Paula Pant

So Money Magazine did a big feature on me …

May 22, 2018 By Paula Pant 9 Comments

Well hey, would you look at that!!

Money Magazine wrote a huge feature on my real estate investments. And they NAILED the headline. Damn.

I’m 34 Years Old and Own 8 Homes. Here’s How I Did It.

I’ve been writing about real estate investing since the beginning, and I never thought of a headline that clever! Whoa. I get the +1 for rental properties, and they get the +1 for headline-writing. 🙂

I’ve been reading Money Magazine for more than a decade; I’m thrilled to see myself get featured in it.

Seriously, check out this article.

And thank you for being along on this crazy, epic journey.

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By the way, the course Your First Rental Property is going to launch in the next few months. Join the VIP List to receive special updates about this upcoming course, which I’ve been constructing for two years.

15 Insightful Books about Investing, Money, Work and Life

April 25, 2018 By Paula Pant 22 Comments

I love to read. If you share my enthusiasm, you might enjoy this variety of books about money, work and life that I recommend.

Feel free to scroll, or click on one of these links to skip ahead to your favorite section.

Productivity Books
Money Mindset Books
Investing Books
Real Estate Books

Productivity Books

Deep Work, by Cal Newport

I’ve raved about this book several times, and I’ve also interviewed Dr. Cal Newport on my podcast, where he shared his tremendous insight into productivity and focus.

If you’re tired of getting distracted by email, social media, and small tasks, read this book.

It’s easy to get trapped in an endless cycle of replying to emails, Slack chats, text messages and Facebook messages. You respond to dozens of tiny tasks and inputs throughout the day. The result? Deep work gets replaced with distraction.

Your ability to create something amazing, and to make major breakthroughs, gets replaced by the constant ding and buzz of incoming messages.

But you won’t make progress by living inside your Inbox. Progress comes from deep work — from focusing on the one thing that most moves the needle.
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Our Rental Properties Collected $125,618.49 in 2017. Here’s How Much We Kept.

April 19, 2018 By Paula Pant 27 Comments

Hey! I know you love numbers, so I’ll cut to the chase:

Last year, our rental properties earned $125,618.49 in gross income.

After expenses (including the mortgages), the properties netted $43,211.67.

This is our passive income from real estate in 2017. It’s the cash flow the properties put in our pocket last year.

And this is how we’ve reached financial independence through real estate.

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[Read more…]

Your Money? Or Your Life?

April 9, 2018 By Paula Pant 23 Comments

There’s a scene in a classic 1950’s TV show, The Jack Benny Program, in which a mugger points a gun at the title character.

“Your money or your life,” the mugger says.

Jack Benny is silent.

“I said, your money or your life!” the mugger repeats.

“I’m thinking it over!,” Jack replies.

(You can watch it here. The mugger scene starts at 19:55).

The scene is funny because it’s absurd. When we face a choice between our money or our life, of course we’d rather live.

But day-to-day, most of us exchange our precious hours for a paycheck. We prioritize money over our life. And in that regard, the scene is also funny because it’s true.

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Timeline vs. Intensity

March 27, 2018 By Paula Pant 11 Comments

“My dreams feel impossible. Everything is so far away. Five more years until I pay off the car. Twelve more years until I pay off the house. Do I have to wait until I’m 50+ to enjoy life?”
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Let’s say you have a goal that’s audacious and unconventional.

You want to create $45,000 per year in passive income. Or you want to live 100 percent debt-free. Or you want to spend a year traveling across Europe, South America and Southeast Asia.

Maybe you’d like to take 6 months off work to garden, exercise, and spend time with your kids. Or to focus full-time on starting a business or becoming an artist.

How soon can you do this?

Sooner than you might think.
[Read more…]

Here’s a Counterintuitive Idea for Your Retirement …

March 20, 2018 By Paula Pant 34 Comments

Once upon a time, in southern California in 1994, there lived a man named William Bengen.⠀

His friends called him Bill.

Bill was born in Brooklyn, and he studied aeronautics at MIT. He wrote a big paper on advanced model rocketry. Then he became an executive at a soft drink company. Finally, 17 years later, he retired to sunny southern California.

Well, kinda.

Bill was smart and full of energy. He couldn’t stay retired for long. He decided to get a masters in financial planning. He opened his own firm.

And he started reading papers that … bemused him.

You see, at this time, many financial planners were claiming that since the stock market historically returns 7-9 percent compounding rates on average, retirees could withdraw and spend 7 percent of their portfolio. ⠀
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Bill had a hunch that this was misguided. He decided to prove it.
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Why Money Won’t Solve Your Problems

March 6, 2018 By Paula Pant 33 Comments

A few years ago, my friend J.D. Roth told me a story that’s stuck in my mind ever since. ⠀
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During his 20’s and early 30’s, J.D. was broke and in credit card debt. But in his mid-30’s, he started a business, and within three years, he sold it for a significant sum. He became wealthy almost overnight. ⠀
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That’s where the story begins. ⠀
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After his fortunes turned, he took a look at the rest of his life and realized it was still brimming with problems. He felt unhappy with his current relationship, weight, overall health, poor eating habits, lack of travel and lack of exercise. ⠀
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He was financially abundant, but unhappy with the rest of his life. ⠀
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That’s when J.D. realized that throughout his life, he had used money as an excuse. ⠀
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8 Money Myths That Might Be Holding You Back

February 19, 2018 By Paula Pant 53 Comments

I live in a two-bedroom condo. It’s furnished with a used couch and used coffee table.

My shoe rack is made from old cardboard boxes glued together.

Almost everything else in my home is from Craigslist, Amazon and Overstock. I consider IKEA to be a splurge.

My favorite hobbies are hiking and camping (free and cheap).

My friend Amanda cuts my hair. (In fairness, she’s a hairstylist.)

I can’t remember the last time I got a manicure or pedicure.

When I travel overseas, I fly with airline miles and visit countries where the exchange rate works in my favor.

The cheapest car I’ve ever purchased cost $400. I drove it for a year and a half, then sold it for $200.

The newest car I’ve ever purchased was 4 years old.

I bought my laptop and phone used (refurbished).

I lived with roommates until I was 31.

And I never need to work a job I dislike again.

This is what financial independence looks like.
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If Money is Not the Motivation, What Is? — an Interview with the Mad Fientist

November 16, 2017 By Paula Pant 24 Comments

Brandon always wanted to be wealthy. He just didn’t know why.

“I don’t like fancy cars, and big houses just seem inefficient,” he said. “I just wanted to have money to manage.”

But in 2011, Brandon discovered the concept of financial independence.

“That just blew my mind — it was just like, oh, I can buy my freedom, and my freedom is something that I would love to spend my money on,” he said.
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How to Make Long Flights Tolerable

November 10, 2017 By Paula Pant 22 Comments

Here’s the funny thing: I hate flying.
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Yet I’ve taken 18 flights in the last 9 months. Including one Wednesday. And my next flight is today.⠀
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To be clear — I’m not afraid of flying. I just don’t enjoy it. It’s noisy. It’s cramped. I can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate. I feel drained and exhausted afterwards. ⠀
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Since I’ve been on the road (um, in the air) so much this year, I realized I needed coping strategies to make long flights tolerable. Here’s how I manage the irritations of flying, and how I keep costs to a minimum:

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