Today on the Finance Flash Go! podcast, we are discussing passive real estate investing.

Passive real estate investing is any investment into real estate that you make with your money alone. You contribute no “sweat equity” to the venture.

You simply hand your money to someone else (usually a group) and they use that money to invest in real estate. The most common forms of this type of real estate investing are syndications and funds.

In a syndication, you and a number of other people pool your money to buy and invest in one property. In a fund, you are contributing along with others to a large pool of money used to invest in many real estate investment properties.

If you performed your due diligence well with the passive investment that you choose, they do well and you receive a return based on the structure of your investment.

These investments can use Buy & Hold, Buy & Sell, Fix & Flip, or any other real estate strategy to turn a profit. They are all passive in this instance because you are not the one doing the work.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

Today on the Finance Flash Go! podcast, we are discussing the classic three fund portfolio.

Ok, let’s take a step back and chat about stock and index fund investing again.

When you buy a company’s stock, you are saying that you believe in that company’s success. If you are right, like with Apple, you make a lot of money. If you are wrong, like Enron, you lose all of your money. Picking the right company, or horse, can be difficult even for the “experts.”

When you buy the whole U.S. stock market, you are saying that you believe in the overall ingenuity and innovation of humankind and the U.S. economy

So, if you make this bet and you are right, you make money. If you are wrong, the economy and civilization as we know it collapses. Your portfolio will be the last thing on your mind. Everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Betting on the whole stock market is a much safer bet. Over the long term, the overall stock market has always gone up. If you put money in the overall stock market at any point in history and just did nothing and kept it there for 20 years, you would have made a lot of money. This is largely what you are doing by investing in broadly diversified index funds. For example, the brokerage Vanguard (my favorite for its low costs and ease of use) has an index fund of every stock in the entire U.S. stock market. Buy that index fund and you own the next Enron, but you also own the next Apple. And everything in between. You will be investing in the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of humankind.

So, that’s the first “fund” of your three fund portfolio: US stocks.

Now, you may want to also bet on the global economy in addition to the U.S. economy. So, you can buy a broadly diversified international stock index fund.

That’s part 2 of your 3 fund portfolio: Global stocks

Hmmm…still feeling like you’re taking on too much risk by putting all of your savings into stocks, even though you’re not planning to need it for 15-20 years. No problem. You can buy a bond index fund just the same way as a stock index fund. The performance of bonds does not correlate with the performance of stocks, so you are now diversifying.

And now your 3 fund portfolio is complete with the last component: Bonds.

This is a very simple yet very smart investment portfolio.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

Welcome to another episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast. On this episode, we’ll talk about VTSAX. Confused? Well, tune in!

VTSAX is an index fund offered through the brokerage Vanguard.

But before we even get into that, a refresher on stocks and index funds.

Over the long term, the overall stock market has always gone up. If you put money in the overall stock market at any point in history and just did nothing and kept it there for 20 years, you would have made a lot of money. This is largely what you are doing by investing in broadly diversified index funds. For example, the brokerage Vanguard (my favorite for its low costs and ease of use) has an index fund of every stock in the entire U.S. stock market, VTSAX. Buy that index fund and you own the next Enron, but you also own the next Apple. And everything in between. This is a safe bet. Over time, you will enact a system of rebalancing your accounts to ensure you always buy low, sell high, and profit from the margin.

VTSAX is an index fund representative of the entire US stock market. It is often considered the ultimate index fund as it is broadly diversified and built for the long-term.

It’s a great way to invest your money.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

Welcome to another episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast. On this episode, we’ll talk about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Now, I am a big proponent of paying off your student loans as quickly as possible. This is how I am paying off my student loans as well. Our goal is that we need to pay these off in 5 years or less.

But there is also the PSLF program. And that may be an option for some physicians. But who?

Well, I could have taken advantage of the PSLF program because my training was 7 years, during which I could have made small income based repayments. Then I would only need 3 more years of repayments at a qualifying hospital to have the remainder of my loans forgiven. But I was ignorant and didn’t take advantage of this as a trainee. Now that my salary is much much higher, income based amounts are very high and any forgiveness, if at all, would be minimal.

So, in general, if you have a longer training period and/or have a low income/debt ratio (<1), PSLF likely will be a good option for you. If neither of those are true, paying off your debt via an approach like the one above is likely your best option.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

Could a physician side gig be for you?! Let’s explore in this episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast!

