Brandon is a fellow house hacker from the Tampa Bay area. As a reminder, house hacking is when you buy a property, live in part of it and rent the rest out. Lauren and Brandon discuss the pros of house hacking, like living for free! Brandon tells a cautionary tale about buying a place with a lot of DIY from the previous owner. This is an initial purchase horror story that STILL worked out – bad roof, mold, faulty wiring. He talks about choosing between long-term renting the other part of his dup...
Apr 25, 2023•36 min
Forget 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 hac...
Apr 18, 2023•37 min
Bryce Garcia has an interesting take on house hacking. He moves our of his primary home so short-term rental guests can stay there. In Austin, TX, where Bryce lives, stays can be shorter than 30 days if it’s your home. Moving out of your STR for guests is a type of sweat equity, according to Bryce. What do you think? He touches on having mentors, networking, meeting people, anf forming your personal finance, investing, and real estate circle. Lauren and Bryce touch on the impact of luck on succe...
Apr 11, 2023•34 min
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 y...
Apr 04, 2023•46 min
Cost segregation is about bringing depreciation forward, and it is literally in the tax code. It’s basically an engineering study, but don't worry! Yonah demystifies it. Owners hire someone, like Yonah's firm, to categorize expenses. Depending on the category, depreciation schedules vary. Short-term rentals offer a unique opportunity for owners, if they’re materially participating, to take passive income losses against active income losses. Yonah breaks it all down in an approachable way. He eve...
Mar 28, 2023•27 min
Why do we make comparisons? Lauren and Katie talk about comparing yourself to others, how to avoid it and use it for motivation, and remind us all to forgive ourselves when we do this. They talk keeping up with the Jones, when the Joneses are your friends. You want to be happy for your friends, but it might take effort. The right comparison to yourself is you in the past. Remember the social media highlight reel. Katie tells Lauren about the financial and mental impacts of comparison to others. ...
Mar 21, 2023•29 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Dave aka Side Hustle Houses. The two cover the differences between investing in real estate in the US and England. There are some natural differences, like financing, but there are many similarities as well. It sounds like real estate investing is not as "main stream" across the pond as it is in the US. Dave found his "tribe" of fellow real estate investors on Twitter, and he suggests you do the same! Lauren and Dave go into detail about what it's ...
Mar 14, 2023•31 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Pete Reese. Lauren learned that you can invest in real estate by flipping land. Mind blown. And get this – land can be flipped within a shorter period of time than you think. Pete talks through the business model and how it’s systematized. They started with $100,000. He talks numbers and details of their deals, like how they aim for 50% gross margins. He talks partnerships. Pete gives advice, like: when it comes to due diligence, you can’t see ever...
Mar 07, 2023•31 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Dividend Dream. The two discuss what dividends and stocks are, PADI (Predicted Annual Dividend Income), DRIP (investing dividends in the same stock the dividends are from), dividend increases, dividend yield, payout ratios, and more. Lauren just had to ask about dividend aristocrats and dividend kings. Lauren learned what dividend contenders are! If you're curious about investing in dividends, which by the way are MUCH more passive than real estate...
Feb 28, 2023•24 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Jeff Higgins, a fellow Floridian. Lauren self-manages her rentals, while having a full-time job. She often gets asked how she does it. Then she heard that Jeff has 87 units, both in Massachusetts and Florida, and she had to know what that was like. Jeff has some strong opinions about managing your own properties (you should) and property managers (they will not manage it well, you will lose money, and that's inefficient anyway). Perhaps the coolest...
Feb 21, 2023•22 min
Lauren's husband is here in honor of Valentine's Day! Lauren and Aric Aumond discuss couples' finances: separate, joint, or hybrid? Should married couples keep their finances separate? Should marital finances be combined? What about debt? They talk accounts, joint credit cards, paychecks, and more. Learn whether there's a right or wrong way to handle your bills as a couple. You'll be left with some thoughts about timing as well, do you wait until marriage? Lauren and Aric give you an insight int...
