: Twitter: @IAmClintMurphy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clint-robert-murphy/ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Ruchi starts by sharing a story about how she thought a Prada purse would make her happy when she was on Wall Street. We are searching for external validation, but it really comes down to the work we do internally. Ruchi shares about the success and corporate ladder climbing she did early on, and how hollow it really felt. After hiring a coach, she found her calling as a “financial therapist.” It was learning about the 3 pillars that changed everything for Ruchi: well-being, spirituality, and relationships. Well-being means asking the question, what brings you joy? Budget time and money for those things! A key point is to always expand your comfort zone. A huge part of the spirituality pillar is to pay attention to more of your 60,000 thoughts per day. Use the RIR method, recognize the thoughts, interrupt them when they're negative, and reframe them positively. Both Lauren and Ruchi share real examples of the RIR method in their own lives. As for the final pillar, relationships, ask yourself when you're at your best, who are you with? Not everyone is meant to be in our lives forever. Keep in mind how you want to feel every day. Be clear about what you want your life to be like in one year. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 31: Financial Planning for Women and 118: Friends, FOMO, and Finances. About Ruchi: Ruchi Pinniger is the Founder and CEO of Watch Her Prosper®, who empowers us to redefine prosperity in business and life through holistic financial guidance and mindset coaching. Her signature approach fosters shame-free empowerment, enabling clients to achieve significant results in profitability and economic growth. Ruchi leverages her years of experience on Wall Street to provide expert advice on financial leadership, tax-time readiness, and small business finances. She is also dedicated to philanthropy, serving on the executive boards of Savvy Ladies and the Pajama Program. Recognized with the Entrepreneur Community Leadership Award 2024, she is committed to helping entrepreneurs thrive, while cherishing moments with her family. Connect with Ruchi: IG: @watchherprosperFree Redefining Prosperity™ Workbook: iwanttoprosper.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/watch-her-prosper/ https://www.watchherprosper.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

A budget is your plan on how you're going to manage the money inflows and outflows of your household. Who budgets? Basically nobody. A lot of how we use money today is practically frictionless, and budgeting requires examining how you're spending differently than you naturally do on a day-to-day basis. Everyone should budget by using a process that works for how they think. John encourages his financial advising clients to examine their past spending to make sure their gut feelings about line items, like Amazon or Uber Eats spending, are correct. John then verbally walks through the One Number Budget. He starts with their gross income. He backs out 20% for wealth building first, then taxes. Next, John backs out their rent or mortgage. He suggests at most 15% for the mortgage to be able to live comfortably. Lastly, he backs out any student loan payments. That, my friend, is the One Number. Can you live off that amount of money for 4 weeks? And finally, Lauren asks John to relate this process to the retirement plan. Remember, you have 60 years of living you need to pay for on 30 years of working! If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 131: Budgeting for Dummies. About John: John Crane is a financial advisor and retirement income planner with 20+ years of experience. He has authored The One-Number Budget, in which he offers a breakthrough approach to simplify budgeting, grow wealth, and achieve financial balance by focusing on just one number. Budgeting methods in the past 30 years have led to a low median net worth of $215,000 for people in the 55-64 retirement age bracket. This is where John comes in. A family man himself, he knows and teaches families the importance of lifetime budgeting, insurance, investments, and income protection, to help them make their money lives better and futures more secure. He is also the Founder-CEO of Crane Financial LLC and is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), America's top association for financial service professionals. He has also received top honors from The Million Dollar Round Table. Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrane/ https://www.amazon.com/One-Number-Budget-Traditional-Budgets-About-ebook/dp/B0B89JC7PR https://www.cranefinancial.com/ onenumberbudget.com Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

NOTE: This episode fell through the cracks in Sep 2024 *sorry about that* but you're getting it now! Interestingly, Kris's journey started with him wanting to be a surgeon. But he ended up becoming a teacher and becoming bored with the repetitive nature. Wanting a challenge and more money, he became a consultant and went to business school. Kris's real estate investing journey began while he was still working full time. Lauren shares some personal stories she hasn't shared before related to Kris's journey. They talk about how each step in your career you're learning skills and stacking them together. Lauren then transitions to personal finance, specifically curious about how Kris learned about money. For starters, he's very goal-oriented, so much so that he set a goal of dunking a basketball when he was younger, and he actually did it. But goals don't get you all the way there, you should surround yourself with people who don't know the things you do. And anyone can be successful, like Kris, even in this challenging interest rate environment. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 126: From Crying Over Debt to $1M Net Worth and 138: Wake Up Call. About Kris: Kris Morin is a former Fortune 200 Strategy Executive and Accenture consultant, embarked on a transformative journey from corporate burnout to financial freedom. As the Co-Founder and Head of Investor Relations at Three Peaks Capital, Kris now leverages his expertise to help professionals nationwide diversify their portfolios and secure robust financial futures. Connect with Kris: Portfolio: https://podfol.io/profile/kristopher-morin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-morin-multifamily-real-estate-expert/ Website: https://www.threepeakscap.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kris.morin.906/?_rdc=1&_rdr Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

