Written By Paula Pant
Today’s article is extra-nerdy. Pull on your Coke-bottle reading glasses and let’s run through a little bit of math.
Ready? Let’s go.
If you’re retiring on index funds, you might plan your retirement on the 4 percent withdrawal rule.
But if you’re retiring on rental properties, you could use the equivalent to a 6 percent withdrawal rule.
This holds true even if total returns on the two investments are the same.
By Paula Pant
Sarah needs $36,000 per year in living expenses in order to reach FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). She owns several rental properties, and she’s aggressively paying off the mortgages through the debt snowball method. How will she know when she’s ready to live on $3,000 per month in consistent rental income?
AyV wants to rent out his primary residence. What steps should he take to prepare the property for rent? Should he hire a contractor? What level of renovation should he give it?
And more!
By Paula Pant
Mike and Lauren reached financial independence at age 30 and 29, respectively.
But their story begins a dozen years earlier.
Mike and Lauren started dating high school. Mike worked as a restaurant server in high school, earning $19,000 per year. He built his first net worth tracking spreadsheet in December 2005 as a high school student. He had a net worth of $416.
In 2007, Mike dropped out of college to start a commercial cleaning company. He made $76,000 that year. As history would have it, that was the couple’s second-highest-earning year ever.
Written By Paula Pant
After three years of development, I’m ready to make the announcement.
The rental property investing course, Your First Rental Property®, is opening for enrollment on Monday, April 8th.
Here’s everything you need to know about this course: the who, what, where, when, why and how.
By Paula Pant
Hello from Austin, Texas! I’m living in an Airbnb here for the next 5 weeks. Listen to the end of today’s episode to find out why … and discover how these next 5 weeks, for me, exemplify the “why” of financial independence.
In the meantime, though, the show must go on! Here are the questions that we’re answering in today’s episode.
An anonymous listener named Seeking FIRE wants to know how she can talk about financial independence with people who ridicule the topic. What do you say to those who laugh at the very idea?
Russell owns a landscaping company and is also a part-time student. He’d like to earn more money on the side, but his schedule is overbooked. What can he do?
Nick and his family are moving to the Washington D.C. area for approximately two to six years. They own two rental properties free-and-clear, and would like to buy a personal residence when they move. How should he save for the downpayment?
Gerardo lives in Mexico and wants to retire on his investment portfolio, using the 4 percent withdrawal rule. How should he invest, given currency fluctuations and other international factors?
Anonymous left her job and wants to know if she should roll over her 401k from her old employer.
We tackle these five questions in today’s episode. We also answer a comment from a listener who says that individual stock-picking and active management doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
By Paula Pant
In 2003, Beyonce Knowles-Carter felt shy about performing sultry lyrics and dance routines on stage. She needed a tactic to overcome her nerves and stage fright. So she created an alter ego, Sasha Fierce, to bring out her more assertive side.
Beyonce is one of many top performers — along with other top artists, athletes, executives, speakers, investors, bankers, lawyers, negotiators, and more — who use alter egos as a tactic to overcome their insecurities and become better versions of themselves.
Today’s podcast guest, Todd Herman, is an expert at the practice of creating alter egos to improve your performance in any arena of life. He says that crafting an alter ego can help you become a better worker, leader, manager, investor, and even a better parent.
Todd joins us on today’s podcast to describe the “why” and “how” of creating an alter ego at work, at home, and in social settings.
Here are six takeaways from our conversation:
Written By Paula Pant
A few months ago, I got an invitation to speak at Google.
“Cool,” I thought. “That’s, like, grown-up stuff!”
The invitation came from one of my podcast listeners, David Moltz, who works at the company’s Los Angeles office and who hosted the hour-long Q&A.
“Could you talk about financial independence,” he asked me, “but maybe leave out the part about everyone quitting their job?”
“Haha! Sure thing,” I replied.
By Paula Pant
Should a newlywed couple with two cash flowing rental properties sell one to pay off $92,000 of student loan debt?
What percentage of your portfolio should you have in rental properties?
What’s the smartest way to approach rental property investing, particularly if you get anxiety thinking about tenant requests?
How much should high interest rates impact your decision to buy a rental?
I answer these four questions on today’s episode, plus, I have a big announcement regarding the future of real estate Ask Paula episodes, so check it out. 🙂
By Paula Pant
Millions of smart, educated and successful people make dumb mistakes with their money … and they don’t realize it.
I’m not talking about obvious dumb mistakes, like spending 85 percent of your income on a fleet of Ultra-Luxe-Fancymobiles for your 16-car garage. That’s clearly a bad idea.
Instead, I’m talking about hidden dumb mistakes that you may not realize until it’s too late.
By Paula Pant
Imagine that you’re going to take a 6-month to 9-month mini-retirement. How should you plan? What should you do? Sure, you’ll need to have enough savings to cover your expenses. You might want to find some part-time work. You may need to sell off a few investment. And of course, you’ll need to think about health insurance.
But what else should you consider? And how will your first taste of voluntary unemployment impact your mental and emotional health?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I discuss this in today’s podcast episode.
We also answer a question from a New York-based father of two who’s trying to choose a health insurance plan.
We talk to a woman who wants to roll her six-figure SEP-IRA balance into a Roth IRA account.
We answer a question from a listener who’s moving back to Amsterdam with his wife and two children, and is wondering what to do with his 401k in the U.S.
And we answer a question from a man who’s wondering if he should invest in a taxable brokerage account, rather than focusing on so many tax-advantaged retirement accounts, so that he can more easily access this money before he turns 59 and a half.