Passive income was a foreign concept to me just a short time ago. And physician side gigs? Why in the world would a doctor want or need a side gig?

The problem was that I was stuck in the traditional narrative that the way to reach financial freedom and true wealth was to work hard, ask no questions, and eventually you retire. But the issue with this way of thinking is that the concepts of saving, investing, and creating cash flow are completely absent.

Now…I am a huge fan of passive income and side gigs. I advocate for all physicians to pursue a side gig.

But first, let’s talk about what physician side gigs are not.

Side gigs are not endeavors to complicate your life or to further take time away from your family. Most doctors get squirmy thinking about a side gig because they don’t want to spend more of their time. In fact, they do the exact opposite.

The important thing when deciding to pursue a side gig is to establish the long term goals. My side gigs will allow me to practice medicine on my own terms, because I want to, not because I have to. They will give me MORE time with my family and for my personal well-being as they turn into passive income.

It’s true that side gigs may initially require a good amount of sweat equity.

In fact, a few months ago, my wife and I spent all Saturday painting our new rental property. I don’t mind doing that because I know that this property will pay me cash flow and build equity for the rest of my life. One active weekend is worth a lifetime of passive income and financial freedom.

In fact, passive income is really a misnomer. Nothing is completely passive. What you are looking to do is weaken the connection between your time and your money. You are used to trading your time for money. By creating “passive” income, your money makes more money that you trade for your time.

With that said…

There are a ton of awesome advantages to physician side gigs

• Create passive income AKA money you make while you sleep

• Diversify your income so that a decrease in one income stream does not create financial stress

• Increase your income!

• Decrease the amount of savings that you need to retire

• Pay off your debts faster

• Invest more

• Utilize tax breaks to your advantages

• Exercise your entrepreneurial muscles

• Treat yo’ self!

We will continue to explore specific examples in future episodes!

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

This episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast will share the most passive and easiest form of real estate investing.

Real Estate Investment Trusts are basically investing in a mutual fund of real estate investments. These are available in nearly every brokerage. Real estate doesn’t correlate with stocks/bonds so this is a good, passive way to diversify. No traditional tax benefits with this type of real estate investing though.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

This episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast will teach you all about passive real estate investing.

Passive real estate investing is any investment into real estate that you make with your money alone. You contribute no “sweat equity” to the venture.

You simply hand your money to someone else (usually a group) and they use that money to invest in real estate. The most common forms of this type of real estate investing are syndications and funds.

In a syndication, you and a number of other people pool your money to buy and invest in one property. In a fund, you are contributing along with others to a large pool of money used to invest in many real estate investment properties.

If you performed your due diligence well with the passive investment that you choose, they do well and you receive a return based on the structure of your investment.

These investments can use Buy & Hold, Buy & Sell, Fix & Flip, or any other real estate strategy to turn a profit. They are all passive in this instance because you are not the one doing the work.

Sounds pretty sweet right?

Why I don’t invest passively in real estate (yet)

As you can see, there are advantages to passive real estate investing.

For one, you don’t have to contribute any sweat equity to the investment. You contribute your money and when the investment does well, you get paid.

The flip side to this, however, is that the performance of the investment is decidedly not in your control.

You had better be sure that you trust the syndication or fund that you are giving the money to. Because if the investment loses, you don’t get any profits and lose your money as well.

For this reason, it is extremely important to perform extensive due diligence on these investments before going into one.

The problem here is that any past performance cannot guarantee future performance and again, there is little control. These funds will often set out pro forma or expected returns. But these are really just guesses. They have no fiduciary responsibility to live up to these returns.

Lastly, the real money in these investments is going to the people who are putting in the sweat equity.

Of course, the active partners of the fund or syndication are going to set things up so that they see the majority of profits if the investment performs well. I mean this is really only fair. You’re paying a big tax in exchange for being able to be passive in the investment. And, while we’re on the topic of taxes, many of the tax benefits in active real estate investing don’t pass to you as a passive investor.

I’m not saying that passive real estate investing is bad. Many people do it very well, I just prefer an active strategy.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

This episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast covers physician mortgages.

Let’s start with basics. A mortgage is a loan from the bank. Various mortgage products are available. Most require a fairly significant down payment, anywhere from 3.5% for FHA loans to 25%. Many physicians do not have this kind of lump sum money sitting around to afford a mortgage right out of training. This obviously represents one of the reasons that renting your home right out of training is a much safer bet in general.

