Reintroduction Post!
Time for a quick reintroduction post! It has been a minute since I have given an update for all the new followers to the account. Here we go. My name is Travis, I am 28 years old, and I am the man…
Want To Prosper During These Tough Times? Eliminate These Two Things
What if I told you life was pretty simple if you want to become financially independent? Would you believe me? What if I told you by eliminating two things you could exponentially accelerate your path to financial independence? Would you be skeptical and not believe what I am saying? I know I would for sure be skeptical to listen to anyone who told me if I did two things I would be able to become financially free at a much younger age.
Build Your Credit When You Are Young - Guest Blog Post!
I am excited to have my first ever guest blog post from @everylittlebit.counts. Here we go! When you're in your late teens, early twenties, your credit is the last thing you are thinking about. If…
Tenant Backed Out Of Lease Three Weeks After Signing
Time for another learning opportunity for my real estate investing journey. This was the first time I had ever had someone sign a lease and proceed to back out prior to moving in. I am continuing to learn more and more about real estate investing as new situations continue coming up. I enjoy some of the ambiguity in how things are happening and always learning new things. So here is what happened.
How Much Clearer Do I Need To Make Myself - Asking The Same Question For The Third Time
I have had zero luck with this HOA to this point. How much clearer do I need to make myself. I have asked the same question for the third time now and they continue to not want to answer the specific question I am asking them. This is not only frustrating, but they are using this tactic to continue buying them time. I am a real estate investor, and have been a real estate investor for the past 3 years. This is the first time in my real estate investing journey that I have had issues with an HOA. I never would have imagined to have these issues with a HOA. But now that they are here, I am definitely taking this as a learning opportunity to continue getting better! What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger if you want it to make you stronger!
Calling HOA To File Lawsuit!?!?! Short Term Rental Update - Ol' Faithful
That's right! Before you start asking questions, let me explain a little bit. I am going to be filing a lawsuit against my HOA at one of my short term rental properties. Here is why. I have been doing some research and talking to a lot of people about the situation I am in with Ol' Faithful. To give a quick update of what is going on with Ol' Faithful, checkout one of my last articles.
Restricted Stock Units - How They Work and Why They Are Important
Many haven't heard of Restricted Stock Units and don't fully understand the value of them. If you work for a corporation that trades publicly or privately held, this is something you need to understand prior to going into salary negotiations. Understanding how they work and why they are important is critical to maximize your earning potential.
Market Volatility - What Stocks I Am Buying
The market has been extremely volatile the last month. With everything going on, there is a lot of opportunity for people who are positioned well to take advantage of it. The stocks being hit the hardest are the hospitality and travel industry (in my opinion). There are other sectors that I am sure are also being hit hard with everything going on. The hospitality and travel industry are the two that I feel are hit the hardest with everyone self quarantining. I also have had a direct impact I have felt with my Airbnb business that I have been operating.
W2 Bonus Season! Big Checks Are Always Nice!
Part of my overall compensation is my yearly bonus! I am extremely fortunate to earn a bonus each year for the company I work for. I am grateful of all the opportunities they have provided me and the compensation. I have busted my butt to get here, but grateful nonetheless.
Hard Work Got Me An Increase In Salary by $3,507! But Wait...There's More...
This year, hard work got me an increase in salary by $3,507! A lot of people talk about making more money. From my experience, the best way to increase your salary is by adding value and solving complex problems. That is what I have been able to do with both my W2 job and my real estate investments.
75% February Savings Rate - Here Is My Breakdown
Last month, my savings rate ended up at 75%! This marks one of the lowest savings rate months I have had in awhile, but I am extremely proud of it! There are months where you should always expect your savings rate to go down. Whether this is from a vacation or some extra fun you decided to have, you should celebrate every month!
Travel Hacking to Diamond With Caesars
I recently travel hacked my way to Diamond status with Caesars. Why do this? You never know when a spontaneous trip to Vegas might come up! The overall process was pretty simple. To travel hack your way to Diamond with Caesars, you will need the following:
4 Things I Did To Hit Over $100,000 In My Brokerage Account At 27
It feels amazing to see my Vanguard brokerage account hit over $100k at such a young age. I have worked hard in both the earning and expense side in my investing journey. It feels great to see the progress and growth to hit over $100k in such a short amount of time. Here are four things that were critical for me to hit this major milestone!
3 Reasons You Should Be Living Paycheck to Paycheck
I am firm believer you should be living paycheck to paycheck regardless of how much you make. This may sound counterintuitive, but hear me out. You should be living paycheck to paycheck for many reasons, but we will keep it simple and stick to three.