It's that time of year. Time to look back on Adulting Is Easy's FIFTH full year of podcasting. About the listeners: 80% from the US (81% last year) Others: Canada, UK, Australia, South Africa, China, Cambodia, Germany, Spain, Philippines, Mexico, Netherlands, India, UAE, Sudan, Switzerland, Japan, Ireland, Ghana, Denmark, Israel, Belgium, Finland, Romania, Italy, Sweden, France, Pakistan, Argentina, Singapore, Nigeria, Peru, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Greece, Brasil, Oman, Bolivia, Czech Republic, Poland, Namibia, Norway, Russia, Austria, Turkey, Slovakia, Egypt, Portugal, Croatia, South Korea, Chile, Kuwait, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Lithuania, Sierra Leons, Morocco, Jamaica, Ukraine, Dominican Republic, Iceland, Malawi, Ecuador, Thailand, Taiwan, Qatar, Vietnam, Uruguay, Iraq, Bulgaria, Latvia, Republic of Moldova, Belize, Aruba, Lebanon, Bangladesh, St. Kitts and Nevis, Hungary, Iran, Ethiopia, Maldives, Zimbabwe, Paraguay, Slovenia, Albania, Cyprus, Grenada, Algeria, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Faroe Islands, Honduras, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, Guatemala, Palestine, Bahamas, Curacao, Equatorial Guinea, Vanuatu, Guam, Luxembourg, Palau, Montenegro, Serbia, Cayman Islands, Andorra Gender (Spotify): 35% female (43% in 2023, 31% in 2022, 29% in 2021, and 69% in 2020) 52% male (55% in 2023, 69% in 2022 and 2021, 49% in 2020) 13% none specified Age (Spotify): 0-17: 0% 18-22: 4% 23-27: 4% (down from 14%) 28-34: 32% 35-44: 11% (down from 26%) 45-59: 36% (up from 14%) 60+: 0% Unknown: 4% Where are you listening? Apple: 55% Spotify: 8% Overcast: 7% Browser: 23% (up a lot) Castbox: 3% Other: 5% 159: What To Do When You Inherit a Property (or Bequeath One) 160: Turning Real Estate Investing Into MORE Businesses 161: Beyond Broke: Unleash Your Financial Potential 162: Stop Stressing About Money (A How To Guide) 163: Overcoming Landlord Not-So Horror Stories 164: Move Yourself Physically, Mentally, and Financially 165: Personal Finance Questions to Ask Your Sweetheart 166: When You House Hack a House Hack 167: Wealth Blueprint: Using Your 9-5 To Buy Assets and Retire Early 168: Keep Finance Personal: Get Your Time, Energy & Financials Right 169: Real Money is Made During Downturns - Get Ready 170: All About Roofs & Don't Ever Skip Inspections (HMP 26) 171: Taking Over Dad's Real Estate Business 172: Hack Your Way to Wealth (Even on Minimum Wage) 173: Passive Income with Andrew from The Personal Finance Podcast 174: Change Your Own Life: Make More & Pay Off Your Debt 175: Are Student Loans a Scam? How To Pay for College 176: Millions Locked in Retirement Accounts… What to Do? 177: Wedding Venue Business Breakdown 178: Bitcoin: Have Fun Staying Poor 179: REPLAY: Think and Grow Rich AIE 61 180: The Landlord Who Rents 181: Car Wash Cash Flow: Small Business Financial Tips 182: Equity Exchange: Selling Stocks to Buy a Home 183: Net Worth: What, How, and Why 184: Small Expenses That Add Up Over Time 185: Financial Feast: A Smorgasbord of Personal Finance Tips 186: Generating Side Income: Are You Buying Dividend Stocks? 187: What if You Can't Pay for College and Save for Retirement? 188: REPLAY: Budgeting for Dummies (AIE 131) 189: Fight All Day and Make Money 190: How Retiring at 44 Changed My Life 191: The Government Has Your Estate Plan if You Don't 192: Paying Your Home Off is An Investment 193: Credit Cards are Like Fireworks 194: Real Estate vs Bitcoin 195: Lifestyle Design: The 5 Freedoms 196: TODAY Coming up: The plan is for me to be interviewed for episode 200! Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Brian and Lauren discuss college degrees, and whetherthey're valuable or not, given Brian isn't happy with his degrees. Spoiler, there's inherent value in getting a degree. Lauren asks Brian to dive into what it was like to be in real estate during the bubble and leading up to the 2008 real estate crash. While he lost his job with a hard money lender, he was able to get another job in the real estate space, and that led to his current company, Spark Rental. Soon, the conversation transitions to lifestyle design. Brian and his family have lived outside of the country for years, starting in the UAE. He has borrowed the 5 freedoms framework to help with lifestyle design: 1) freedom from financial stress, 2) location freedom, 3) time freedom, 4) work freedom, and 5) financial independence. Interestingly, once you get the first 4 freedoms, you don't usually need full financial independence. You are happy to do enough to cover any shortfalls. Brian brings it home by explaining why he likes real estate to achieve the 5 freedoms but notes it does not have to be everyone's freedom vehicle of choice. He also dives into more detail about Spark Rental. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 44: All the Ways You Can FI or 77: FIRE in Your 20s. About Brian: Brian Davis is a real estate investor and personal finance writer. After graduating from University of Delaware in 2003 with two useless bachelor's degrees and an even more useless minor in anthropology, he fell headfirst into real estate finance by accident. He promptly went on a property buying spree from 2005-2008. It was what you might call a “learning experience,” all of the lessons expensive. Eventually, Brian tired of land lording and unloaded his own portfolio of rental properties. Nowadays he only invests passively in real estate. Along with his wife and daughter, Brian spends most of the year abroad living by his own rules. He loves writing, hiking, cooking, pairing wine with said cooking, scuba diving, and occasionally surfing (badly). Most of all, Brian loves showing others how they too can create their ideal lives through real estate investing and lifestyle design. Connect with Brian:⁠ https://sparkrental.com/ ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/sparkrental/ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/sparkrental/ ⁠⁠https://x.com/sparkrental/⁠ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/ ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Which is the better investment – real estate or bitcoin? Is bitcoin even an investment? Or is it currency? A commodity? Lauren challenges her friend Rajat about bitcoin and he challenges her about real estate. The result is a rich debate about two different investment options that have minted millionaires. Naturally, real estate (and the stock market) have been around quite a bit longer and thus have a bigger track record to fall back on. Lauren educates Rajat about real estate, and he educates her about bitcoin. Let us know which you think is better when you're done listening! Connect with Rajat: https://www.youtube.com/@rajatsonifinancehttps://x.com/rajatsonifnance Full, original conversation: https://youtu.be/A-hsooaDILU?si=Xa0LyhFqNKPno9j1 Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Brett opens up by defining what credit cards are, then he gets into the pros and cons of credit cards. The main pros are travel insurance, consumer protection, and rewards. The main con is the high interest rate and propensity for people to spend money they don't have, the “poison” of personal finance, if you will. Both Brett and Lauren are using 0% credit cards right now to carry balances, but they arenusing these responsibly and will pay them off before the interest hits. Credit cards are like fireworks. If you play with them responsibly, you'll get a beautiful show. If not, they'll blow up in your face. How do you know which cards are best? It depends on what you're looking for: cash rewards or travel ones. Lauren asked about annual fees, and Brett point out that you can get more value than the annual fee in most cases. Then, Brett casually drops into the conversation that he has had over 100 credit cards since he was 18, 13 years ago. Right now, he's using his Chase Sapphire for everything, including a rental car recently in Denver. When a hailstorm rolled through, the damage was covered by the credit card! How does having so many cards affect your credit? It turns out it's not too serious of an impact, usually 5-7 points. Lauren then asks about how credit card limits work. Interestingly, Brett points out that you can transfer credit lines to different cards with the same provider. Lauren asks Brett to explain how credit card companies make money if they're able to give Brett all these rewards! They make money on interest, late fees, and processing fees as well. Lauren then shares a consumer protection win of her own. Brett closes by reminding people that they're using their credit card every day. They should analyze whether they're actually using the right one. About Brett: Brett Holzhauer is a self-proclaimed personal finance nerd. He currently works at Biz2Credit wherehe is a Senior Writer. Before that, he was a personal finance reporter at CNBC and Forbes. Along the way, he has been on his own financial journey. Hesuccessfully paid off $80,000 in student loan debt, while buying his first home in South Florida in 2022, bought his first investment property in 2023, and is currently under contract for his second investment property. When he isn't money nerd-ing, he is watching college football or getting tan at the beach. Connect with Brett: Twitter @brettholzhauer Biz2Credit.com Upgraded Points Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Lauren kicks off by asking who should even buy a home. Homeownership is not necessarily always better than renting. You should consider your lifestyle and how long you want to live there. Dale believes your primary residence is an asset AND ALSO THAT YOU SHOULD PAY OFF YOUR HOUSE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It's an emotional investment then, not a financial one. Lauren asks what Dale's thoughts are about investment properties. They both agree that “primary hacking,” buying a home, living in it for a short time, then buying and moving into a new home, then renting the first one out is a good way to get started. The lowest interest rate loans are those on primary residences. Your risk tolerance is a huge factor here. The two then transition to discussing timing the real estate market. Some people just aren't wired to build wealth. Or maybe they're just not in the right circles. Networking with the right people is important, and also reading the right books can help with mindset. Then, they go back to discussing buying a home, and how much home you should buy. Perhaps you should look at it through the eye of primary hacking. Buy houses that would make good rentals. If buying in an HOA, make sure you're permitted to rent the property out per the bylaws. Lastly, they talk about avoiding buyer's remorse and taking action. Dale recommends you THINK BIGGER. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 149: Personal Finance is Personal, and so it investing. About Dale: Dale Wills is an experienced real estate developer who has been involved in the industry for more than 25 years. He is the owner and founder of Centra Companies, and since 2011, he has overseen the development of more than 1,500 homes. He recently established Centra Capital Partners, a real estate syndication company partnering with accredited investors to build wealth through the ground-up single-family home developments in the Midwest. Connect with Dale: https://centracapitalpartners.com/ https://www.facebook.com/CentraCompanies https://www.instagram.com/centracompanies/ https://x.com/dalerwills https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkXyXiIUnUEFvX4mVJ4F98A https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalerwills/ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Estate planning is probably the least sexy topic in personal finance, but we need to talk about it. Death comes for all of us. David opens by telling us about the estate issues after his parents passed away, which made him passionate about this topic. Estate planning involves more than just wills, and it's not just for rich people. The goal is to leave a legacy, not a mess. Professionals you need in your corner: accountant, lawyer, and financial planner. The professionals are there to help the executor settle your estate. Then, the conversation transitions from general ideas to Lauren's situation specifically. It's embarrassing, but she doesn't have a will. Luckily, Lauren has encouraged her parents to get one, which they've just done, and she will have hers done by the end of 2024. Something else to consider: your digital footprint, like emails and passwords! David suggests having an envelope with everything your executor and beneficiaries need in it. Also, communication is key. An interesting trend is children fighting over estates before the parents pass away. Remember, that if you don't have a plan, the government has one for you. Lauren shares a tough conversation her grandmother had about her estate going to her uncle instead of her mother. David continues the story he kicked off with, about fighting over his parents' estate with his siblings. Even if you don't want to go to a lawyer, do it online! Just do something. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 33: 5 talks you should have with your parents (one is about estate planning) and episode 159: what to do when you inherit a property or bequeath one. About David: David Edey is a Certified Executor Advisor with over 35 years of experience in the financial planning industry, specializing in estate and legacy planning. He is the author of the bestselling book, "Executor Help: How to Settle an Estate, Pick an Executor, and Avoid Family Fights," and hosts the Executor Help Podcast, guiding individuals to secure their legacies and maintain family harmony. Connect with David: www.davidedey.com X: https://x.com/DavidEEdey Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prepareyourexecutorprotectyourfamily Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-edey-cea-b524342/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpPucTHVEVN1AjXrSAl5Fg Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/ ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy  https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠

