Biggerpockets Money Podcast

In this episode, Mortgage Broker Seth Jones talks about the current mortgage market. We discuss mortgage forbearance - how it affects your credit and why it's NOT a good idea to go into forbearance if you can still make your mortgage payments.  We also talk about mortgages - how to apply for a new loan or refinance, what lenders are looking for and how to get the best rate on your new loan. We'll also dive into comparison shopping and how to choose the right lender. Lending is tightening up, while rates are dropping. We chat with Seth about what that looks like for a qualified borrower - and how to decide if now is the right time to get a new loan. We also discuss different types of funding, primary loans, second home loans and investment properties. We also clarify what mortgage fraud is - and how that can affect you. While it may seem like no big deal, it's actually a very big deal. Seth even shares a mortgage checklist below. If you need more information about the mortgage process, this episode is a must l

Michael Kitces joins us today to talk about Early Retirement - and how the recent stock market movement affects the FIRE Community and the 4% rule. We spend a lot of time on the 4% rule - including this graph which illustrates what Michael discusses - basically, there is an ultra-high probability that you will come to the end of 30 years with MORE money than you started out with, and an extremely LOW chance you’ll spend it all. In fact, only one time does the retirement fund hit zero - and even that isn’t until year 31! Since the FIRE Movement is based on the 4% rule, we wanted to hear from Michael, the Research Nerd Supreme, what he feels about it. “...historical safe withdrawal rates aren’t based on historical averages. They’re based on historical worst case scenarios.” Yes, we’re seeing some pretty big movement in the market, and yes, it can make you think. This episode provides some pretty powerful reassurance that “every little thing, is gonna be all right.” If you are worrying about your financial futur

In this week’s episode, Scott & Mindy bring back four previous guests (and introduce a brand new–and future–guest) to talk about retirement, the stock market, and how this current environment is affecting their spending, saving and investing. Andy Hill last joined us for Episode 34 - and boy has his life changed! He left formal employment in January (and shares some surprising info about his income & investing prospects. Amy & Tim discuss their House Sitting & Travel Hacking plans, and how they are on hold during this unprecedented travel lockdown. Kristy & Bryce share how their Cash Cushion and Yield Shield strategy is working out (spoiler: just fine!) and how they are taking advantage of lower rates on AirBnB rentals to offset their now-postponed geographic arbitrage plans. The Mad Fientist is continuing to stay the course - but with a surprise revelation that he was a bit freaked out for a moment, too! And we introduce Doug Nordman from The Military Guide to our listeners, to hear his voice of reason and e

This Bonus Episode of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast is to help keep you informed of the Stimulus act that Congress is putting into place to help Americans with the Coronavirus and unprecedented shutdown of most of the economy. Joining Mindy today is Natalie Kolodij, who last appeared on Episode 112. Today’s episode was recorded on March 28, and we are fully expecting additional clarification and guidance from the federal government on these provisions.  Congress just passed a 2.2 TRILLION dollar bill to provide relief for Americans in the face of the Coronavirus. While the bill does provide for monetary help, there’s a lot of other benefits that may not be getting the same press.  OF COURSE we talk about the checks: How much, Who is eligible, When does it arrive? We also go a bit further and answer if it’s taxed, do you have to pay it back, is it a loan?  If you have a 401(k), IRA or even a Roth IRA, there are additional provisions for you to consider like extended loan limits and penalty-free distributions

Kyle Mast is a Certified Financial Planner, back for his third episode to answer YOUR questions about our current market conditions. We ask him the questions YOU had on your mind, including rebalancing your portfolio, staying the course, and trying to time the market. We take a deep dive into the retirement planning system, including weighing the benefits of Roth plans vs a traditional plans, and even discuss whether converting pre-tax retirement funds into post-tax funds during this down market is the right choice for you. While this episode focuses more on the state of the stock market, we do discuss real estate investing, and considerations for whether you should jump in or hold back. As always, consulting your own tax advisor and financial planner is advised, but Kyle brings up some very interesting ideas to take advantage of this down market.  In This Episode We Cover: What people should do on their asset allocation with the situation right now The best way to protect your net worth in this economy Ta

