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

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/

Lauren opens by asking Andrew why he started The Personal Finance Podcast. He started it in 2020 to share his passion with others. He loves hearing about people’s “lightbulb moments” when they unlock an ability to build wealth and therefore unlock some time freedom. Then, Lauren and Andrew transition to discussing ways to grow your income passively. There’s a spectrum of income from active to passive, and they two discuss items along that spectrum: dividend investing, stocks, bonds, REITs being the most passive and digital products being less passive, but still more passive than a job. Real estate can be passive. Then, Lauren asks about the difference between side hustles and passive income. When it comes to passive income streams, you should be targeting cash flow versus quantity. Andrew tells us how to come up with our desired cash flow number to target. Hint: cover your expenses. Andrew believes that in a lot of cases you should focus on increasing income at your W2 first. He also goes into detail about the difference between financial freedom and retirement. Speaking of retirement, this begs the question of how much we should plan for Medicare and social security. Andrew likes HSAs, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and real estate for retirement planning. Lauren asks about using these accounts for retiring early, and he prefers the flexibility of the brokerage account. The best thing about being in this space is when people get excited and START investing. Time is your friend when it comes to investing and compound interest. Patience when starting matters. Andrew emphasizes that investing is for the long term, so it doesn’t matter what the stock market is doing right now. Lauren suggests becoming best friends with your future self, and helping them by investing now.



If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 122: Finding Passionate Income with Brian Luebben.



About Andrew:

Andrew Giancola is the creator of MasterMoney.co and The Personal Finance Podcast. Like Lauren, Andrew is also a Tampa Bay area native. He loves playing pickleball and raising his two kids with his wife, Irene.



Connect with Andrew:

https://mastermoney.co/

https://twitter.com/mastermoneyco



Connect with Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

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

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

Lauren opens by askingBrian how he came to the conclusion to change paths from the business path to the missionary one. He truly felt God was leading him in that direction. That was the best way for him to have a positive impact on the world. Then, they dive into how people can invest on low incomes. Don’t wait until you make more! And remember, wealthy people buy luxuries last.

Then, they dive into the HACKER(RRR) method:

Hack your lifestyle, for example, with house hacking; pay attention to your transportation too

Allocation budgeting: 50% spend, 40% invested, 10% give away

Cash is King investing (intro to investing)

Exponentiality: infinite returns

Spending -- Saving -- Investing

Review

Repeat if it’s going great

Rework if your initial investments aren’t working (especially if you’ve changed)

Reward: allow yourself to take the full 50% (even if it’s a big chunk)

Brian’s last piece of advice: don’t waste your life by not enjoying your success! They close by talking about Elon Musk’s response to Lauren’s tweet about whether 20-somethings should match their 401k’s or not.



If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 104: How a Family of 4 Lives on Less Than $60k and Still Invests.

About Brian:
Brian Tibbs is a once low-paid missionary with multi-million-dollar net worth. At age 26, Brian was investing in real estate, an executive in his dad’s financial services company, and co-owner of another small online retailer. But Brian felt called down a different path. Over the next 3 years, Brian married Jill Bramhall, resigned from his father’s company, sold his online business and liquidated 60% of his real estate portfolio, and moved, sight unseen, to Guatemala. They became missionaries, raising over $20 million for their cause and building over 150,000 sq. ft of churches and related facilities. Brian and his family made very little money as missionaries, just $9.20 per hour. Their modest salary forced them to create a wealth-building philosophy that didn’t require a big paycheck. Living under this financial constraint is how the HACKER Method was discovered and implemented. Although Brian has retired from full-time missionary work, his desire to serve others remains a primary focus. He launched The Unexpected Investor with the singular goal of helping other people who also feel financially constrained transform themselves into wealthy, powerful, and generous investors using the HACKER Method.

Connect with Brian:
https://theunexpectedinvestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/unexpectedinvestor/
https://www.youtube.com/@unexpectedinvestor
https://twitter.com/unexpectinvest
https://www.amazon.com/HACKER-Method-Unexpected-Investors-Building/dp/1962074129/ref=sr_1_1

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

Lauren starts by asking why Vanessa dropped out of college. It turns out, she’d be considering it for a year, but she felt she wasn’t learning anything she couldn’t learn in the real world. Vanessa’s father had asked her to join his real estate business, and she’d finally made the decision to follow in his footsteps. Vanessa then shares her father’s story, who invested in real estate on the side while he was a police officer. Eventually, he took that side business full time. Vanessa shares more about what the GW companies do. They buy apartment buildings, renovate them, then refinance aka the BRRRR method. They raise capital to allow others to invest in real estate passively. Then, the two transition to talking about what it’s like to work with a family member. Naturally, Lauren asks about conflict resolution, and is pleased to find out that Vanessa calls her dad by his first name at work. Lauren clearly can’t picture doing the same. Vanessa points out that she can ask all the dumb questions she wants. Looking forward, Lauren asks if Vanessa wants to have kids, and what the plan would be as far as them taking over the business. She’s also curious about how Vanessa’s boyfriend feels about her working with her dad. Vanessa also shares how the conversation went with her dad when she decided to leave school and come work for him. So, does she recommend working with your parents? Obviously, yes.