How I Invest Almost 100% Of My Paycheck - February 9th Update
Time for an update on how I invest almost 100% of my paycheck every two weeks. I find it more and more fun to continue watching progress towards my financial independence. A big component of this is investing almost 100% of my paycheck. When you can automate many of your investments, you allow yourself to sit back and watch cool things happen.
Airbnb Financial Update - January Cash Flow
In the month of December, I hosted 51 guests across 7 different bookings. Of the 7 stays, I received a review from each of my guests! Many hosts know getting your guests to leave a review can be difficult. I am also excited to say of the 7 reviews, all were 5 stars!
Your Home Is Not An Asset - Here Is Why
My first introduction to the Financial Independence community came after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad. This book was a fundamental shift in mindset for me where I learned why your home is not an asset. This comes down to one simple principle. Your home is not an asset because it isn't by definition an asset. Let's explore the definition of an asset and a liability for further understanding.
Analyzing A Short Term Rental - Estimating Cash On Cash Returns
When analyzing a short term rental property, it is important to be able to estimate cash on cash returns. This allows you to understand whether something is a good investment or not. When you…
3 Reasons You Need Many Income Streams
This topic hits hard since something recent at work. You need many income streams in your life. Period. Having many income streams is critical to your long term financial success. I recently had to displace an associate who was working for me. This was an extremely difficult thing to do. This decision wasn't made by me, but rather the larger business. This got me to thinking, if I were to get displaced from work tomorrow, would I be okay?
Financial Independence Core Principle #3: Eliminate Your Largest Expense By House Hacking
Third and final core principle. House hacking is by far the most powerful way to begin your investing journey. When you think about getting ahead in your investment journey, eliminating your largest expense by house hacking becomes powerful. For 99% of people, the largest monthly expense you have is housing. If you are able to eliminate your largest expense by house hacking, you will put yourself in a position to aggressively save.
Analyzing A Short Term Rental Investment - Understand Your Expenses
The ability to understand your expenses when analyzing a short term rental investment is critical. Income is only one side of the equation. If you are able to effectively understand your expenses, you will be able to put together projected cash flow numbers. This will help you determine if a property is worth investing in.
Financial Independence Core Principle #2: Start Early to Realize the Power Of Compound Interest
Have you ever wondered why people talk about investing early in your life? The simple reason is the power of compound interest. If you start investing early in your life you will realize the power of compound interest and will greatly speed up your path to FI. This is an incredible way to build wealth at a young age.
Analyzing A Short Term Rental Investment - Understanding the Inputs
Analyzing a short term rental investment for cash flow is critical to know if there is financial sense to the property you are looking at. With that, I wanted to share the sensitivity analysis spreadsheet I have created to analyze a short term rental investment. Let's jump straight into analyzing a short term rental property with first understanding the numbers!
Financial Independence: Core Principle #1
I have been thinking about creating core principles to my to my content for a while. It is finally time to to solidify three core principles I will continue to reference on each post. Here we go!…
How to Eliminate Your Largest Monthly Expense - Different Ways of House Hacking
The typical American spends 30% of their take home pay on housing. This isn't a bad thing, but it is the simple truth in America right now. Want to have a high savings rate and be able to invest more? Eliminate your largest expense. For 99% of Americans, the largest expense is housing.
December Airbnb Financial Update
December Airbnb Update! Let's breakdown how the month went. Moving forward, I will standardize how I analyze the month. There will be three different sections to reflect on: Income - how much income…
Money Myth - Purchasing A New Car Doesn't Make You Safer
A money myth I hear from so many when deciding on a new car purchase. I have always wondered why people associate older cars with safety. For me, I associate the purchase of an older car with saving…
First Paycheck of Year - Where My Money Went
New year, time to max out my HSA and 401k! Here is the breakdown of how I spent/invested my first paycheck of the year. I have put together a plan to be more intentional this year to max out my…
Raccoons Trashed My Airbnb Porch - How To Not Freak Out When Receiving A Bad Message
This morning, I woke up to a message sent from my Airbnb guest who checked in around 3am. It definitely woke me up and I immediately started to stress out. Here Is The Message Here is a picture of…
How To Calculate Front Loading Taxable Accounts
New year, time to update savings contributions! Last year was the first year I decided to front load my 401k and HSA accounts. This year will be no different. It is important to update your online…
Credit Card Rewards - How To Double Your Value When Spending Your Points!
I recently looked at each of the credit cards I opened up last year to determine which ones I should no longer use. I had some rewards points that it was time to cash in, so I decided to toggle…
Travel Hacking Rewards - You Can and Will Lose It If You Don't Use It!
If you travel hack or belong to loyalty programs, don't forget about your rewards! There are many rewards programs that have expiration dates for certain things. In this article, I want to focus on…
End of Year Tax Optimization - How I Saved An Additional $27,000 This Year From Tax Optimization
It is that time of year to look back and reflect on how much money I saved (and earned) from my tax advantaged accounts. This year, I tried taking things to the next level with tax optimization.…
Tax Refunds - If You Receive A Tax Refund, The Government Just Made Money Off You!