As the son of an immigrant, Lauren asks about how that shaped his life. Like many of us, Tony was under the impression that if you got to school and if you get a good job, you will be successful. That illusion was shattered when he was laid off. Even with a good job, it's hard to pay even regular bills and also save money. The rules of the game have changed, and for the first time ever the upcoming generation is not better off than the one before it. Over half of young people 18-29 live with their parents. Lauren and Tony emphasize the importance of getting started, and not living in the past. Tony walks through how he got started investing in real estate. The concepts are the same and numbers you run today are the same as they've always been. If you're not sure how to start, network and learn from others, whether it's investing in real estate, businesses, stocks, or anything. Tony closes by reminding us that our goals should be our own, not anyone else's! If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 189: Fight All Day and Make Money and 174: Change Your Own Life: Make More & Pay Off Your Debt. About Tony:Tony Lopes is first-generation American, CEO of Dirty Boots Capital, real estate professional, bestselling author, coach, and speaker. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from UMass. He worked in the defense industry for 19 years managing multi-million-dollar programs while simultaneously building a portfolio of residential income properties. His investments, coupled with his understanding of markets and economics allowed him to retire at age 44. What really drives Tony is sharing his knowledge and experience so that others can achieve financial independence and enjoy the same level of freedom he does. Connect with Tony: https://dirtybootscapital.com/ https://freedomatriskbook.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-lopes-far/ https://www.youtube.com/@dirtybootscapital https://www.facebook.com/FreedomAtRisk/ https://twitter.com/FreedomAtRisk_ https://www.instagram.com/Dirty_boots_capital Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Chrissy opens up by telling us about her new book, Ladyshark, which is all about becoming a millionaire in your 30s. Why would you want to become a millionaire in your 30s? Freedom! But does being a millionaire mean you're successful? Not necessarily. Chrissy talks about how her father, an immigrant, shaped how she perceives the world. The two touch on networking and its difficulty and importance. In keeping on the immigrant track, Lauren wonders if immigrants actually work harder or if that's a stereotype. Chrissy thinks it's about the parenting style more than anything, and she's taking a lot of cues from her parents when parenting her own children (baby ladysharks). Lauren asks Chrissy why she became a lawyer. She shares a harrowing tale of her father's rental unit experience with a lawsuit. She helped navigate that situation and came out inspired. Chrissy also ended up investing in real estate, even after this rough experience. Lauren asks about balance, and Chrissy suggests listening to yourself and your body. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 171: Taking Over Dad's Real Estate Business with Vanessa. We've also had some ladysharks on the House Money Podcast, so definitely head over there as well. About Chrissy: CHRISSY GRIGOROPOULOS is the founding and managing attorney of The Grigoropoulos Law Group PLLC. She is also the corporate Real Estate Broker of Property Shark Realty, Inc, as well as the CEO of IME Sharks, Inc. Chrissy has vast experience in criminal defense, primarily handling high profile criminal cases and large exposure personal injury and third-party workers' compensation matters. She also appears as Trial Counsel to other law firms, litigating their personal injury lawsuits in New York courts, at arbitrations and mediations. Connect with Chrissy: Theladyshark.com https://grigorlaw.com/ https://twitter.com/grigorlawgroup https://www.instagram.com/chrissygofficial/ https://www.youtube.com/@cgrigor.7552 https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissygrigor/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

Hey everyone! Lauren has been having quite the summer, and with a couple of trips, buying/renovating a new primary, and a move we're doing a replay this week. Fear not, though, this is our most popular episode of the last couple of years so if you haven't listened yet, you'll love it. If you have listened, you may just love it again. Show notes: 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: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/accordingathena⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/moneysmartlatina/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/moneysmartlatina/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.slate.com/paydirt⁠⁠ Subscribe to the Adulting Is Easy YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@adultingiseasy If you liked this episode, you will also like Episode 144 with Jannese from Yo Quiero Dinero called You Should Have Multiple Streams of Income and 56 with Jrod called Simple Financial Advice. Donate to the show: ⁠⁠https://cash.app/$AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠ Email Lauren@housemoneymedia.com for the Real Estate Gudies. Connect with Lauren:   ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Most families could do a lot more with a lot less with a bit of financial know-how and discipline, and that's why Brad is passionate about personal finance. A big goal of parents is sending their kids to college. College kids basically can't work their way through anymore. Parents can start saving generally and later earmark that savings for college. Lauren asks about having to choose between saving for college and your own retirement. On the bright side, as evidenced by packed college campuses, most people figure it out. Brad shares a concrete example about a father who planned for 4 kids to go to college successfully. The two also discuss lifestyle inflation and the importance of auditing your income and expenses. Then, they transition to a discussion around estate planning. Brad shares a sad story about a mistake that cost a family $100,000. Brad encourages us all to have conversations with our spouse about college planning for the kids sooner than later. Problems can arise when parents don't agree. Also, be careful what you commit to for college in front of your kids. Saying “we'll figure it out” was easier 15-20 years ago. You could be committing to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Brad ends by reminding us to get started now. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 175 about student loans and 33 about estate planning. About Brad: Brad Baldridge, CFP, is founder of Baldridge Wealth Management. He specializes in working with individuals and business owners to reach their personal and financial goals. Brad received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville in 1990. He is a Certified Financial Planner professional and a member of the local and national chapters of the Financial Planning Association. Brad is well-known in his community where he conducts many workshops on college funding planning and how it impacts retirement. He is a co-author of a book written to educate business owners on financial topics. His articles have also appeared in newsletters for local chambers of commerce and other business owner groups. Connect with Brad: https://tamingthehighcostofcollege.com/ https://baldridgewealthmanagement.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Gary graduated with a degree that didn't allow him to make the kind of money he wanted, so he got into nursing to make more money. And then, he made more doing travel nursing. Now, he's growing his income again by becoming a nurse practitioner. Making more money at work is great, but he learned during COVID to make more money on the side as well, when his 403b (like a 401k) match was paused while at the same time he was working harder than ever. Lauren and Gary discussed the tax deferred benefits of 401k's and what happens if you withdraw the money early. Then, they transition to discussing what stocks and dividends are. They talk about how to pick dividend paying stocks, dividend yield/payout, and dividend growth stocks. How does Gary pick stocks? For one thing, he likes to buy stock in companies whose products he uses, like P&G. Lauren also asks him if he's ever been wrong about stocks, and thankfully, he admits he has been wrong. We wouldn't have believed him if he said he was always right! Luckily, individual stocks aren't the only way to invest. They also discuss index funds, mutual funds, and ETFs. Gary closes by reminding us that you can give yourself a raise by investing. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 115: Dividends with Dividend Dream and 143: Dividends with Dividend Dave from the Passive Income podcast. About Gary: Gary is Darth Dividend. A travel nurse, Gary has a degree is exercise psychology. He also completed an accelerated nursing program to become an RN in 2019. Now, he's becoming a nurse practitioner. Gary is passionate about investing, in particular dividend-paying stocks. He shares this passion on Twitter X and YouTube, where he has about 15k followers/subscribers on each platform. Connect with Gary: https://twitter.com/DarthDividend23 https://www.youtube.com/DarthDividend Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