But physicians make a lot of money. And banks know that. And banks are not in the business of losing potential high income clients.

So, they created physician’s loans which are loan products that are offered to those with a high future income as documented by a signed contract or recent pay stubs. These products in general require a lower amount of money down (usually from 0-5%). The advantage of this for you is that less money is required up front. But the downside is that you have little to no equity in the house in the beginning. If you can’t make payments and/or need to sell, you are in big trouble.

Don’t be mistaken. Banks are not doing this because they are nice and feel for the plight of the doctor. They will tell you that you can afford a huge amount of house, way more than would be financially responsible. And they will tell you they can give it to you for little to no money down. Don’t fall for the trap. If you are going to use this product, use it to your advantage! For example, I got a house that was much less than 2x my income. I got it with 0% down and used the money that I saved in down payment to buy a cash flow rental property as an asset. Putting equity into your home to pay off a mortgage or lessen the amount of mortgage is a smart move. If you are not doing this, I highly recommend using that money as an investment and not spending it to appease lifestyle creep.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

This episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast is about buying your primary residence.

Buying a home out of training especially in my mind requires you to really have a strict set of criteria that you follow for it to be the right financial choice.

The reason that my wife and I bought our first home is multifold.

But the bottom line is that we set a budget of what we could afford, created criteria for what we were looking for, and kept emotion out of it (ok fine…emotions were involved but we acknowledged them and kept them out of the decision-making process).

First, we had created our written financial plan and budget before buying our home

A written financial plan and budget MUST come first.

The first things we factored into our budget were our “needs” and our savings, including loan payments. Once we set this number with a savings rate of 41%, we knew how much we would have for everything else, including PITI and other expenses for a mortgage.

Sure, you can use some rules of thumb in making sure you don’t buy too much house. The purchase price should definitely be less than 2x your annual income (ours is 1.2x our salary). Your annual mortgage to income ratio should be less than 28%.

These generalities are fine. However, I recommend setting a budget and knowing down to the dollar how much house you can buy. You’ll feel a lot more confident and relaxed in your decision.

Second, we set strict criteria for our home.

Much like with an investment property, we set criteria for the type of home that we were looking for. If a house didn’t meet this criteria, it wasn’t for us. Most home buyers let emotion dictate which houses they consider and like. We set these hard terms to limit the effect of emotion in our decision.

By following these criteria, we were selecting for a home that we knew we would want to stay for at least 10 years. As I’ve said before, the housing market is like the stock market – volatile in the short term but stably increasing in the long term. Buying a home that we were planning to live long-term, we maximized our chances of making a profit when we sold.

Also, by using a physician loan with 0% down, we would not need to sacrifice any savings or investments.

My wife and I agreed that if we didn’t find a house that fit these criteria, we would rent until we did.

Most importantly, I moved home.

This is probably the biggest qualifier of our decision to buy a house.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!

This episode of the Finance Flash Go! podcast discusses some important considerations with asset location!

The first account we’ll review is a taxable investment account.

This is the account that you probably think of when you imagine investing your money in the stock or bond market. This account does not carry any special considerations from the government or IRS.

Anyone can open one of these accounts by signing up for one on Vanguard (my recommendation), Fidelity, or any other brokerage.

In general, the money that you put into this account has already been taxed (post-tax money) and any money made in the account is taxed when you take it out via capital gains taxes (long term capital gains taxes for money left in the account greater than 1 year are less than short term capital gains taxes).

However, you can remove the money from the account at any time without a penalty. Other accounts, as you will see, have age limits for withdrawal. Take money out before a certain age limit and you will be penalized. This is not the case with taxable accounts.

In general, you will want to contribute the maximum to your tax advantaged accounts before contributing to your taxable account.

Please enjoy the Finance Flash Go podcast! We plan to release a new episode every weekday answering important finance questions. If you ever want to submit a question to our podcast, send an e-mail to [email protected], and please be sure to check out Jordan Frey’s blog prudentplasticsurgeon.com where he gives great financial advice.

A brief disclaimer While we are providing knowledge and awareness around financial topics in this show, we are not held responsible for any financial decisions you choose to make in response to the podcast. We hope to provide accurate information in regards to money and different methods of wealth creation, but it is always the learner’s responsibility to due their due diligence before making important financial decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in, and if you like the podcast please subscribe, share, and leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice!