Money Penney

Ryan Penney
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Investing

Welcome to Money Penney. After realizing the traditional 9-to-5 grind wasn’t the life I wanted, I escaped the rat race at 35 and became work optional so I could live life on my own terms. Now I’m dedicating my time and energy to helping others have the option to do the same. On this show we’ll talk about financial education, investing, money psychology, real estate, and lifestyle design so you can build freedom and live your best life. Because once you buy back your freedom, you’re free to make the world a better place.

  1. Sep 29

    Episode 33: How much appreciation should I expect?

    How much appreciation should you actually expect when buying a rental property—and how much does choosing the right market matter? In Episode 39 of the Money Penney Podcast, Ryan Penney breaks down the numbers behind real estate appreciation, from long-term U.S. averages to the much stronger growth some individual markets have experienced. Ryan explains why appreciation isn't the same everywhere and explores the factors that can potentially drive property values higher, including job growth, rising wages, population migration, housing demand, and constraints on new supply. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why long-term U.S. home appreciation has historically averaged roughly 3–4% • Why Ryan uses different assumptions when analyzing future deals • How markets like Denver and Austin performed during periods of rapid growth • What to research before investing in a new market • How dramatically different appreciation rates can change the value of a $500,000 property over time • Which large and smaller U.S. markets Ryan is currently watching Ryan also shares lessons from his own investments and discusses markets including Dallas–Fort Worth, Raleigh, Charlotte, Phoenix, Austin, Tampa, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, St. George, Ogden, and Boise. The biggest takeaway? Don't assume every property will appreciate at the same rate. Where you buy—and the economic fundamentals supporting that market—can have a massive impact on your long-term results. What market do you think has the strongest long-term potential? Drop it in the comments. 👇 This episode is for educational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. Real estate markets vary, and past performance does not guarantee future results. #RealEstateInvesting #RentalProperty #RealEstateAppreciation #FinancialIndependence #MoneyPenney

  2. Sep 24

    Episode 32: How long should you plan on holding Real Estate?

    One of the biggest mistakes you can make in real estate? Being forced to sell too soon. My general rule is simple: Plan to hold for at least 5 years. Ideally, 10+. Why? Because real estate has friction. When you buy and sell, you can face closing costs, commissions, repairs, financing costs, taxes, and other expenses. A few years of appreciation can disappear quickly when you factor everything in. But as your holding period gets longer, you give more time for the different parts of the investment to potentially work: 📈 Appreciation can compound 💵 Rents can grow 📉 Your mortgage balance gets paid down 🏠 Equity can build 💰 Cash flow can accumulate And most importantly, you give yourself time. Time to ride through a bad market. Time to recover from an expensive repair. Time to wait instead of accepting a bad offer. Trying to perfectly time real estate means getting two decisions right: When to buy AND when to sell. I'd rather buy an asset I believe in, maintain enough reserves to survive the difficult years, and give myself the flexibility to hold. Because in real estate, sometimes the biggest advantage isn't predicting what happens next. It's being able to stay in the game long enough for the investment thesis to play out. Think in decades, not months. #RealEstateInvesting #BuyAndHold #RealEstate #WealthBuilding #FinancialFreedom #LongTermInvesting #CashFlow #FinancialIndependence #MoneyPenney #WorkOptional

  3. Sep 17

    Episode 31: The FI path I chose and why

    I spent years trying to figure out the “best” path to financial independence. Eventually, I realized something: I didn’t need to do everything. I needed to find one thing that fit me and get really good at it. For me, that was real estate. It started with a simple house hack. Then came bigger properties, renovations, mistakes, bad partnerships, years away from investing, and eventually short-term rentals. Over time, I figured out what I actually wanted from an investment: 💰 Cash flow 📈 Appreciation 🏦 Leverage 📉 Loan paydown 🧾 Tax advantages 🔨 Control over creating additional value Short-term rentals checked those boxes—and they also fit my personality. I like hosting. I like creating experiences. I like designing properties. And I like having control over the outcome. But this episode isn't about convincing you that my path should be your path. It's about finding the investment strategy that fits your skills, goals, and lifestyle well enough that you're willing to stick with it for years. Because one of the biggest enemies of compounding is constantly chasing the next opportunity. Stocks. Crypto. Real estate. Businesses. The latest side hustle. You don't have to win at all of them. Pick your lane. Get good at it. Keep improving. Let it compound. That's the path I chose—and it's ultimately what helped me become work optional. 🎙️ Episode 37 of the Money Penney Podcast: My Path to FI #FinancialIndependence #RealEstateInvesting #ShortTermRentals #WorkOptional #FinancialFreedom #MoneyPenney #WealthBuilding #HouseHacking

  4. Sep 9

    Episode 30: The Many Paths to FI

    You don’t need millions of dollars to become work optional. You need enough money, assets, or income to create the level of freedom you actually want. And there isn’t just one path to get there. 📈 Invest consistently in index funds 🏠 House hack and reduce your biggest expense 💰 Build cash-flowing real estate 🔨 Flip properties to generate capital 🚀 Start a business or side hustle 🤝 Invest passively when appropriate 🌎 Move somewhere your money goes further 📉 Intentionally reduce your lifestyle expenses The mistake is thinking financial independence has to mean: “I never work another day in my life.” Maybe your version means working three days a week. Maybe it's leaving a high-paying job for something you actually enjoy. Maybe it's spending summers in Europe. Maybe it's simply having enough income outside your W-2 that you're no longer terrified of losing your job. That's why I prefer the term work optional. The goal isn't necessarily to stop working. It's to stop needing to work. Once you know what freedom looks like for you, you can reverse-engineer the income, assets, and lifestyle required to create it. You don't need to follow my exact path. Build the version of freedom that fits your life. 🎙️ In this episode of the Money Penney Podcast, I break down multiple paths to financial independence—and how to start designing yours. What would being work optional look like for you? 👇 #FinancialFreedom #WorkOptional #FinancialIndependence #MoneyPenney #RealEstateInvesting #PersonalFinance #WealthBuilding #HouseHacking #FIRE #LifestyleDesign

  5. Sep 2

    Episode 29: How it possible to buy one property per year?