If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 160 Turning Real Estate into More Businesses, in which Josh tells us about he and his partner Antoinette’s ventures.



About Vanessa:

Vanessa Pannozzo is the Director of Operations/Co-Owner at GW (Generational Wealth) Capital Group of Companies. GW's mission is to create the "Costco", of Real Estate Investing, with a one stop shop for investors who are looking to invest in real estate, on a passive scale. In her 3+years in the industry, Vanessa has played a key role in building GW's property management from the ground up. As a Post-Secondary "Drop Out," Vanessa shares her relatable journey, offering insights into the challenges and triumphs of working closely with family. Vanessa is all about creating a welcoming space for women in the industry to connect, invest, and succeed.



Connect with Vanessa:

https://generationalwealthcreators.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/vanessapannozzo/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-pannozzo-20bb5623a/



Connect with Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

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

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/

BOY DO WE HAVE A TREAT FOR YOU THIS WEEK! Lauren puts out 2 weekly podcasts, one of course being Adulting Is Easy. The second is called the House Money Podcast. Here's episode 26!



House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan have a special guest, Chris Luger from Heavy Metal
Money where they discuss blog 125, which is about the 3 essential skills every real estate investor should have. The 1st essential skill is being optimistic. Alan experiences people telling him they want to invest in real estate and what stops them is they worry about every disaster scenario they might face. But
what about potential amazing things? Alan calls these lottery tickets! He experienced this when the Nets moved to Brooklyn, and each of his properties there appreciated $1 million right away. The 2nd essential skill is being persistent, it is simple but not easy. You’re always needing to follow up, with realtors, lenders, tenants, contractors, cleaners, etc. And the 3rd essential skill is to have a long-term focus. Know your long-term goal and hold on to it. Chris points out that part of this is delayed gratification. Chris adds that you need to be comfortable taking on risk. Lauren says you need to be confident. Alan says real estate over football.

Sign up for HMM newsletter & read the blogs:

https://www.housemoneymedia.com/blog 



Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: When is the first mortgage payment due after you close a property?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/ 



Real Estate Is Easy Interview

Lauren interviews Paul, a project manager and sales representative for a couple of different roofing companies in Florida. He’s currently working for Armored Roofing and Solar in the Tampa Bay Area, but they are also statewide in Florida. Lauren asked Paul what happens to their business when a big storm comes through, he shared that the typical 3 to 4 weeks replacement that they do would go up to 3 to 4 months. This is because of manpower, insurance companies, and supply. Paul details the longevity of roofs with the caveat that insurance companies have a lot of say here in Florida. He recommends getting a free inspection yearly and maintenance, which can extend the life of our roofs. Lauren also asked Paul how many different kinds of roofs are there and he answered asphalt shingle roof, tile, metal, galvalume, and rolled roofing for flat roofs. Lauren asked about the price difference between shingle,
metal, and tile roofs for an 1800-square-foot single-family home. Paul shared that new investors or homeowners should look for a good inspector and know when the last roof permit was puller. For us to be a good partner with our roofer, we should know how to communicate well with them. Paul makes real estate easy
by making himself available. The hosts agree to that because being available makes you respond quickly and can make the job easy.

Contact Paul: 727-688-1668



Guest Host Segment

Guest Host Chris talks about an issue he experienced when
he waived an inspection. In 2020, he did not do an inspection of his new property and after a while, there was a problem encountered with the new property. The furnace basically could not be serviced. There was a recall, and it needed to be replaced. Your hosts share their insights about the issue and give advice
about it.



Follow Our Guest Host:

@MoneyHeavyMetal

https://www.facebook.com/MoneyHeavyMetal/

https://www.instagram.com/moneyheavymetal/

 

Follow House Money Media:

https://twitter.com/HouseMoneyMedia

https://www.instagram.com/housemoney.media/

 https://www.youtube.com/@house-money

https://www.tiktok.com/@housemoneymedia

 

Follow the Hosts:

Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

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

https://www.youtube.com/@adultingiseasy

Alan:

https://twitter.com/RealEstateMaxi

https://www.instagram.com/realestatemaxi