Today, Scott and Mindy discuss the biggest news story of the century: Coronavirus or COVID-19. This episode covers a wide range of topics both money and real estate -- with a guest spot from Brandon Turner, who answers the number one question on every real estate investor’s mind: What do I do if my tenant(s) can’t pay rent? You'll also learn what resources are available for people whose incomes have taken a hit, and get answers to questions such as: should I continue with the purchase of a property I have under contract, and should I continue to pay down debt or take advantage of this current market? These are scary times, and it can be easy to cut and run or throw out your carefully-laid plans in favor of an instinctive reaction. So now is a good time to detach, assess your options, and chart a course forward. If you have Coronavirus fears, you’re not alone. Scott, Mindy, and the entire BiggerPockets Money Community are here to help you weather this storm. In This Episode We Cover: How to invest from a posi

The stock market is up, then down, then down, then up. What is an investor to do? Today we bring JLCollins from JLCollinsNH.com back to the show to calm our fears and help us understand what is happening with the stock market. The market is falling. Or maybe today it’s rising. It’s SO VOLATILE, it can be scary to stay invested - especially if you’ve never been through a market downturn. JL expertly explains what’s going on - and his recommendations for the best course of action - based on 40 years of investing in the stock market (and making a boatload of mistakes along the way.) Long story short, stay the course. 105 years of historical stock market data says this too shall pass. While JL is an expert on the stock market, he doesn’t invest in real estate, so Scott and Mindy share their views about the real estate market and what this current stock market volatility might mean for real estate investors. They also share ways to hedge your bets in rental property investing through fully funded reserves. If you’

Felipe Mejia’s relationship with money started at an early age - when his parents divorced and his world turned upside down. His mother introduced him to the power of real estate by fixing up the basement and renting it out to generate income. His mother further influenced his money story by creating her own cleaning company and introducing Felipe to a client who hired Felipe to clean up his job sites. Felipe put his own spin on that by hiring the work out for a slightly lower rate than he was getting. Real estate became Felipe’s main source of income, generating enough that he does not have to work a traditional job any longer. Felipe Mejia, along with Ashley Kehr from Episode 114 are the hosts of BiggerPockets newest Podcast, Real Estate Rookie. Together, they share stories of real estate successes - as well as encouragement to get started investing in real estate. The Real Estate Rookie show is for anyone interested in investing in real estate - and needs a little encouragement. The Real Estate Rookie Podc

Ashley Kehr married a dairy farmer. With a dairy farm comes farm equipment. And with farm equipment comes farm equipment loans—to the tune of around $169,000. Three years ago, she read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and it CHANGED. HER. LIFE. Ashley knew she needed to get rid of their debt, but her husband wasn’t totally on board with the plan. So she tackled her student loan debt first—and proved to her husband that this was the right financial plan for their family. She quit the job she didn’t like and transitioned into property management, which introduced her to her current love of real estate. Real estate started providing a very generous income stream to help supplement her family’s income. When she didn’t have her own money to invest, she partnered with someone who did. When she didn’t have experience to do the project at hand, she partnered with someone who did. Ashley’s story is a delight to listen to. She walks us step by step through the process she took to find these partners, find these pro

This week we sit down with Bianca DiValerio, a flight attendant who makes an hourly wage, has no college degree, experienced THREE short sales during the economic downturn, and yet is STILL financially independent—all before turning 40. How did she do it? She saved her money. She didn’t spend it on things that didn’t matter to her. There is literally NO secret sauce to her story. In fact, she thought she had her future planned out! She had purchased three rental properties to provide a stream of passive income—only to lose them to short sale when unexpected special assessments of $5,000 each became too much for her to afford. And yet, she saved her money. She didn’t spend it on things that didn’t matter to her. And she dug herself out of the financial hole that the short sale pushed her into. She pulled herself back up and started her nest egg over, saving enough to pay cash for a unit in the same building, so she’d never lose her home again. She’s turned that into a rental, lives in a caboose five months out