DJ kicks off the interview by telling us how he became DJ the Money Coach. He became passionate about money because his mother was a victim of predatory lending and identity theft. Furthermore, DJ did what many of us have done: signed up for credit cards not really realizing he had to pay them back. His credit score was very low, and this impacted him in getting mortgages and business loans for a long time. So, he added to his accounting knowledge by listening to tapes and radio shows and reading. DJ learned that what you need to be successful in personal finances is: discipline, accountability, proven system, and do the work for 5 years. The conversation transitions to further personal finance topics, like budgeting (you should have one), student loans, student loan forgiveness, auto loans, whether your primary home is an asset, whether you should pay off your mortgage, insurance, and retiring early. DJ closes by emphasizing Jim Collins' (from the book Good to Great) Hedgehog Concept: finding where your passion aligns with your skills and can earn income. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 120: Go to the Investing Gym But Don't Get An Investing Tattoo or 156: Financial Independence doesn't have to be extreme. About DJ: DJ The Money Coach is a distinguished professional speaker, Certified Estate Advisor, and Charter Senior Financial Planner. In 1997, DJ founded Deransburg International, Ltd. (DI), a professional sponsor of the Learning Institute for Financial Education (L.I.F.E). DI's team of expert instructors specializes in financial education, wealth accumulation, asset protection, and small business planning for Middle Class America.In addition to his educational efforts, DJ owns a resort in Zanzibar that supports the African economy. He is also the author of “The ABC's of Wealth: A Common Sense Strategy for Achieving the American Dream.”The Chicago native and Columbia college graduate is committed to delivering exceptional value to his audiences by teaching them how to achieve financial independence through debt elimination, early retirement, and building passive income streams. Connect with DJ: YouTube & IG: DJ the money coach linkedin.com/in/djderansburgjr https://djthemoneycoach.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Hi guys, Lauren here. First of all, thanks for being with me for nearly 5 years. Time has flown and this has been one of the best decisions I've ever made! That said, I'm buying a house and going on some vacations coming up. So, for the forseeable future Adulting Is Easy is going to do episodes every other week instead of every week. The House Money Podcast is going on a summer break, but in late August/early September you can catch House Money in those intervening weeks if you'd like! Thanks again for everything :)

Lauren invited her sister Jenny back from a mid-year episode.  Lauren created a list of small expenses that add up over time. Take a look at your budget or spending and see if you can cut any of these low hanging fruit: Subscriptions Delivery memberships (Prime, Instacart) Bank fees Data storage Physical storage Insurance and warranties Pricey gyms Cigarettes and other vices Eating out or takeout Coffee Shopping online (Amazon) Apps Lottery tickets Sources for list creation: https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/saving-and-budgeting/slideshows/10-expenses-destroying-your-budget https://www.becomingminimalist.com/latte-factor/ https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slideshows/9-small-expenses-killing-your-budget/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

They kick off by defining what net worth is and talk about why it matters. But they're sure to point out that net worth isn't self-worth. It's just a part of your wealth. Since net worth is the value of your assets, less the value of your debts, they discuss some examples of assets and debts. They all agree that your primary home is an asset. Understanding and tracking your net worth helps you make financial decisions. Adam and Emily track their net worth and income statement monthly, and Lauren wonders if that's cumbersome. They outline how often they update their real estate numbers. They use software to help track. They started 11 years ago, when they had just started dating. Lauren asks what couples should do when one member isn't as into personal finance as the other. They say you should try to take an interest in what your partner is up to, even personal finance! And the financially minded one should make an effort to bring them in. Think of it as a monthly money date. Emily points out that if something happens to the person who solely understands finances, that will put the remaining person in a tough spot. They also discuss cash flow versus net worth. Cash flow matters! Don't have dead money sitting around doing nothing. In many cases, it makes sense to grow your net worth early in life then transition to focusing on cash flow. Lauren points out that even if this stuff sounds overwhelming, you should start slowly and build up momentum from there. You don't want to look back 10 years from now and wish you started today. Adam closes out the conversation by reminding us that even though net worth is very important, it's not the only important part of your overall life. It's just a part of it. Book: Buy This, Not That by Sam Dogen If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 173: Passive Income with Andrew from The Personal Finance Podcast, 167: Using Assets to Retire Early. And many, many others. About A&E: Adam Roberts and Emily Cortright, both engineers by profession, transitioned from their corporate careers to real estate in 2013, initially focusing on single-family properties. They have since diversified their portfolio through multi-family syndications and by venturing into mortgage notes. They aim to inspire a wealth-building mindset through their roles as mentors and educators. Adam serves as a coach for a prominent multifamily education program, while Emily educates on wealth-building strategies at Keller Williams offices nationwide. They live in Fort Worth, TX, and they balance their professional pursuits with travel, healthy lifestyle, live music, and family time with their 3-year-old daughter. Connect with A&E: https://www.instagram.com/ae_investments https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-roberts-23918aa/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilycortright/ https://www.aeinvest.net/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Before we talk about selling stock to buy a house, we must understand what a stock is, and how you can buy and own them, so that's where Lauren and Landon start. They also go over what a brokerage account is, versus your retirement accounts. Sometimes, even for long term investors, short-term needs and wants start to outweigh long-term needs and wants. For example, it may become more important to you to buy a home than hold your stocks. Also, interest rates mean that putting more down pay be a good way to go to keep your payment down. So, Lauren wonders what the interest rate is that make it make more sense to put more into your home than have it invested in the stock market. It truly depends. Don't forget, there is a possibility you can refinance later. And by the way, Landon believes in 30-year fixed mortgages. If you sell stocks, you pay taxes. What are the implications? Landon says that you decide what you want to do, then taxes can tell you how to do it. You shouldn't make decisions based on taxes. Note that there is no withholding on stock sales. Lauren then asks about using retirement stocks to buy a house, like 401k loans. They briefly talk about taking $10k out with no penalty, but nowadays that just doesn't help much. Finally, Landon agrees with Lauren that your primary home is an asset. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 90: Stock Market History with Brian Feroldi or 115: Dividends with Dividend Dream. About Landon: Landon Loveall is a certified financial planner and dedicated advocate for tech professionals to increase their wealth through financial, tax and stock option planning. He is a partner of KB Financial Advisors which has been specializing in maximizing stock options for tech employees since 2014. Connect with Landon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landonloveall/ https://kbfinancialadvisors.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren and Rocky open up the conversation talking about what success means in business. Most business comes down to math, and simple math at that. If you sit down before starting a business and do the math, you should have an idea about whether the business can be successful. The conversation takes a turn towards cash washes, which Lauren welcomes. Is this really becoming as oversaturated as it seems? Lauren then asks Rocky to demystify and differentiate “money” in business: revenue, profit, cash. A huge key to understand here is that you can have a profitable business that runs out of cash. This occurs when you try to grow too fast. Not enough business owners understand this! Rocky also points out that you should be aware of some initial success, and that it won't necessarily continue. He also recommends using conservative numbers when “underwriting” your business plan. Lauren then asks Rocky about buying a business. Is that easier than creating one? You should take into account how much involvement the owner has, the client number and mix, and more. This is when rocky explains the Profit First system, which is very like paying yourself first in the personal finance realm. Speaking of personal finance, Rocky touches on the importance of separating personal and business finances. Rocky closes with reminding people to do the math before they start (or buy) the business they're considering. He warns us about going into franchises. It should make business sense, not passion sense. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 67: Starting Your Own Business or 140: Online Businesses. About Rocky: Rocky Lalvani is the Chief Profitability Adviser for business owners. He teaches them how to ensure they get paid and make profit a priority! As a certified Profit First Professional, he implements Mike Michalowicz's Profit First System. Rocky started with nothing when his parents immigrated to the United States when he was two years old, and his parents were in their 40's. It was his parents' second time starting over in life as they moved here to experience the American dream. Despite a lot of struggles and his mom passing away when Rocky was 7, he has achieved financial and life success. Rocky loves to share his journey and inspire others to achieve their dreams even faster. Connect with Rocky: http://richersoul.com/ https://profitcomesfirst.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocky-lalvani/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/richersoul Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richer.soul/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/rockylalvani Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