Feb 14, 2023•22 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Logan Haskett. Given Logan started in real estate by wholesaling, the two chat a bit about that. He used paid mentorship to get started and it really worked for him. They discussed Logan's current portfolio and his buy and hold strategy. Logan says the best way to learn about real estate investing is through podcasts (like this one) and Real Estate Investors Association (REIA) meetings. If he was starting over investing in real estate in 2023, he'd...
Feb 07, 2023•24 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Barbara Sloan, a woman who has worked in many service industry jobs all across the US. She knows what she's talking about when it comes to receiving variable pay and little benefits. Slowly, she learned how to manage her money and she literally wrote the book on personal finance for service industry professionals. Lauren, having read Barbara's book, dove into some of the topics, like how to make your own PTO or retirement plan. Barbara has some gre...
Jan 31, 2023•24 min
This group of speakers has a ton of experience, whether it's customer support, inside sales, or outside sales. Whether we're talking aerospace, agriculture, technology, banking, training, retail, or restaurants, these folks have done it. The group discusses why you should get into sales, cold calling, how to increase your income once you're there, sales leadership, sales training, and more. They also recommended a bunch of books (see below). Everyone is in sales to some extent, so this is a reco...
Jan 25, 2023•51 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Chris Perry, a really great Realtor from DC to give us the real estate agent perspective on the markets. They talk about first time home buyers vs investors. Chris tells you how to interview and agent, but also remember that your realtor is interviewing you too! He gives actionable advice on how to come prepared when searching for an agent. Are real estate investors more work than people buying their own home? Yes! Is it worth working with investor...
Jan 24, 2023•26 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Steve on Speed. Steve and his wife retired in their 30s and Lauren wanted to hear all about it! Did they have high salaries? (Yes) Was he always a good saver? (Absolutely not) Can anyone retire early? (YES and NO) Steve recorded his interview with Lauren from his off-the-grid home in Arizona. They talked early retirement, net worth, expenses, inflation, and more. If you're interested in the FIRE movement or financial independence or retiring early,...
Jan 17, 2023•31 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with JT, a value-add house hacker from the northern US. The two describe exactly what house hacking is, and why it's the best way to get started in real estate investing. JT, his wife, and son have done value-add house hacking a few times. He talks about balancing the real estate with his full-time job and family time. JT is honest and he and Lauren break down the numbers of one of their deals. They touch on house hacking with a kid, and why this is the...
Jan 10, 2023•28 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Chris from Heavy Metal Money. The two discuss the sensitive and emotional topic of divorce, and they really dive into the financial impacts of divorce. What happens to your bank accounts? Retirement accounts? What about your credit score? How do you split your assets? Who takes care of the kids? Is there alimony? Child support? Despite the heaviness of the topic, the conversation actually remains pretty upbeat with some laughs along the way. Chris ...
Jan 03, 2023•41 min
Here are the bloopers and outtakes from the 2022 Year in Review Episode Enjoy this sisterly ridiculousness! And happy new year.
Dec 27, 2022•7 min
We continued with the tradition of bringing Jenny back to recap 2022. The two cover who the listeners are (age, gender) and where they're from (AGAIN we added a LOT of new places!). They briefly touch on every topic covered with high level detail: real estate, long-term rentals, short-term rentals, FIRE, early retirement, financial coaching, coast FI, debt, mindsets, index funds, financial conversations, and more, all while pointing out the top 5 from the year. This episode is a great overview t...
Dec 27, 2022•56 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Jessica Mauser. Jessica's been in real estate full time for 17 years, but she's just now acting on her investment theses. Using 1031 exchange funds from California investments, she's expanding into Florida, Wisconsin, and Montana. She's into long-term rentals, short-term rentals, and student housing! Jessica offers great insight into getting started in real estate now, and you'll walk away more motivated than before. What's next? Perhaps she'll exp...