    What if you bought one investment property every year for the next 10 years? It sounds crazy at first. But when you actually break down the strategy, it becomes a lot more realistic. You don't necessarily need to save another 20% down payment from scratch every single year. You can use different strategies along the way: 🏠 House hack to get started with less money down 💰 Buy traditional rentals when you have the capital 🔨 Flip properties to generate cash for future investments 🤝 Explore owner financing when the deal makes sense 📈 Increase your income and savings rate ♻️ Reinvest cash flow and equity into the next property The first property might be the hardest. But over time, you're potentially building cash flow, equity, experience, relationships, and access to capital. And eventually, the portfolio starts helping fund its own growth. The goal isn't necessarily to own exactly 10 properties. The goal is to create enough income and assets that your W-2 becomes optional instead of necessary. In this episode of the Money Penney Podcast, I break down the roadmap I'd use to try to buy one property every year for the next decade. A crazy goal becomes a lot less crazy when you turn it into a plan. Would you try to buy 10 properties in 10 years? 👇 #RealEstateInvesting #FinancialFreedom #RentalProperties #HouseHacking #MoneyPenney #CashFlow #FinancialIndependence #RealEstate #WealthBuilding #WorkOptional

  6. Aug 26

    Episode 28: What drives real estate appreciation?

    What actually makes real estate appreciate? It's not just luck. In Episode 28, Ryan Penney breaks down the forces that drive property values higher—and explains how investors can position themselves to benefit from appreciation instead of simply hoping for it. You'll learn: • Natural appreciation vs. forced appreciation • How renovations can increase property value • Why adding square footage can create significant equity • How location and land scarcity influence prices • Why population and job growth matter • How to identify path-of-progress neighborhoods • The impact of zoning and government regulations • Why local fundamentals matter more than national averages Ryan also shares examples from Denver and Austin to show how dramatically different markets can perform—and why understanding where your control ends is critical. One of the biggest lessons from the episode: Cash flow can create income. Appreciation can create enormous wealth. But the smartest investors understand how to pursue both. If you're trying to grow your net worth through real estate, this episode gives you a framework for understanding where appreciation actually comes from—and how to identify opportunities before everyone else does. 🎙️ Money Penney Podcast — Episode 28 👇 What matters more to you when buying real estate: cash flow or appreciation? #RealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #Appreciation #FinancialFreedom #Investing #MoneyPenney #WealthBuilding #CashFlow #FinancialIndependence

  7. Aug 19

    Episode 27: Why Real Estate Investing makes you happy?

    Can investing in real estate actually make you happier? In this episode, I explore the three components of happiness described by Harvard professor Arthur Brooks: • Enjoyment • Meaning • Satisfaction And I explain why real estate has unexpectedly helped me experience all three. Real estate isn't just about cash flow, appreciation, or building net worth. For me, it's also provided: 🏡 The satisfaction of creating something from scratch 📈 A measurable sense of progress 🧠 Challenging problems to solve ⏰ Greater autonomy over my time 🎯 A sense of purpose and accomplishment 💰 Financial freedom to design my life differently That's an important distinction. The goal isn't simply to accumulate more money. The goal is to use money and investing as tools to create a life that's more fulfilling. If you're pursuing financial independence, building wealth, or wondering whether real estate is worth the effort, this episode explores a side of investing that doesn't get talked about nearly enough. Because the ultimate ROI isn't just financial. It's what your investments allow you to do with your life. 👇 What makes you happier: more money or more freedom? #RealEstate #FinancialFreedom #Happiness #RealEstateInvesting #MoneyPenney #WorkOptional #Investing #WealthBuilding #FinancialIndependence

  8. Aug 12

    Episode 26: The single best financial decision I ever made (The story of my accidental house hack)

    The best financial decision I ever made almost never happened. I accidentally house hacked my first property… and it completely changed the trajectory of my life. That ONE decision eventually helped me: 🏡 Build hundreds of thousands in equity 💰 Generate thousands in monthly cash flow 📉 Dramatically reduce my housing expenses 📈 Grow my net worth 🔥 Get closer to financial independence At the time, I had no idea how important this decision would become. But once I realized I could live for free (or close to it), have other people help pay down my mortgage, build equity AND generate cash flow… Everything clicked. I didn't need to keep trading more of my time for money. I needed to acquire assets that could eventually pay for my life. Sometimes financial freedom doesn't start with a massive portfolio. Sometimes it starts with one property and one decision. 🎙️ In this episode, I break down exactly how my accidental house hack changed my financial future. #HouseHacking #RealEstateInvesting #FinancialFreedom #RealEstate #CashFlow #WorkOptional #MoneyPenney #FinancialIndependence #WealthBuilding #PassiveIncome

See All (34)

About

Welcome to Money Penney. After realizing the traditional 9-to-5 grind wasn’t the life I wanted, I escaped the rat race at 35 and became work optional so I could live life on my own terms. Now I’m dedicating my time and energy to helping others have the option to do the same. On this show we’ll talk about financial education, investing, money psychology, real estate, and lifestyle design so you can build freedom and live your best life. Because once you buy back your freedom, you’re free to make the world a better place.

Information

  • Creator
    Ryan Penney
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ryan Penney
  • Show Website
    Money Penney