First, Lauren needs to know why people call him Rock/Rawk. Then, she asks about the “accidental landlord” thing. It turns out, what happened to Rawk and his wife is a tale as old as time: they bought a house thinking they'd stay a while, but then a job offer took them elsewhere. Lauren and Rawk dive into the numbers of that “deal”: purchase price, interest rate, and rent. Then, the conversation transitions to overall personal finance, like saving vs investing and budgeting. Interestingly, Rawk and his wife are long-distance landlords, but they rent in Atlanta! How did Rawk get into investing? One of his professors at UCF told him about Roth IRAs, and that's how it started. Later, someone came in and spoke at his job about personal finance basics, like compound interest. It sounds like Rawk and his wife are aligned, which we know is very important. Currently, they are investing in index funds, hoping to have enough to live off of in their late 40s or early 50s. At that point, they will have flexibility to go part time or start a business. They're very into traveling right now too. This leads to discussion about what it's worth spending money on. Obviously, the answers are travel, good sauce, and movers. For Lauren, it's wine. Lauren asks another difficult question: rent vs buy. And then she asks about Hondas vs Toyotas. They're both Honda fans. Lastly, she asks about Rawk's parents and what they taught him about money, and whether kids are on the horizon. If you liked this episode, you'll also like 168: Keep Finance Personal or 156: Financial Independence Doesn't Have to Be Extreme. About Rawk: Rawk is a project manager with a passion for personal finance. A Florida native now based in the Atlanta area, he is a self-proclaimed finance junkie. Rawk has been investing since 2018 and he became an accidental landlord since 2023 with 1 rental. For fun, Rawk is an avid hiker in his spare time. Connect with Rawk: https://twitter.com/Rawk_FI https://www.threads.net/@rawk_finance Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren needed a vacation, so we're replaying one of her favorite episodes in which she and her friend Kurtis absolutely destroy the beloved self help book Think and Grow Rich. Note that the sound wasn't as good back then, but it's still very easy to listen to. The original episode was posted October 12, 2021. The book Think and Grow Rich was written by Napoleon Hill and published in 1937. It is a famous personal finance book recommended by many. On this episode of Adulting Is Easy, Lauren and Kurtis discuss what they liked and what they didn't like about this book - mostly what they didn't like. Let's just say, neither would recommend this book, and you certainly don't have to read it to enjoy listening to this one. As a matter of fact, you should never read it. Lauren gets HEATED at one point. Kurtis Hanni is an Accountant who has a love of all things personal finance. After teaching Dave Ramsey classes, he thought 'there has to be a better way" and thus started the journey of creating his own finance content. Today Kurtis has a podcast Delve into Money and shares additional insights on Twitter daily. Books You Should Read Instead: Lauren: Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, Set for Life by Scott Trench Kurtis: 7 and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, Essentialism by Greg McKeown, Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi Connect with Kurtis:  https://www.kurtishanni.com/ https://twitter.com/KurtisHanni Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

