By Paula Pant
Welcome to Invest Anywhere, our monthly series on long-distance real estate investing.
Invest Anywhere airs on the First Friday of each month and is co-hosted by Paula Pant and Suni Rao.
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In the final installment of this two-part mini-series, we walk you through becoming a subject matter expert in your investment city of choice.
We discuss who you should talk to, where you can find them and what you should talk to them about.
By Paula Pant
You face plenty of problems.
But you have a scarcity of good solutions.
Stanford Professor Jeremy Utley can help.
He says that solving complex problems requires creativity. And creativity comes from deliberate practice.
It’s not an innate talent. It’s a skill. And it’s useful in any occupation, from accounting to zookeeping.
Jeremy speaks and writes on the history of invention, discovery, creativity, and innovation. He also leads Stanford d.school’s work with professionals.
Today he talks to us about how some of the greatest innovators produce new ideas. He tells us about their creative process.
He describes how researchers and authors improve their skills.
And he shares pointers to help you understand how to do the same.
By Paula Pant
Liz and her husband are planning to retire in 5 to 10 years. They have rental income properties, but Liz is bored of managing these, and she’s intrigued by the idea of buying stocks at a discount when the market is low. Should she sell her rental properties and use the money to buy stocks instead?
Rebecca is a high income earner and thinking about investing in a Roth 401k … but she’s scared of how much she’ll have to pay in taxes. Should she do it anyway?
Anonymous made big changes last year: she got a new career AND sold a house! Now she needs help figuring out capital gains and lowering how much she’ll have to pay in taxes … and she won’t have access to her company’s 401K for most of the year.
Kyle and his wife are moving into their dream home! What should they do with their current place?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.
By Paula Pant
When Kiersten and Julian Saunders began dating in 2012, they fell in love quickly, and their relationship felt strong – until they started talking about money.
They broke up as a result of their first money conversation.
Luckily, they got back together, figured out how to have tough conversations, and paid off $200,000 in debt over the next five years.
Then they started thinking about how to hack their careers. They came up with a plan for a 15-year career.
Today, they join us on the podcast to talk about the 15-year career framework and how to approach your career – and your finances – in 5 year stints.
By Paula Pant
Ionnie wants to vet her tax professional as diligently as she assesses her financial advisor – how should she go about doing that?
Anonymous needs a career change, and she needs help figuring out how to approach the decision making process when choosing and preparing for her next field of employment
MM prefers the simple path to wealth and investing in real estate but is looking for more information on a more intentional and selective approach to investing.
Ingrid calls in to ask whether she should include her rental income when trying to figure out how much she can contribute to her Roth IRA.
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
By Paula Pant
Welcome to Invest Anywhere, our monthly series on long-distance real estate investing.
Invest Anywhere airs on the First Friday of each month and is co-hosted by Paula Pant and Suni Rao.
__________
In this two-part episode, we first tackle the data points needed to assess various investment locations within your city of choice.
We will […]
By Paula Pant
Daniel and his wife want to go on an extended vacation and leave their jobs next year…and still have money in case there’s a problem at their rental properties. Would a HELOC help them?
Anonymous and her husband have received a large commission and want to understand how to better plan for their future by optimizing for these inconsistent windfalls.
Brian has hit coast F.I.R.E and would like guidance on how to prioritize between tax advantaged accounts and retirement accounts.
Anonymous and his wife have been focused on getting short term rentals in a single location – is his portfolio too focused on this singular strategy??
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.
By Paula Pant
When Rand Fishkin was 25 years old, he carried $500,000 in credit card debt.
Less than a decade later, Rand was the Founder and CEO of a company that grossed $35 million in annual revenue.
In this podcast episode, Rand shares the story of hitting his financial rock-bottom and making the ultimate comeback.
By Paula Pant
Chad Carson’s friends called him a “nerdjock.”
When former college football linebacker Chad Carson graduated from Clemson University, he decided to start a business. But he didn’t have any money.
He was a 235-pound athlete who attended college on a football scholarship. He graduated debt-free with $1,000 in savings from various odd jobs. He wanted to become an entrepreneur, and he knew he was starting from zero.
As Chad viewed it, starting from zero meant he had nothing to lose.
He started jogging around local neighborhoods near the university. Whenever he noticed a property in disrepair, he’d ask if it was for sale.
If he noticed a ‘For Sale by Owner’ sign in the yard, for example, he’d dial the number.
If he noticed a home with an overgrown lawn and no curtains in the windows, he’d leave a note on the door, or he’d knock on the neighbor’s doors to get the owner’s phone number.
By doing this, Chad started a real estate wholesaling business. He’d find off-market properties, enter into a sales contract with the owner, and then ‘flip’ the contract to an investor. He earned around $5,000 for each deal.
The benefit to a wholesaling business, Chad discovered, is that he could get a foothold inside the real estate industry without much access to capital. He was a recent college graduate without any official employment, so most banks weren’t interested in offering him loans. Wholesaling gave him a start in the industry.
But after awhile, he wanted to chase bigger deals. He and a business partner decided to start flipping houses themselves. They earned profits of around $20,000 to $30,000 for each deal.
While this was great, Chad wanted to transition into something that would provide a steady, stable income stream. He was running an active business; he wasn’t accumulating a portfolio of passive investments.
He and his business partner stopped flipping homes and began accumulating buy-and-hold rental properties. Today they have 90 units between the two of them.
A few years ago, Chad realized that the passive income from his investments made him financially independent. He and his wife decided to enjoy their newfound freedom by moving to Ecuador with their two children, ages 3 and 5.
They spent 17 months living in Ecuador, learning Spanish and enjoying a slower pace of life. They recently returned to the U.S. and are considering moving to either Spain or Germany — or maybe Colorado? — for their next adventure.
In today’s episode, Chad and I discuss real estate, financial independence, and international travel with children.
Written By Paula Pant
👋 Hey there! FYI, this post is part of our First Principles series.
About the series…
When most people talk about money management, they discuss tactics. Occasionally, you’ll encounter someone who elevates the discussion to strategy, rather than simply scattershot tactics.
But what’s missing from both conversations — both tactics and strategy — is a […]
