Have you guys ever heard of this thing called the Tina Effect? I just learned about it and found it really interesting. It might shed some light on why sometimes the stock market rises, even when global growth slows down. Kind of like now, in this weird pandemic! Fun fact: Apparently “Tina” is also a slang word for crystal meth! But, we’re not talking about that today - drug
Investing
Why You Need an Investment Diary (With a Backup!)
Digging through my old emails, I found this one I sent to my brother five years ago... > On May 27, 2015, at 10:03 PM, Joel <@gmail.com> wrote: > Good news: We have signed all closing documents and transferred closing money to the escrow account. Just waiting for confirmation that all was settled correctly. We are officially homeowners as of 5/27/15! > Bad
The 1% Rule Explained, Using Malibu Mansions!
Do we really need another blog post explaining the 1% rule for real estate investing? Yes! Because I’m gonna explain it using examples with ridiculously expensive, multimillion-dollar beach houses that famous people live in. The 1 percent rule can be used in any city or state you are planning to invest in. It’s a general guide to quickly identify whether a potential
Rental Property vs Stocks – Tracking Experiment Continued …
A couple months ago I talked about comparing rental property vs stocks, using 2 of my personal assets as examples we can track over time. One is a personal IRA account (backstory here) which is invested in a total stock market index fund. The other is a duplex rental property located in Texas (backstory here). On July 1st of this year, both of these assets were worth almost
Should I Refinance My Rental Property?
With interest rates so low right now, a question on every homeowner’s mind is, “should I refinance my mortgage?” And what about doing a refinance on a rental property? It takes a fair amount of effort to refi -- it’s just like qualifying for a brand new loan. There’s also hefty closing costs and fees... Is all that money and time worth it for a lower interest
Selling our car online … Are people even buying cars right now?
“Good luck, man. Nobody is buying used cars right now. You should’ve sold it six months ago before COVID happened.” This is what one of my friends said to me recently. 😔 And at the time I kind of agreed. With most people working from home and limiting their travels, I thought we’d have a really difficult time getting rid of our second car. Luckily, it turned out
How to Give Stock to Children With a UGMA Custodial Account
When my wife was a baby, one of her Aunties created a gift account and put a few thousand dollars in it. This Aunt was pretty financially savvy and didn’t have any kids of her own. She put the money in a UGMA account (named for legislation called the Unifed Gifts to Minors Act) and invested it in a broad, low-cost mutual fund that would multiply over time as my wife grew
Investing With Family … the Good, the Bad, the Meh
Are any of you guys investing with family members or co-owning any assets with siblings? Like partnering on rental properties, businesses, and joint estates or lending them money? I’m not talking about your spouse or significant other … I mean investing with siblings, aunties and uncles, your parents or kids. I’m curious to hear your experiences and if you recommend it as a
My Rollover IRA Account — The Backstory
Last week I wrote about tracking one of my rental properties and comparing it to the growth of an index fund that’s currently worth about the same amount. Post here - Real Estate vs. Stocks I got a ton of feedback and questions, which I’ll delve into over time. For today I’ll start with some backstory on my IRA, my out-of-pocket contributions, and what the future might hold
Real Estate vs Stocks: A Real-Life Look at Returns
There will always be a hot conversation in the personal finance community about investing in real estate vs stocks. I do both, so today I’m gonna share details about two of my long-term retirement assets. Asset #1 is a Rollover IRA account. The current balance is about $109k. Asset #2 is a buy-and-hold rental property I've owned for five years. Coincidentally, it’s also