You can't talk about Bitcoin without starting with defining cryptocurrency. When you think about it, even the US dollar is somewhat digital. What makes cryptocurrency different is that it's decentralized. Bitcoin started as a cryptocurrency, but it's morphed over time to a store of value and hedge against inflation. Andy emphasizes that Bitcoin is very much in its infancy. He goes on to explain mining, the global ledger, blockchain, and how it all fits together. Andy explains how Bitcoin is inflating, and how the supply of Bitcoin is pre-programmed. Lauren wonders who created this interesting new space? Andy explains that no one exactly knows who Satoshi Nakamoto is/was. This person's or group's Bitcoin has not been touched, which has 1 million Bitcoin in it (worth billions of dollars). Lauren also asks about who mines Bitcoin currently and who will be doing it in the future. Recently, Bitcoin went through one of its “halving” instances, which decreased profitability in the short-term. Andy himself has 25 machines mining Bitcoin. Lauren asks about other cryptocurrencies, of which there are over ten thousand. In short, most are scams. Lauren asks Andy to discuss his portfolio. About 40% of his crypto portfolio is Bitcoin. And about 60-70% of his overall portfolio is crypto. Again, Andy emphasizes how young the cryptocurrency space is. Lauren also has to ask why crypto enthusiasts keep telling her to have fun staying poor, and Andy has a great answer for that. Andy is a believer in Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. Then, the conversation transitions to the future of Bitcoin. He's obviously very optimistic about the future, but we need to remember that this is still a bit of an experiment. Lauren is also curious about custody of Bitcoin, which is a great feature for those in other countries because you can access your money with your password and the government can't take it from you. But you don't have to go that route. Then, the two transition to discussing Bitcoin ETFs. These transactions are not recorded in the blockchain. Surprisingly (or maybe not?), Andy holds some Bitcoin ETFs in a Roth IRA. Finally, he encourages you to keep learning if you interest is piqued at all. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 62, the first time Lauren interviewed Andy. About Andy: Andy has been in crypto for 7+ years, is a Bitcoin miner, a content creator on YouTube and Twitter, and a passive income enthusiast. Connect with Andy: https://youtube.com/c/YourFriendAndy https://youtube.com/@andyandfriends https://passivebites.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren kicks the interview off asking about how Alex and his wife got into the wedding venue space. Their interest in the wedding space started when they were planning their own wedding over 5 years ago. It was important to them that they go away from the barn look that so many venues have now. They have both a groom and bridal suite. And they wanted it to be close to the airport. They do offer some additional amenities, like games, fire pit, water feature, and putting green. And they offer everything they feasibly can as part of their packages. So, they aren't nickel and diming as much as competitors do. The packages cover the venue and alcohol. Peak season is May – Thanksgiving mostly on Fridays and Saturdays as far as weddings go. Alex and his wife do welcome other events at their space to fill the weeks and off-season, like baby showers and holiday parties. Even a church sometimes rents the space! Naturally, Lauren dives into the personal finance side of weddings for engaged couples, including what happens when people break up. One question is: who's paying for weddings nowadays? Lauren frames some of her questions from her short-term rental experience perspective, like when she asks about reviews. Over time, Alex and his wife are adding more services to their packages to increase revenue to $1 million. Finally, the conversation turns to the future, and a new partnership path Alex is going down. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 86 When Entrepreneurship Pays Off. About Alex: Alex Nelson is the developer & owner of The Midnight Gem, a wedding & event venue that booked 100 weddings during construction. He's also a venue consultant and hospitality entrepreneur. Connect with Alex: https://twitter.com/WeddingVenueGuy https://themidnightgem.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren throws Andy a curveball right at the beginning by asking WHY he paid his house off. This is a very controversial topic in the personal finance world. Turns out, he had an OK reason, but the interest rate was pretty low…. Next, she asks how much money people need for retirement. Andy has a different take than she's heard before. There's a difference between wanting to retire after 59.5 and wanting to retire early. The planning is different, but a margin for error is important. Then, Andy and Lauren transition to discussing real estate, which Andy got into around age 40. Unfortunately, his desire to enter this space was predicated by a family tragedy. On the slightly bright side, his first deal was a win in a lot of ways. This leads to a conversation about net worth versus cash flow, and when in your lifetime you should focus on each. If you start with net worth, Lauren wonders how long it takes to transition to income, and Andy has an answer for how it went in his own life. It turns out, Andy potentially over contributed to his retirement accounts, locking up millions of dollars and causing him to take a hard pivot in his 40s. Lauren was on the path, but realized it and dialed down her retirement accounts in favor of a brokerage and real estate before it ballooned too much. Naturally, Lauren must ask Andy about his early retirement health insurance plans. In his final thoughts, Andy tells us about one regret he has: not taking advantage of Roth options once they came into existence. He also tells us about a great decision he made: getting life insurance for his wife. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 167 Wealth Blueprint: Using Your 9-5 To Buy Assets and Retire Early or 173 about passive income streams. About Andy: Andy began investing for the long haul in 1994 at age 23. He invested 25-40% of his income into growth mutual funds for over 20 years. Over time, he became a multi-millionaire, but his net worth was tied up in retirement investments which are not accessible until 59½. That's when Andy began investing in income producing assets. He began acquiring rental properties, peaking at 4 in 2019. Andy added additional income streams by buying music rights and loaning money to friends and family. Next, he then added dividend ETFs in 2021. In 2022, he discovered selling options and now makes over $100k/year in this niche. Andy formally retired from his Engineering job in corporate America at the end of 2023 after replacing his 9-5 income while having no debt including a paid off house. He has multiple sources of income in five different niches. Andy has also appeared on Dave Ramsey's “Millionaire Hour” as well as The Millionaires Unveiled podcast. Connect with Andy: https://twitter.com/MillionaireDoor Facebook: A Millionaire Next Door www.eliteoptionsacademy.com Web: www.MillionaireFinancialCoach.com Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Allie is so passionate about young professionals succeeding. She kicks off by telling us about how she started a PR firm and ended up hiring a lot of young professionals. Allie started teaching them things they didn't learn in school, like how to request PTO or set a meeting, for example. Eventually, she built a company around this passion, teaching and training young people. Not long after that, Ascend acquired that company, Ampersand. Lauren asks more about the young folks she was hiring at the PR firm. Interestingly, when Allie was hiring, she didn't care what college they went to or even if they graduated! Initially, Allie started by offering a lot of amenities at the office. So, she transitioned to offering flexible workspaces and times. Lauren is curious about how much personal finance they knew. The answer is very little. They didn't negotiate their salaries. They didn't understand retirement accounts. Lauren asks if young people should go to college, and of course it depends on what they want to do. Then, Allie goes into the different ways students are paying for school. The moral of the story is: start with the free money first (scholarships), then maybe consider work study, then Federal loans, then private loans. Currently, the interest rates on student loans start in the 4's and go up to 16%. Lauren and Allie then get into talking about the bad rap that student loans are getting right now. Whether to take loans out and how much to take is a huge decision, but it can be an investment depending on schools and majors. Then, the two discuss whether student loans should be forgiven or not. A huge recommendation Lauren had never thought about is this: pay even $25 per month while you're in school! This keeps some of the interest from accruing while you're in school! If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 45 Student Loans and also episode 26. About Allie: In 2023, Allie Danzinger became Senior VP and GM of AscentUp, whose mission is to be the undisputed leader in driving student outcomes, when they acquired her company, Ampersand. Allie's passion lies in helping young professionals from the classroom to their careers as they build confidence, secure jobs with livable salaries, and become successful members of the workforce. Connect with Allie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alliedanziger https://learn.ascentup.com/ https://www.ascentfunding.com/ https://ascentup.com/ultimate-guide-paying-for-college/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Devine got tired of being tired. That's when he decided to take the financial reigns and start preparing for an early retirement at 45 or 50 years old. His cousin encouraged him to get into computer engineering, which is a great career. But when he started out, although he was making good money, he had student loans, then he added auto loans, then some credit card debt as well. On the bright side, he was putting some money in his 401k right away. When he got married, she had some credit card debt as well. She was on board with changing mindsets and focusing on getting out of debt, but she didn't want things to get too extreme. They are still loving their life while attacking their debt. They also touch on the idea of having net worth be part of your emergency plan. Devine started with the debt snowball method, but he switched to debt avalanche pretty quickly. His mindset had changed. Devine got a huge promotion/raise at work, so along with their hard work that went into paying the first half ($40k), they can pay the other half off soon now! There are a lot of lessons there. Devine doesn't just focus on growing income. He budgets his expenses as well. Then, the conversation transitions to the future, which involves more beefing up their emergency fund and investing for cash flow through boring businesses or real estate. Devine also does freelance writing as a side hustle. In the meantime, he's going to keep paying down his debt and sharing his journey. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 45 about student loans, 126 crying over debt to $1 million next worth, or 147 $51k in debt to house hacking. About Devine: Devine Beathea is a systems engineer living in Arizona. He decided to get his life together about two years ago at age 30. That means paying off debt and getting in control of his spending. So far, Devine has paid off $40k of debt and he is set to pay off another $40k this year. He writes about Finance, Fitness, and Fatherhood because he wants to show how millennial dads can invest in themselves and their families. Connect with Devine: https://www.instagram.com/thewealthbuildingdad/ Medium: Devine Beathea https://twitter.com/DevineBeathea https://thewealthbuildingdad.com/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren opens by asking Andrew why he started The Personal Finance Podcast. He started it in 2020 to share his passion with others. He loves hearing about people's “lightbulb moments” when they unlock an ability to build wealth and therefore unlock some time freedom. Then, Lauren and Andrew transition to discussing ways to grow your income passively. There's a spectrum of income from active to passive, and they two discuss items along that spectrum: dividend investing, stocks, bonds, REITs being the most passive and digital products being less passive, but still more passive than a job. Real estate can be passive. Then, Lauren asks about the difference between side hustles and passive income. When it comes to passive income streams, you should be targeting cash flow versus quantity. Andrew tells us how to come up with our desired cash flow number to target. Hint: cover your expenses. Andrew believes that in a lot of cases you should focus on increasing income at your W2 first. He also goes into detail about the difference between financial freedom and retirement. Speaking of retirement, this begs the question of how much we should plan for Medicare and social security. Andrew likes HSAs, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and real estate for retirement planning. Lauren asks about using these accounts for retiring early, and he prefers the flexibility of the brokerage account. The best thing about being in this space is when people get excited and START investing. Time is your friend when it comes to investing and compound interest. Patience when starting matters. Andrew emphasizes that investing is for the long term, so it doesn't matter what the stock market is doing right now. Lauren suggests becoming best friends with your future self, and helping them by investing now. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 122: Finding Passionate Income with Brian Luebben. About Andrew: Andrew Giancola is the creator of MasterMoney.co and The Personal Finance Podcast. Like Lauren, Andrew is also a Tampa Bay area native. He loves playing pickleball and raising his two kids with his wife, Irene. Connect with Andrew: https://mastermoney.co/ https://twitter.com/mastermoneyco Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren opens by askingBrian how he came to the conclusion to change paths from the business path to the missionary one. He truly felt God was leading him in that direction. That was the best way for him to have a positive impact on the world. Then, they dive into how people can invest on low incomes. Don't wait until you make more! And remember, wealthy people buy luxuries last. Then, they dive into the HACKER(RRR) method: Hack your lifestyle, for example, with house hacking; pay attention to your transportation too Allocation budgeting: 50% spend, 40% invested, 10% give away Cash is King investing (intro to investing) Exponentiality: infinite returns Spending -- Saving -- Investing Review Repeat if it's going great Rework if your initial investments aren't working (especially if you've changed) Reward: allow yourself to take the full 50% (even if it's a big chunk) Brian's last piece of advice: don't waste your life by not enjoying your success! They close by talking about Elon Musk's response to Lauren's tweet about whether 20-somethings should match their 401k's or not. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 104: How a Family of 4 Lives on Less Than $60k and Still Invests. About Brian: Brian Tibbs is a once low-paid missionary with multi-million-dollar net worth. At age 26, Brian was investing in real estate, an executive in his dad's financial services company, and co-owner of another small online retailer. But Brian felt called down a different path. Over the next 3 years, Brian married Jill Bramhall, resigned from his father's company, sold his online business and liquidated 60% of his real estate portfolio, and moved, sight unseen, to Guatemala. They became missionaries, raising over $20 million for their cause and building over 150,000 sq. ft of churches and related facilities. Brian and his family made very little money as missionaries, just $9.20 per hour. Their modest salary forced them to create a wealth-building philosophy that didn't require a big paycheck. Living under this financial constraint is how the HACKER Method was discovered and implemented. Although Brian has retired from full-time missionary work, his desire to serve others remains a primary focus. He launched The Unexpected Investor with the singular goal of helping other people who also feel financially constrained transform themselves into wealthy, powerful, and generous investors using the HACKER Method. Connect with Brian: https://theunexpectedinvestor.com/ https://www.instagram.com/unexpectedinvestor/ https://www.youtube.com/@unexpectedinvestor https://twitter.com/unexpectinvest https://www.amazon.com/HACKER-Method-Unexpected-Investors-Building/dp/1962074129/ref=sr_1_1 Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren starts by asking why Vanessa dropped out of college. It turns out, she'd be considering it for a year, but she felt she wasn't learning anything she couldn't learn in the real world. Vanessa's father had asked her to join his real estate business, and she'd finally made the decision to follow in his footsteps. Vanessa then shares her father's story, who invested in real estate on the side while he was a police officer. Eventually, he took that side business full time. Vanessa shares more about what the GW companies do. They buy apartment buildings, renovate them, then refinance aka the BRRRR method. They raise capital to allow others to invest in real estate passively. Then, the two transition to talking about what it's like to work with a family member. Naturally, Lauren asks about conflict resolution, and is pleased to find out that Vanessa calls her dad by his first name at work. Lauren clearly can't picture doing the same. Vanessa points out that she can ask all the dumb questions she wants. Looking forward, Lauren asks if Vanessa wants to have kids, and what the plan would be as far as them taking over the business. She's also curious about how Vanessa's boyfriend feels about her working with her dad. Vanessa also shares how the conversation went with her dad when she decided to leave school and come work for him. So, does she recommend working with your parents? Obviously, yes. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 160 Turning Real Estate into More Businesses, in which Josh tells us about he and his partner Antoinette's ventures. About Vanessa: Vanessa Pannozzo is the Director of Operations/Co-Owner at GW (Generational Wealth) Capital Group of Companies. GW's mission is to create the "Costco", of Real Estate Investing, with a one stop shop for investors who are looking to invest in real estate, on a passive scale. In her 3+years in the industry, Vanessa has played a key role in building GW's property management from the ground up. As a Post-Secondary "Drop Out," Vanessa shares her relatable journey, offering insights into the challenges and triumphs of working closely with family. Vanessa is all about creating a welcoming space for women in the industry to connect, invest, and succeed. Connect with Vanessa: https://generationalwealthcreators.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/vanessapannozzo/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-pannozzo-20bb5623a/ Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