Tax refunds! Are they good or bad? Who doesn't love a tax refund! I mean, are you going to pass up getting a check from the government. Almost everyone who receives a tax refund ends up bragging…
Maximizing Airbnb Profits - Don't Wait For Upgrades to Be Done Before Listing Property!
Time to pick back up on the my 'Purchasing My First Airbnb Series'! Going to pick back up where I left off. To see the first few parts, click the links below. Purchasing My First Airbnb - How Using…
Start - The Four Things You Need to Start to Become the Next Great Version of Yourself
The other day I wrote a blog post about what I believe people need to STOP! Now, it is time to talk about what people should START! These are things everyone can see benefits from. It doesn't matter…
The Automatic Millionaire - Why Skimping Out on Latte's Won't Make You Wealthy
Before I "bash" on this book, let me say how much I recommend reading it. With everything you read, there are things you agree with, and others you don't. In a previous post, I spoke about the three…
Airbnb November Earnings - How to Cash Flow $2,000 In a Month
Finalized numbers are in for November! How did it go? Let's take a look. Total Income ($4,582) From an income standpoint, November was my highest grossing income month to date. The two main drivers…
The Automatic Millionaire - Key Takeaways to Become Wealthy
Review Part I: The Automatic Millionaire - A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich. I recently received a book recommendation from @weatlhfromrentals so I dove right in. I got the book on…
STOP - Why Worrying About The Wrong Things Won't Make You Wealthy
Stop! Controversial post to follow. Let me begin by saying there are a lot of people who will not agree with the context behind this post. I respect your viewpoint if you don't agree. Everyone has…
Airbnb Superhost Tip - How to Make More Money Part I!
Most Airbnb hosts have one source of income through Airbnb. That source of income being the amount the guest pays at per night. The amount the guest pays per night should be the main source of…
Airbnb Superhost Tips and Tricks - Length of Stay Critical Things To Know
First Airbnb Superhost tip and trick! Here we go. The length of stay requirements you have on your listing is critical to drive higher occupancy rates. There are a few different tips and tricks I…
Purchasing My First Airbnb - How Using Addendums Effectively Saved Me $7,000
Addendums are one of the most critical components of an effective negotiation! What is an addendum? When purchasing a property, you are making a legal agreement with another individual(s). When you…
How I Eliminated PMI After 3 Years and Only 3.5% Down!!!
It is official! Finally! I was able to get rid of my $95 per month PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) payment on my 3.5% down home loan. I couldn't be happier with eliminating an expense that adds no…
Why Understanding Pareto's Principle Is So Critical to Your Finances!
Understanding this one simple concept can launch on an expedited path to financial independence. Here we go math nerds! This concept, the Pareto Principle. This concept is very straight forward, and…
How I Earned Two Free Hotel Nights Up to 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points In One Week
Leveraging travel rewards can be a lot of fun, if done the right way. I switched from Hilton to Marriott this last year for hotel stays when I travel. I had heard a lot about Marriott having much…
Why One Income Stream Is Not The Answer - Think In Terms Of Creating Horizontal Income Streams
This week's money myth focuses around a common myth around making money. I used to believe having one source of income that continued to grow was the most important thing. For that reason, I focused…
Why Is The Tax Code Some Complicated? It's 10.1 Million Words
If you were to ask me how many words I thought the tax code was, I would have guessed 60-70,000. Not 10.1 million! Ever wonder why understanding the tax code is so difficult? This might be the reason…
Purchasing First Airbnb Property - How I Reduced The Price by $30k
One of the most fun things about purchasing an investment property is negotiating! Are you a "Let's figure out how to meet halfway?" kind of person? It had been a little over a three years since…
Crazy Money Statistics - 96% of Employed People Won't Be Able to Retire by 65
96% of employed people will not be able to retire at age 65. The first time I read this statistic, I was a little surprised. The more I thought about it, the less surprised I became. First, read the…
How To Get Paid To Live In Your Own Home Through House Hacking
The first major thing I am trying to take advantage of is the largest expense for 99% of people. Housing! Most Americans spend 30-35% of their disposable income on housing associated costs. This…
How I Saved Over $23k On My First Investment Property Negotiating With Lenders
Huge shoutout to @roamingtrader on this one! It had been a long time since I purchased my first property. A huge step in this process is finding a lender and understanding associated costs.…
How I Found $192 Owed To Me In Less Than 5 Minutes
All credit to @howtomoneypod on this one! ⠀ The other week they posted about how to find money owed to you from various businesses and companies. It is simple! Go to www.missingmoney.com to check and…
How I Made A Return On Investment In 1 Month By Seeing Opportunity!
