All Forum Posts by: Bryan Clement

Check out the most recent episode of the BP Money podcast with J. Scott. This price inflation you are speaking of is not happening in my area, my prices skyrocketed a couple years ago and just this spring they have stabilized or even slightly deflated. This is a prime example of J. Scott's economic "Fall" that he talks about. Shorts and shirts in Cinci, jackets and jeans in Maine.

@Nick Farrell what about something where you can work together on your REI but is also completely separate? My dad and I are renovating 2 houses, about five minutes from each other. We exchange hours of labor on each other's properties, but the decision maker is the person who owns the property itself. My house? My rules. His house? His rules. Also, my father-in-law has been my real estate agent. Both relationships have been great for me. It's awesome that you want to go into business with your dad! Some of the wealthiest families in the country have made it with family run businesses. Just make sure the roles are clearly defined, and you have an easy exit should you ever want to go your separate ways.

@Caleb Heimsoth oh I definitely agree with this point! To his credit though, he does have a net worth of 300 million. I feel like he may have overshot the income minimum, but his point, even though it was in the promotional video, is still valid. Even in a bull market, without increasing your income, it is hard to make a ton of money.

I recently received a promotional email from Grant Cardone saying that when the next recession comes, be it now, or 5 to 10 years away, anyone making less than 125k will be screwed. For many, including me, this means we need a serious income increase (38k this year). How do you all plan to increase your income? How have you done it in the past? What's worked?

@Theresa Harris DirecTV premium package with Showtime, HBO, NFL Sunday Ticket, etc. Etc., ended up being about $150. When I combined the TV with my internet provider it worked out to be about $40 more than the $60 I was already paying for my internet service. So dumb! Better now, thankfully my cable service pays out contract cancelation fees or I would have been stuck for another year!

Just a side note to the above, my wife came to me last week and said, "Babe, since we've been trying to spend less on our food budget, I've gotten so used to being on a budget that I literally can't spend more than $100.00 a week. I tried, bought almost two weeks worth of groceries and it came to $99.95!" We eat almost exclusively vegetarian, non-GMO or Organic. Not exactly a budgeter's diet! Yet just because we look for the value, we eat healthier than most everyone we know, at a cost lower than most people who buy manufactured crap!

@Ryan Pozzi so I have struggled with the same thing! My wife and I make around $40k but I have a lot of term debt ($1,200 per month, ouch!). I've come to the conclusion that cutting back for most people depends on how extravagant their life was to begin with. For example, we didn't cut the cable, but we did downgrade from DirecTV premium package to our local cable basic package. Saved me $100/month, and the only thing I'm missing out on is Monday/Thursday Night Football, which we can go to a friends whenever the Pats are playing. Also, instead of paying for Netflix/Hulu/HBO/Amazon Prime, we use our family's, each of us pays one and we all use their login. We get everything we were getting at $50.00 per month at $10/month. So, if you're like me and can't really cut back on too much, think more of the VALUE than the actual amount, try to do things smarter. I have basically the same product, but at literally $140/month less.

@George Blower you could also have some funds in a Roth and pull out tax free. That's my favorite personal emergency fund hack. I love the idea of a 401k loan as well for small property acquisitions.

I'd also like to make note that the need for reserves on your personal residence is significantly lessened than in a rental. Obviously, you need one, but if you have some way to get the funds within a reasonable amount of time, no need to worry. Unlike a rental, where you are legally obligated to fix issues in a timely manner.

@Joe Pearson my personal opinion is to do this but look to increase your W-2 income. Also, I think whether the mortgage is a good idea is the wrong question. The right question for your situation starting out is, what does this make your personal budget look like compared to renting? Because if the expense for you to rent elsewhere is going to be less than the mortgage on the house hack, it may be worth saving for a while, or finding a better deal. If rent is more expensive than the mortgage, or even equal with the mortgage, dude, done deal. My wife and I live in an SFH we bought two years ago. For us to move out and rent would cost us about $100 more, for half the square footage in an apartment. The line item for our mortgage though, is like 1/6th of our income, and even with no emergency funds outside of credit cards and 401k's, it's stupid not to reduce your housing expense.