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. Sign up for HMM newsletter & read the blogs: https://www.housemoneymedia.com/blog  Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: When is the first mortgage payment due after you close a property? Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/  Real Estate Is Easy Interview Lauren interviews Paul, a project manager and sales representative for a couple of different roofing companies in Florida. He's currently working for Armored Roofing and Solar in the Tampa Bay Area, but they are also statewide in Florida. Lauren asked Paul what happens to their business when a big storm comes through, he shared that the typical 3 to 4 weeks replacement that they do would go up to 3 to 4 months. This is because of manpower, insurance companies, and supply. Paul details the longevity of roofs with the caveat that insurance companies have a lot of say here in Florida. He recommends getting a free inspection yearly and maintenance, which can extend the life of our roofs. Lauren also asked Paul how many different kinds of roofs are there and he answered asphalt shingle roof, tile, metal, galvalume, and rolled roofing for flat roofs. Lauren asked about the price difference between shingle, metal, and tile roofs for an 1800-square-foot single-family home. Paul shared that new investors or homeowners should look for a good inspector and know when the last roof permit was puller. For us to be a good partner with our roofer, we should know how to communicate well with them. Paul makes real estate easy by making himself available. The hosts agree to that because being available makes you respond quickly and can make the job easy. Contact Paul: 727-688-1668 Guest Host Segment Guest Host Chris talks about an issue he experienced when he waived an inspection. In 2020, he did not do an inspection of his new property and after a while, there was a problem encountered with the new property. The furnace basically could not be serviced. There was a recall, and it needed to be replaced. Your hosts share their insights about the issue and give advice about it. Follow Our Guest Host: @MoneyHeavyMetal https://www.facebook.com/MoneyHeavyMetal/ https://www.instagram.com/moneyheavymetal/   Follow House Money Media: https://twitter.com/HouseMoneyMedia https://www.instagram.com/housemoney.media/  https://www.youtube.com/@house-money https://www.tiktok.com/@housemoneymedia   Follow the Hosts: Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/ https://www.youtube.com/@adultingiseasy Alan: https://twitter.com/RealEstateMaxi https://www.instagram.com/realestatemaxi

What makes Chris the self-proclaimed Gas Biz Guy? Chris shares his origin story. It turns out his family was “in the business.” The name comes from his uncle's plate from his Corvette. Lauren wonders what “gas biz” really means, and Chris breaks down all of the businesses in that sphere, many of which he has personal experience in. In short, Chris was born an entrepreneur. Then, the 2 transition to discussing the personal finance reality of business owners. What follows is a gut-wrenching story about him being too broke to even file bankruptcy. His wife's credit card was declined. His kids couldn't receive their report cards because he didn't pay the tuition. Chris had to claw out of the Global Financial Crisis, and he did so by flipping gas stations, buying partners out of one of his businesses, and just good, old-fashioned ingenuity. So, Chris goes from lower than low during the GFC to very wealthy and retired only 8 years later. He tells that story in detail, which basically involved Chris accepting an unsolicited offer to sell one of his businesses (with a hand shake, by the way). Chris used the sale proceeds to invest in real estate. Then, Covid hit, and that obviously changed demand for gas quite a bit. Luckily, the demand for trucking increased, and Chris was able to scale that business quickly. Lauren can't help but ask what advice Chris has, having seen the downturns he has, for those of us who haven't lived through one. Surprisingly, Chris calls on Dave Ramsey's program. He's a believer in strong defense by having low debt and holding onto some cash. Also, he recommends being ready to make money during downturns. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 140: There's More Than One Way to Be an Entrepreneur. About Gas Biz Guy: Chris Hellgeth is a 51-year-old entrepreneur whose journey from selling 10-cent single cigarettes led to a 30-year career transforming and supplying gas stations across Georgia. Despite facing setbacks like going broke and being a high school dropout, Chris rebuilt his life, achieving semi-retirement in 2016 and went back to work in 2019 after a three-year hiatus. Currently, he owns a successful fuel hauling company serving over 1000 gas stations in Georgia. Beyond business, Chris celebrates 23 years of marriage and is a proud parent of three. His story is a testament to resilience, determination, and a relentless entrepreneurial spirit that fuels both his career and family life. Connect with Chris: https://twitter.com/gas_biz Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren and Cody kick off the interview by talking about what a CFP® is, and how someone becomes one. The curriculum covers a wide range of financial information. Cody describes financial planning as a bridge between your financial ecosystem and your family's goals and values. Cody argues that financial planners get a bad rap because of some financial advisors trying to take over management of your investments and sell you insurance on top of it. Some people even call themselves financial planners who don't do any financial planning. Lauren just has to ask about why he is so pro DIY investing – doesn't that mean he wouldn't have a job if everyone took the DIY approach? There's actually a lot of demand for DIYers who need some planning help. To Lauren, Cody's approach sounds like a nice middle ground. What matters for DIY investors is their time, temperament, and talent. Anyone interested in DIY investing must undertake the first step, which is data gathering. Temperament is important, too. When the stock market is down, do you skip dessert at a restaurant to save money? Lauren points out that you need to do the data gathering even if you end up hiring help. As you go through your data gathering, keep an eye out for evidence of what you value. Aligning your financial planning with your values is important. Cody then points out that balancing time, energy, and financial resources helps bring clarity to your life and financial plan. Lastly, Cody points out that our physical health, mental health, spiritual practices, relationships, and financials are interconnected. Your finances should be supporting your life. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 149: Personal Finance is Personal with Mark Roussin or episode 131 Budgeting for Dummies. About Cody: Cody Garrett, CFP®, is an advice-only financial planner and educator passionate about helping DIY investors on the path to financial independence and through early retirement. As the owner of the Measure Twice® brand, he specializes in comprehensive financial plan development and personalized education to help families implement their own well-informed decisions. Connect with Cody: https://twitter.com/MeasureTwiceMNY Website & check list: https://www.measuretwicemoney.com/adulting Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren comes out of the gate hot, asking exactly how Lindsay accumulated her $100k of debt. Basically, when she started making money, Lindsay blew through it, and ended up with all of her income going towards payments. Most people think of personal finance through payments. Lindsay didn't know what she should be doing. How did she eventually get on track? This is gut wrenching. Lindsay and her family were at the Route 91 shooting in Las Vegas, and she realized life is too short to spend your life doing things you don't like, for example, working a job you dislike. Basically, it was the opposite of YOLOing. She started by figuring out how much debt she had by listing it all out. She and her wife cashed out a small brokerage and lived frugally to pay off their loans. They used the debt snowball to help with small wins. Then, they started investing aggressively when the debt was just about to be paid off. Lindsay invests in both stocks and real estate, and Lauren asks why she has both. The peace of mind from diversification is a huge part of it. Also, you can do better than the 4% rule in real estate. The two walk through the real estate portfolio in detail. Primary hacking is a part of their strategy: buying a home with the plans to move in temporarily and make it an investment property later. Lindsay and Lauren then have a hypothetical situation about when to sell a property, and whether to do a 1031 exchange or not when you do. Then, they dig into the stock portfolio. She's open about some early mistakes in trying to pick stocks, but that has made her a more confident investor now. Interestingly, Lindsay shares that she's come to appreciate her 9-5 partially because it helps funds her investments! If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 138 with Justin from the Price of Avocado Toast and episode 126 with Bernadebt Joy called From Crying Over Net Worth to $1 Million Net Worth. About Lindsay: Lindsay Stamp is a 30-year-old stock and real estate investor who paid off $100,000 in consumer debt and is documenting her wealth building journey on X @lindsaystamp3. Lindsay hopes to show others that financial independence is attainable by consistently investing your 9-5 income over the long term. Connect with Lindsay: https://twitter.com/lindsaystamp3 Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Brendan defines house hacking as making income off of a residence you live in. He took his first house hacking step around the age of 22. He started by playing defense with his finances. Then, he bought a duplex in a college town near where he grew up. Brendan and his buddy bought the place for $110k, then put a bit of sweat equity into it. They rented the top unit to students and also got 2 roommates for the unit they were in. With that first success under their belt, they moved onto another house hack in Cleveland. Who's managing these properties? Brendan manages the mid- and long-term rentals but does have a property manager for his short-term rental in Charleston. An interesting thing about Brendan's portfolio is that he hasn't sold any properties yet! Lauren and Brendan also discuss a possible 1031 strategy in the future. Then, they get into pros and cons of house hacking. Obviously, these 2 thinks the pros outweigh the cons! In fact, they pretty much think everyone should house hack. They've both also “primary hacking,” which they've both done as well. That's moving in with the intention of moving out and keeping that primary as a rental. Then, they move onto “lifestyle hacking,” buying an Airbnb to go there yourself. Lauren provides some cautionary words about this strategy, though. Note that you don't have to be in love with real estate to house hack. You don't have to house hack until death. Just try it once. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 123: When You House Hack and It Has Mold But You Still Make Money. About Brendan: Brendan Bennett is a 27-year-old midwest investor based out of the Cleveland, Ohio market. His portfolio consists of 11 properties and 21 units with a mix of STR, MTR, and traditional rentals. Brendan is also a licensed real estate agent with eXp and is the VP of Revenue at Upright - a Hard Money Lender based out of Cleveland Ohio. Connect with Brendan: www.instagram.com/quadepropertygroup brendan.bennett@upright.us Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