What do you see in this picture? An open walkway? An awesome picture of me jumping off a ledge in front of the Colosseum? A random room with some stuff in it? I would agree with each of those things,…
Buying A Short Term Rental In Less Than A Month!
The time has come! For the next five weeks, I will share the process I used to identify, submit offers, and buy my first Airbnb property. I will go try staying high level on my IG post and then go…
Three Reasons You Shouldn't Pay With Cash!
How do you currently spend money? Do you use cash envelopes like a lot of the DFC community advocates? Do you use a debit card? Or do you even use travel hacking credit cards to earn points while you…
Getting Rid Of PMI - Part II
In a previous post I talked about how I planned to get rid of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). Here is a quick recap of what I was planning. I purchased the current home I house hack using a FHA…
Money Myth Monday - Why You Should Manage Your Own Money, Don't Be Fooled By Financial Advisors
Money Myth Monday 7/22 - I have someone who manages my money so I don't need to worry about it. Ever thought: "I didn't know what to do with my money so I thought the next best thing was to have…
You Have To Be Rich To Invest - Money Myth Monday
Money Myth Monday – July 15th, 2019 Quote – “You have to be rich to invest.” Hmm, let's find out if this one checks out. 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼 Let me check the disclosures on all of the investing websites like…
How My $500k of Assets Are Currently Allocated - July Update
I received some great feedback, from you, wanting to know more about my asset allocation and thoughts behind what I am doing with my money. So here we go! Before we get into the details, this is by…
Your Home Is Not An Asset - Here Is Why!!!
On average, American's spend 35% of their take home pay on housing. This is the single largest bucket of expenses most American's have. Is your primary home an asset or a liability? Below I have…
How I Earned 183x On My Cash Reserves
Time for a real world example of the difference in Interest I earned having my money in a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) vs a Low Yield Savings Account (LYSA). This is something that took me no…
June Savings Rate - Over Three Quarters of My Take Home
June Savings Rate calculation complete! Ended the month at an 85% savings rate! Back to back months hitting 85% ! I honestly didn't think that was going to be possible. Very excited about the ability…
How To Save $100/Month On Your Mortgage Payment
Why pay fees and interest that you don't need to! Most people don't truly understand all of the different fees making up their monthly mortgage payment. Below I have outlined how I plan to save $97…
Good Debt vs Bad Debt
The oh so classic debate about debt! Most individuals hear the word debt and immediately associate the word with a negative feeling. The real question is, is all debt bad debt? It is extremely…
How I Could Have Lost Over $15k In Free Travel
I was talking to my parents on Father's day being a good ol' son wishing my dad a great day, when somehow my parents and I got on the topic of spending my rewards points I have accumulated so I don't…
Money Myth Monday - Credit Cards, Are They Bad For You?
The classic credit card debate! To use credit cards or not to use credit cards? This is the real question we need to answer. There are a lot of advantages of using credit cards, if used properly.…
Increasing Savings Account Interest By 84 Times!
Who is your current Savings Account with? Did you know there is a good chance the company you are keeping your cash with is royally screwing you. That was the exact case for me and my Savings Account…
85% Savings Rate In May!
Largest savings rate of any month to date! The F.I.R.E. is spreading and I am enjoying every minute of the journey. The continuous growth of my Instagram channel and seeing a few people here and…
How to Calculate Your Savings Rate
Surprisingly, this is something that I had gotten away from looking at monthly this year; however, it is time to start keeping score on my savings rate again! Can't make progress towards a goal if…
Maxing Out Your 401(k) by Your Second Paycheck In March
Woah, now! I know what you are thinking. There is no way in hell you could max out your 401(k) by the middle of March. How did you do that? Or, why the heck would you not just steadily invest in your…
Horizontal (Passive) Income Streams and Why They Are Important
How many different horizontal streams of income do you currently have? Are you like the 99% of Americans who trade their time for money as your only source of income? I have finally figured out this…
How To - Tax Loss Harvesting Execution
I am sure a large amount of people are just like me wondering what, if anything, they should do as the year closes out to take full advantage how much you owe in taxes. I know this is the first year…
Travel Hacking - First Redemption Detailed!
Travel hacking is something I first learned about at the end of 2018 and I am happy to say I am trying to go all in this year and want to document my journey for you to see! One of the big things I…
Process of Liquidating Accounts to Invest in Dierks Bentley Whiskey Row – Denver
Time to provide an update on one of the boldest things I have done to this point on my investing journey. Early on when I started speaking with my cousin on the potential opportunity to become an…
How to Easily Make $200 An Hour
Have you ever made a significant amount of money for the hours dedicated to your profession? What if I told you there was a way to make more than you have ever made in your life? Most would be…