Dec 20, 2022•23 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Chad Money Matters. Chad is here to answer the question, "What if I don't make a lot of money?" And tear down the excuse, "I don't make enough money to invest." Lauren and Chad discuss emergency funds and the importance of living beneath your means. Chad talks about what he's teaching his daughter about money. He outlines the steps he and his wife took to get to the point where they have about $20,000 each year, even while making less than $60,000....
Dec 13, 2022•28 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Mark Holmes. Mark and his wife have both a long-term rental (LTR) and short-term rentals (STRs) in their portfolio, which is why Lauren invited him on the podcast. The two go over their cash flow numbers for the 3 properties, which by the way were purchased in 2022. They discuss retirement plans and numbers. Lauren asks about the controversial decision to take early withdrawal penalties from a 401k to invest in real estate. They even get into their...
Dec 06, 2022•31 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with David, who is more known as Uncommon Yield on Twitter and Instagram. The two cover the history of credit and the genesis of credit cards. They discussed the pros, like convenience, rewards, and various protections, as well as the cons, like the propensity to overspend and face high interest rates. Lauren and David dove into FICO scores, the components, and offer some tips on keeping your FICO score up. Finally, Uncommon Yield and Lauren both divulg...
Nov 29, 2022•29 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Jessica from The Fioneers. The two talked about Jessica and her husband's journey to FI (which they're still on). It's anything but linear, but then again that's how most journeys are. She shares examples from friends and client who have reached Coast FI or semi-retirement. Jessica paints quite the picture of what designing a life you love that brings you joy is all about. The beautiful thing is: it's different for everyone. How would you design yo...
Nov 22, 2022•36 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Lawrence Briggs. His story is incredibly fascinating because most children from the project don't grow up to be homeowners, never mind landlords. Lawrence steps Lauren through the numbers for his 3 properties (2 rentals and one primary): purchase price, closing costs, rental income, and cash flow. They discuss buying in the high interest rate environment. Lauren puts Lawrence on the spot when she asked if landlords are evil. Of course, real estate ...
Nov 15, 2022•40 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Jannese Torres. The two discuss Jannese's start. Her family moved from Puerto Rico to New Jersey to realize the American Dream. It wasn't long into her career, though, that Jannese realized the traditional American Dream might not be for her. Was working 9-5 all there was to life? Did she really want to do this for 40 years? Getting fired from her corporate job gave her the spark she needed to explore entrepreneurship. Jannese worked hard to make h...
Nov 08, 2022•32 min
This week, Lauren brings you her interview with Tyann Marcink Hammond, short-term and vacation rental expert. Tyann answers the question right off the bat, what is a short-term rental? HINT: It's NOT an "Airbnb" or a "Vrbo." We learn how she got started, with some good, old-fashioned family rivalry. She started like many short-term rental (STR) hosts do, with long-term rentals (LTR) and house hacking. She had some issues with a tenant/drug dealer and that was enough of the LTRs. Lauren's favorit...
Nov 01, 2022•33 min
This week, Lauren interviewed Eric Friday and Jamiel Strickland, the Monopoly Brothers. They're doing wholesaling, flipping, buy and hold, and more to trade up into apartment buildings in Detroit, Michigan. Lauren wanted to know more about wholesaling real estate. The two told Lauren what it's like to works with buyers and sellers as the middle man in a real estate deal. They talked about their biggest wins and what it's like when people are mean to wholesalers. What becomes clear as the episode...
Oct 25, 2022•37 min
This week, Lauren interviews Tesho Akindele about his real estate investing experience. They cover long-term rentals, value-add renovations, setting up a short-term rental, his top tip for opening an STR, and even the Airbnb ratings system. Lauren couldn't let him go without asking about what it's like to be a professional athlete either! Tesho also explains urbanism, and how real estate and proper planning can help society. About Tesho: Tesho Akindele is a real estate investor, professional soc...
Oct 18, 2022•29 min