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: https://www.equifax.com/personal/education/life-stages/articles/-/learn/money-questions-to-ask-your-partner/ About Aric: Aric Aumond is a 31-year-old engineer, business owner, and real estate investor. He's also Lauren's husband of almost 5 years (together for almost 9). Aric enjoys red wine (although not as much as Lauren does), boating/fishing, playing the piano, and playing sports, like golf, tennis, pickleball, and volleyball. Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Justine opens by telling a gut-wrenching story about giving VERY honest, public feedback at her corporate job. This left her feeling vulnerable to being canned, but she got a lot of respect from others in her role. The wheels of change had started to turn, but they started turning in earnest when she attended a personal finance training session. That's when she started investing in index funds. Individual stocks and bonds followed. Justine then shares that she was once in an abusive relationship. She worked hard to overcome that trauma, and getting her finances in order was a big part of that. Interestingly, trading options reminded her of the emotion of that relationship. Then, the conversation transitions to Justine's work with her clients, like whether she's seeing any similar drives or goals. The first thing to do is remove the word perfect from your vocabulary. Next, they work together to examine their money mindset. A big thing up front is HONESTY. In short, when starting out you often need to lay the mental and financial foundations before you invest. There's up front work to be done. Then, Lauren and Justine transition to making the connection between physical and finance fitness. Again, Justine shows strength in the midst of vulnerability as she shares the story of when she moved her body to move past her abusive relationship. It's all about knowing yourself. Justine closes with words of encouragement. You will walk away from this episode feeling motivated to start or continue your journey. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 94 called What Even is Financial Coaching? About Justine: Justine De Peralta is a former teacher turned Financial Educator, I am on a mission to help women and DV survivors reclaim their confidence and become Money Smart, Body Strong! Connect with Justine: https://twitter.com/msfinancialfit https://www.instagram.com/missfinancialfitness www.justinedeperalta.com Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Dan went to college for finance. He got into real estate when the company he worked for after college committed massive fraud. Dan saw what his colleagues were going through who relied on their sales income to live when that income was torn out from under them. Dan became interested in the financial independence movement. He learned that with real estate, a tenant can pay down your mortgage every month, among other great benefits. Dan did momentarily succumb to analysis paralysis while learning, but he was able to buy his first property after 3 years. Now, he has a house hack duplex in Chicago, a SFR in Milwaukee, and 3 townhouse/condos in Milwaukee. Naturally, the conversation transitions to what it's like to buy in a Homeowner's Association (HOA). Lauren then asks, why did Dan pick Milwaukee for investing when he lived in Chicago? What ensues is a funny story about a friend who knew nothing about the area suggesting it to Dan. Lauren also asks about goals – what does Dan want to get out of his properties? The answer is indestructible wealth. Then, the conversation transitions to Dan's podcast, Landlord Horror Stories. He proceeds to tell Lauren a story from his podcast. Like all of these “horror stories,” the landlord always ends up feeling like real estate is worth it, even if you have to put up with some challenges. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 123: When You House Hack and It Has Mold But You Still Make Money. About Dan: Dan is a real estate investor based out of Chicago running a humble portfolio of 5 doors. He also hosts the Landlord Horror Stories podcast. A show that combines storytelling, history, and real estate.Currently Dan is working on Season 2. Connect with Dan: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/landlord-horror-stories/id1633686856 https://twitter.com/ResilientRei Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Are people more stressed than they used to be? Yes! Some of it has to do with awareness because of how much information we have access to. Naturally, we as humans are affected by our environment. Our stressors aren't as obvious as they once were, i.e. email vs predator. Lauren asked about the difference between stress and anxiety. While stress hormones are necessary for survival, we're really overloaded with them now. Keep in mind that stress differs whether it's in your conscious or subconscious mind. It's obvious that we can only truly examine our conscious mind and our body. These things are giving us clues all the time. On the bright side, we all have the same nervous system so we're all going through these same sensations. As the conversation transitions to our relationship with money, Lea gives some tactical examples of things to look out for and ways to better your relationship with money. Start with a discrete place, like checking your credit card statement, and examine how you're feeling. Keep in mind that your money stories, which may be adding to your stress, are not your fault. An interesting tip Lea gives is to watch Real Housewives or something like that and examine the feelings you have about their money. What's the first action you should take? Recognize that your relationship with money starts with you. Learn to monitor how you feel about money. Lea closes by talking about how we define happiness and gives us another way to think about it. If you liked this episode, you'll also like episode 161 (last week's) and 74 Empathy and Shame in the Personal Finance Community. About Lea: Lea Durante, a Family Nurse Practitioner turned Integrative Health Coach, wields quick, science-based techniques for potent mental and physical transformations. Having trained at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing and amassed over 50,000 patient encounters, Lea recognized the limits of traditional healthcare to achieve vibrant wellbeing. This insight led her to pioneered innovative solutions, employing cutting-edge science for self-directed body-mind-spirit integration, stress reduction and burnout recovery. Her methods draw from the latest advancements in nervous system regulation, subconscious reprogramming, neuroplasticity, and more. Lea guides individual clients in her signature coaching work “The Integration Experience” and tailors impactful wellness programs for corporate teams. As a co-host of the From Your Center podcast, she shares resources, tools, and inspiration weekly. She lives in Idaho, with her husband and 2 sons and finds joy in reading, gardening, yoga, and jumping on the trampoline with her kids. Connect with Lea: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lea-durante-np/ https://www.instagram.com/lea.durante.np/ https://www.leadurante.com/ Free eBook : 5 Secrets to Vibrant Health: https://www.leadurante.com/ebook Free Nervous System Quiz: https://www.leadurante.com/quiz From Your Center (podcast): https://www.leadurante.com/podcast Email: lea@leadurante.com Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

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. Connect with Adam: https://adamkoren.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adamkorencoaching/ https://www.facebook.com/akoren https://www.yelp.com/biz/adam-koren-financial-coaching-oakland-2 Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

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. Connect with Josh: https://www.youtube.com/@FearlessAndFreeFi https://www.instagram.com/fearlessandfreefi/ Connect with Lauren:  ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

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: https://twitter.com/ruthierentals Connect with Lauren:  ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/