All Forum Posts by: Scott Trench

I've house-hacked... you can reach me at [email protected] or I might have written an article about it recently ;)

Previously, I used to put all of my savings into the stock market via a vangaurd etf - and to use that as my "savings account."  I did this because I felt that on average, I was likely to see the historical ~11% returns that market indexes return.  My thoughts were that even if I lost money in the short term, I was unlikely to lose using the stock market as my savings account over the long term.

Now that I've committed fully to Real Estate, however, I see several problems with that mindset and run my life much more like a business.  I need to be sure that I have cash on hand to deal with problems as they come up, and the few points of return that I might miss out on in the short term are fairly immaterial.

Your question comes up quite frequently actually.  I believe that as far as savings go, anything in the ballpark of $10,000 - $15,000 or less is fairly immaterial to your long-term objectives. Who cares if you earn 1-2% more per year on that?  I'd focus instead of accumulating $10,000 - $15,000 more every few months, and achieving very high returns with that capital invested in long-term real estate assets.

Go with a bank or credit union that makes life easy for you - close by, no fees, low hassle, etc.  Don't worry about squeezing an extra 1% on your $10,000 - that's $100.  Not worth it.

Focus on the big stuff, not the chunk change.  That's my view at least.

My Parents used to give me all sorts of random advice.  I'd love to hear some of the funnier/more meaningful ones that you guys got/give to your kids.  Here are some favorites we talked about here at BiggerPockets today:

"Stop slouching!"

"Stop trying to rile up the dog!"

"I don't know, go ask you father/mother!"

"If you keep making that face, it'll get stuck like that!"

"crayons are not meant for the wall!"

OK - your turn, let's hear some.

Sounds like a "cash flow negative spouse"... 

I'd meet her halfway.  Everything in your life is shared as a marriage right?  It's both of your money, and you should have equal sway in the decision making process.  If neither of you will budge on your goals, then split the dollar amount right down the middle or come to some sort of other agreement

There are also creative ways to get everything for both of you if you can come up with them.  Why don't you make some of the home improvements yourself, line up an awesome (but budget) vacation, and see if you can't get her some great deals on the accessories she wants.

Finally, why not demonstrate WHY you want to invest - as in hey honey we won't have to go to work, junior can go to college for free, and we can travel year round in just X years if we make these basic changes.. you may actually be able to sway her to your line of thinking if you can paint a clear vision.

This is awesome!  Thanks for Sharing Daniel!  It's amazing to see the community expand internationally..  Let me know if there's anything we can do for our Korean friends!

A number of users have notified us about repeated downtime (and I've noticed some myself).  I just wanted to let the community know that we are working on it and hope to have a great solution to the repeated "Heavy Load" Problem in the next few days.

Thought I'd let everyone know that this is a priority for us here!

The thread titled "Crazy Low Risk...." was removed for violating BiggerPocket's terms of use.  It is no longer available.

Thanks!

I want a nickel every time someone uses the phrase "cash flow negative spouse" ;)

Probably not very helpful with the ladies..

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Hope that helps!

Josh and Walker - thank you for your replies here.  I 100% agree with both of you.  I guess that's where I tend to get a little frustrated with the "No Money Down" stuff.  It's great for professionals, but for folks that don't have a basic ability to manage money, it seems like a fantasy, and a dangerous and distracting one at that.