I got the following note from a reader the other day... “Joel, I noticed you keep a big emergency fund for your rental property. 2 questions for you... 1) It seems like you have too much cash because shouldn’t you only need 3-6 months of mortgage payments as a cash reserve? 2) Also why do you keep this emergency fund separate from your personal emergency fund?” Great
Investing
2 Big Investing Mistakes That Actually Made Me Smarter
Back in 2013, I bought 25 shares of Tesla stock. I remember seeing electric cars starting to pop up around my neighborhood at the time and thought they were so cool! Like most beginning investors, I checked the stock price every 15 minutes after making the trade. (Actually that’s a lie -- I probably checked the prices every 5 minutes! 🤣). My $1,350 investment in
Why I’m Transitioning Away from Rental Properties
First, I must preface: this is not an anti-real estate post. I think real estate is an excellent wealth building tool, and don’t want to discourage anyone out there from buying rental properties. That being said, I’m thinking about downsizing my rental portfolio this year, and don’t have any plans to buy more properties in the near term. A few people reached out and asked
2021 Financial Goal-Setting and the Fresh Start Theory
Have you ever heard of the “fresh start theory”? It’s basically a theory that people are more likely to tackle and achieve their goals if they begin them on a landmark date ... Like the 1st of the month, their birthday, January 1st, or any date of significance. Landmark dates are motivating. They mark the exact date when you stop being the old you, and start being the new
HM Bradley: A 3% Interest Checking Account Based on your Savings Rate
I just learned about a cool new bank called HMBradley. It could be a great tool if you are currently building up an emergency fund, saving up a down payment for a house, OR, if you want to earn a decent interest rate on an existing pile of cash! HMBradley offer a 3% interest rate on a regular checking account (increased to 3.5% if you carry/use their credit card also!).
Net Worth Report #3 – “Cup of Tea”
Well, paint me green and call me a pickle! Last month the Dow Jones industrial average experienced its biggest monthly gain in more than 33 years!! The last time this happened was the month of January1987! But then, just 9 months later in October 1987, the Dow recorded the biggest single *daily* LOSS ever. “Black Monday” they call it (or in Australia they called it Black
Sequence Of Returns Risk – Why You Should Care
Sequence of returns risk? Sounds like something only old, rich, retired people have to worry about... As long as I save up 25X my annual expenses and hit my FI number, I never have to worry about money ever again, right? Wrong. Sequence of returns risk is the No. 1 risk that can cause early retirees to run out of money. So pay attention my young FIRE friends... this stuff
The TINA effect – There Is No Alternative
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
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
