PoFU Podcast

Will you get bored in retirement? Today's episode features themes of purpose and fulfillment in your retirement years. The transition from the daily grind to retirement can sometimes be an unforeseen challenge and we explore that through the stories of our fathers' retirement experiences, looking forward to our own.

You've heard of the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, now let's discuss the FOO aka the Financial Order of Operations. Full credit to Brian & Bo at www.moneyguy.com for the FOO. Spoiler alert: we prefer the FOO over the Baby Steps, but you can't go wrong with either. If you aren't doing one of them, you're missing the boat!

Brotherhood. Community. Jeremiah uses episode 58 to express his extreme gratitude for teams, friendships, and giving back.

What good are strong finances without good health? Nathaniel Williams joins us in the studio for another episode where discuss the 3 pillars of health: sleep, nutrition, and exercise. We delve into the hypocrisy of modern medicine, a universal approach to nutrition (hint: eliminate processed foods!), and, possibly the most important ingredient to good health: sleep! A slight deviation from our normal personal finance content, we contend that money is useless if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it.

Special thanks to Mr Nathaniel Williams for joining us in the studio where we do a deep dive on his "Vacation House Hack", his family vacation home that also doubles as a VRBO. Merlin Hütte is a single family house in the foothills of Schuss Mountain, an all-season golf and ski resort in northern lower Michigan. With year-round amenities including golf, skiing, mountain biking, and lakes, Merlin Hütte has proven to be a good investment that also creates lasting memories for the family. Check it out on IG @merlinhutte

Not every investment goes according to plan!

Yes, every worthy investment comes with a certain level of risk. Not every investment will be a home run. Not every investment will hit projections.

We've sung the praises of real estate syndications time and again, but they aren't as foolproof as we thought! It didn't help that the COVID cascade - excessive "printing" of currency leading to excessive rates of inflation - caused the adjustable-rate mortgages (which are very common in commercial/multifamily financing) on many of our syndications to shoot through the roof. The absurd rise in rates wasn't predicted by anyone, and it bit us in the ass. Although property values and our associated capital has appreciated, cash flow distributions have not hit the mark.

Now, we still believe the syndication model is a solid path to financial freedom. But with anything, proceed with caution and always do your due diligence. Tune in to hear our lessons learned!

Back by popular demand! Well, sort of.

We've heard you, PoFU fans! It has been a while. Nearly a year since our last publication, we are back to let you know that we are alive and well. A very sincere apology to the fans we forced to wait that long. We have plenty of excuses, and none of them are any good. Bottom line, we prioritized different things over the past year but are back in the studio with renewed energy.

We use episode 54 to recap many of the highlights in the financial world over the past 12 months. Its good to be back and we hope you're glad we're back! Enjoy!

Should you rent or buy? Our conclusion...well it depends. Current state of your market, your need to be mobile, your career path , there's a lot to consider. From a pure financial perspective, we are basically 50/50 on the net financial benefit of owning vs renting. When you rent, your monthly rent is the MOST you will pay that month. When you own, your mortgage payment is the LEAST you'll pay that month. While owning has all the benefits of appreciation, equity, and tax benefits, it also comes with a slew of additional expenses like property taxes, repairs/maintenance, renovations, etc. What's best for you ultimately comes down to where you are in life and what you value most.

Over the next 10 years, the number of individuals in the workforce ages 75+ is going to quadruple! It shouldn't come as a surprise considering the majority of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck and live beyond their means. It brings us back to the famous Warren Buffet quote: "If you can't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die."

Most people don't understand that saving/investing just $125/month from ages 22-65 at 10% interest yields $1M+. Well, what if you legitimately don't have $125/month? A relatively simple way to make a few extra hundred dollars a month is ARBITRAGE. Buy things at one price, sell them at a higher price. Garage sales, Dollar Stores, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, any number of places where you can buy things on the cheap and flip them on Amazon, Ebay, Wish, Etsy, etc. Some of our favorite arbitrag-ers include Gary Vaynerchuk and Ryan Pineda. All the secrets to arbitrage are online FOR FREE. All you need is a phone.

If you could go back in time, how would you advise your 20 year old self? Grant Cardone says don't drink, don't do drugs, don't chase women, and learn learn learn. Fantastic advice, but we at the PoFU Podcast sing a slightly different tune.