Adulting Is Easy: Making Personal Finance & Real Estate Easy Lauren K Aumond

Lauren needed a vacation, so we're replaying one of her favorite episodes in which she and her friend Kurtis absolutely destroy the beloved self help book Think and Grow Rich. Note that the sound wasn't as good back then, but it's still very easy to listen to. The original episode was posted October 12, 2021.



The book Think and Grow Rich was written by Napoleon Hill and published in 1937. It is a famous personal finance book recommended by many. On this episode of Adulting Is Easy, Lauren and Kurtis discuss what they liked and what they didn't like about this book - mostly what they didn't like. Let's just say, neither would recommend this book, and you certainly don't have to read it to enjoy listening to this one. As a matter of fact, you should never read it. Lauren gets HEATED at one point.

Kurtis Hanni is an Accountant who has a love of all things personal finance. After teaching Dave Ramsey classes, he thought 'there has to be a better way" and thus started the journey of creating his own finance content. Today Kurtis has a podcast Delve into Money and shares additional insights on Twitter daily.



Books You Should Read Instead:

Lauren: Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, Set for Life by Scott Trench

Kurtis: 7 and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, Essentialism by Greg McKeown, Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi



Connect with Kurtis: 

https://www.kurtishanni.com/

https://twitter.com/KurtisHanni



Connect with Lauren:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

You can’t talk about Bitcoin without starting with defining cryptocurrency. When you think about it, even the US dollar is somewhat digital. What makes cryptocurrency different is that it’s decentralized. Bitcoin started as a cryptocurrency, but it’s morphed over time to a store of value and hedge against inflation. Andy emphasizes that Bitcoin is very much in its infancy. He goes on to explain mining, the global ledger, blockchain, and how it all fits together. Andy explains how Bitcoin is inflating, and how the supply of Bitcoin is pre-programmed. Lauren wonders who created this interesting new space? Andy explains that no one exactly knows who Satoshi Nakamoto is/was. This person’s or group’s Bitcoin has not been touched, which has 1 million Bitcoin in it (worth billions of dollars). Lauren also asks about who mines Bitcoin currently and who will be doing it in the future. Recently, Bitcoin went through one of its “halving” instances, which decreased profitability in the short-term. Andy himself has 25 machines mining Bitcoin. Lauren asks about other cryptocurrencies, of which there are over ten thousand. In short, most are scams. Lauren asks Andy to discuss his portfolio. About 40% of his crypto portfolio is Bitcoin. And about 60-70% of his overall portfolio is crypto. Again, Andy emphasizes how young the cryptocurrency space is. Lauren also has to ask why crypto enthusiasts keep telling her to have fun staying poor, and Andy has a great answer for that. Andy is a believer in Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. Then, the conversation transitions to the future of Bitcoin. He’s obviously very optimistic about the future, but we need to remember that this is still a bit of an experiment. Lauren is also curious about custody of Bitcoin, which is a great feature for those in other countries because you can access your money with your password and the government can’t take it from you. But you don’t have to go that route. Then, the two transition to discussing Bitcoin ETFs. These transactions are not recorded in the blockchain. Surprisingly (or maybe not?), Andy holds some Bitcoin ETFs in a Roth IRA. Finally, he encourages you to keep learning if you interest is piqued at all.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 62, the first time Lauren interviewed Andy.



About Andy:

Andy has been in crypto for 7+ years, is a Bitcoin miner, a content creator on YouTube and Twitter, and a passive income enthusiast.



Connect with Andy:

https://youtube.com/c/YourFriendAndy

https://youtube.com/@andyandfriends

https://passivebites.beehiiv.com/subscribe



Connect with Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren kicks the interview off asking about how Alex and his wife got into the wedding venue space. Their interest in the wedding space started when they were planning their own wedding over 5 years ago. It was important to them that they go away from the barn look that so many venues have now. They have both a groom and bridal suite. And they wanted it to be close to the airport. They do offer some additional amenities, like games, fire pit, water feature, and putting green. And they offer everything they feasibly can as part of their packages. So, they aren’t nickel and diming as much as competitors do. The packages cover the venue and alcohol. Peak season is May – Thanksgiving mostly on Fridays and Saturdays as far as weddings go. Alex and his wife do welcome other events at their space to fill the weeks and off-season, like baby showers and holiday parties. Even a church sometimes rents the space! Naturally, Lauren dives into the personal finance side of weddings for engaged couples, including what happens when people break up. One question is: who’s paying for weddings nowadays? Lauren frames some of her questions from her short-term rental experience perspective, like when she asks about reviews. Over time, Alex and his wife are adding more services to their packages to increase revenue to $1 million. Finally, the conversation turns to the future, and a new partnership path Alex is going down.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 86 When Entrepreneurship Pays Off.

About Alex:
Alex Nelson is the developer & owner of The Midnight Gem, a wedding & event venue that booked 100 weddings during construction. He’s also a venue consultant and hospitality entrepreneur.

Connect with Alex:
https://twitter.com/WeddingVenueGuy
https://themidnightgem.com/

Connect with Lauren:
https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy
https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal
https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren throws Andy a curveball right at the beginning by asking WHY he paid his house off. This is a very controversial topic in the personal finance world. Turns out, he had an OK reason, but the interest rate was pretty low…. Next, she asks how much money people need for retirement. Andy has a different take than she’s heard before. There’s a difference between wanting to retire after 59.5 and wanting to retire early. The planning is different, but a margin for error is important. Then, Andy and Lauren transition to discussing real estate, which Andy got into around age 40. Unfortunately, his desire to enter this space was predicated by a family tragedy. On the slightly bright side, his first deal was a win in a lot of ways. This leads to a conversation about net worth versus cash flow, and when in your lifetime you should focus on each. If you start with net worth, Lauren wonders how long it takes to transition to income, and Andy has an answer for how it went in his own life. It turns out, Andy potentially over contributed to his retirement accounts, locking up millions of dollars and causing him to take a hard pivot in his 40s. Lauren was on the path, but realized it and dialed down her retirement accounts in favor of a brokerage and real estate before it ballooned too much. Naturally, Lauren must ask Andy about his early retirement health insurance plans. In his final thoughts, Andy tells us about one regret he has: not taking advantage of Roth options once they came into existence. He also tells us about a great decision he made: getting life insurance for his wife.



If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 167 Wealth Blueprint: Using Your 9-5 To Buy Assets and Retire Early or 173 about passive income streams.



About Andy:

Andy began investing for the long haul in 1994 at age 23. He invested 25-40% of his income into growth mutual funds for over 20 years. Over time, he became a multi-millionaire, but his net worth was tied up in retirement investments which are not accessible until 59½. That’s when Andy began investing in income producing assets. He began acquiring rental properties, peaking at 4 in 2019. Andy added additional income streams by buying music rights and loaning money to friends and family. Next, he then added dividend ETFs in 2021. In 2022, he discovered selling options and now makes over $100k/year in this niche.

Andy formally retired from his Engineering job in corporate America at the end of 2023 after replacing his 9-5 income while having no debt including a paid off house. He has multiple sources of income in five different niches. Andy has also appeared on Dave Ramsey’s “Millionaire Hour” as well as The Millionaires Unveiled podcast.



Connect with Andy:

https://twitter.com/MillionaireDoor

Facebook: A Millionaire Next Door

www.eliteoptionsacademy.com

Web: www.MillionaireFinancialCoach.com



Connect with Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Allie is so passionate about young professionals succeeding. She kicks off by telling us about how she started a PR firm and ended up hiring a lot of young professionals. Allie started teaching them things they didn’t learn in school, like how to request PTO or set a meeting, for example. Eventually, she built a company around this passion, teaching and training young people. Not long after that, Ascend acquired that company, Ampersand. Lauren asks more about the young folks she was hiring at the PR firm. Interestingly, when Allie was hiring, she didn’t care what college they went to or even if they graduated! Initially, Allie started by offering a lot of amenities at the office. So, she transitioned to offering flexible workspaces and times. Lauren is curious about how much personal finance they knew. The answer is very little. They didn’t negotiate their salaries. They didn’t understand retirement accounts. Lauren asks if young people should go to college, and of course it depends on what they want to do. Then, Allie goes into the different ways students are paying for school. The moral of the story is: start with the free money first (scholarships), then maybe consider work study, then Federal loans, then private loans. Currently, the interest rates on student loans start in the 4’s and go up to 16%. Lauren and Allie then get into talking about the bad rap that student loans are getting right now. Whether to take loans out and how much to take is a huge decision, but it can be an investment depending on schools and majors. Then, the two discuss whether student loans should be forgiven or not. A huge recommendation Lauren had never thought about is this: pay even $25 per month while you’re in school! This keeps some of the interest from accruing while you’re in school!



If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 45 Student Loans and also episode 26.



About Allie:

In 2023, Allie Danzinger became Senior VP and GM of AscentUp, whose mission is to be the undisputed leader in driving student outcomes, when they acquired her company, Ampersand. Allie’s passion lies in helping young professionals from the classroom to their careers as they build confidence, secure jobs with livable salaries, and become successful members of the workforce.



Connect with Allie:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alliedanziger

https://learn.ascentup.com/

https://www.ascentfunding.com/

https://ascentup.com/ultimate-guide-paying-for-college/



Connect with Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Devine got tired of being tired. That’s when he decided to take the financial reigns and start preparing for an early retirement at 45 or 50 years old. His cousin encouraged him to get into computer engineering, which is a great career. But when he started out, although he was making good money, he had student loans, then he added auto loans, then some credit card debt as well. On the bright side, he was putting some money in his 401k right away. When he got married, she had some credit card debt as well. She was on board with changing mindsets and focusing on getting out of debt, but she didn’t want things to get too extreme. They are still loving their life while attacking their debt. They also touch on the idea of having net worth be part of your emergency plan. Devine started with the debt snowball method, but he switched to debt avalanche pretty quickly. His mindset had changed. Devine got a huge promotion/raise at work, so along with their hard work that went into paying the first half ($40k), they can pay the other half off soon now! There are a lot of lessons there. Devine doesn’t just focus on growing income. He budgets his expenses as well. Then, the conversation transitions to the future, which involves more beefing up their emergency fund and investing for cash flow through boring businesses or real estate. Devine also does freelance writing as a side hustle. In the meantime, he's going to keep paying down his debt and sharing his journey.



If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 45 about student loans, 126 crying over debt to $1 million next worth, or 147 $51k in debt to house hacking.



About Devine:

Devine Beathea is a systems engineer living in Arizona. He decided to get his life together about two years ago at age 30. That means paying off debt and getting in control of his spending. So far, Devine has paid off $40k of debt and he is set to pay off another $40k this year. He writes about Finance, Fitness, and Fatherhood because he wants to show how millennial dads can invest in themselves and their families.



Connect with Devine:

https://www.instagram.com/thewealthbuildingdad/

Medium: Devine Beathea

https://twitter.com/DevineBeathea

https://thewealthbuildingdad.com/



Connect with Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/@adultingiseasyreal

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/