Natalie Kolodij is a tax strategist. (You’ve probably seen her in the forums!) With April 15 looming around the corner, we’re going to chat about ways to choose the RIGHT tax professional who can best serve YOUR specific needs. Natalie also shares a few red flags about potential tax preparers, as well as specific things your tax pro should be asking for—and what it means if they do not. She’ll also share some common missed deductions that can cost you BIG and how to prepare and organize your documents so your tax pro can process your returns quickly, efficiently, and with the least amount of time billed to you. Looking for that seemingly-elusive real estate professional status? Natalie explains in detail how to qualify for this lucrative benefit. She even shares how long you can depreciate a kangaroo! If you’re a taxpayer, this show can help you save time and money. If you’re a real estate investor/taxpayer, you can’t afford NOT to listen to Natalie’s advice! In This Episode We Cover: The right time for some

On episode 110, we interviewed A Purple Life. As she was sharing her story of financial independence, she casually mentioned that her mother didn’t start investing until later in life, and STILL managed to retire at age 55! So this week, we’re talking to her mother - who has her own amazing story of early retirement which she was able to accomplish even though she didn’t START investing until she was 40! Momma Purple shares her pragmatic approach to money in general - buying what you need, trying to make repairs instead of buying something new, sticking to a budget and banking bonuses instead of spending them. Momma Purple is also a big advocate for having multiple, passive income streams like rental properties and a pension. Hear her story of weathering TWO market crashes during her investing journey, taking immediate action when she discovered her money was in the wrong investment, and how fabulous her life is now, after retirement. In This Episode We Cover: Momma Purple's journey with money Her life look

Purple graduated from college and got a job in New York City making $35,000 a year. And spending $35,000 a year. Her net worth was a whopping $5,000. Her partner shared the concept of financial independence with her, but she wasn’t interested. Two years later, her net worth had grown considerably, but she was still not tracking her spending or paying attention to much of her finances. So, she took a good look at her money situation and discovered that there were places she could make cuts—yet not really feel them. She moved across the country, she changed jobs, she asked for raises. And she saved and invested her money. And her net worth grew to the point that she is retiring before the end of the year and traveling the world—all because she looked at her financial situation and said, “I can do better than that!” Listen in to hear just how she increased her income and decreased her spending to craft the life she wanted! In This Episode We Cover: Purple's journey with money Her mom's gift Deciding to seek

This week, we sit down and talk with Airman Mildollar, from Military Dollar. (Spoiler Alert: Despite the name, Airman Mildollar is a woman!) Airman Mildollar shares her story of college debt, car loans and rapid payoff to start building her wealth to become financially free, despite not being married, having kids or working in tech. In fact, she’s an officer in the Air Force. She shares her systematic goal setting and goal reaching strategy that allowed her to pay off her debt ahead of schedule - including stretching her military benefits to cover more than just food or housing. She started reading finance blogs and books and starting putting money away. Moving in with a friend reduced her rent payment, and she began investing in a Roth IRA, opened up a TSP (Military version of a 401k) and also invested in individual stocks in after-tax accounts, saving about 20% of her pay. Every time she received a raise, she committed to put at least 50% of that raise into her investments. In 2011, she bought a rental hous

Kristi Tanner Smith considers herself privileged—she was an only child in a big house with lots of toys. But Kristi’s mom was diagnosed with a fatal disease and given six months to live when Kristi was five. While her mom did beat that estimate, she ultimately lost her battle when Kristi was 12. During her mom's final years, she tried to teach Kristi about money: "Save up and pay cash for purchases. Be responsible with your finances." Her father was the opposite. So Kristi was able to see both sides of the coin and recognize that being responsible was the better way to go. Kristi lost her father to a freak accident in 10th grade, and she used the insurance settlement to pay for college, where she studied Criminal Justice. Kristi’s husband worked at Nike; they paid for his entire college tuition once he went full-time with the company. (Pro tip: If you need your college tuition paid for, look for a company that offers tuition reimbursement!) After college, she took a job in the Probation Office. She didn’t lik

Financial Panther (Kevin) went to law school, graduated from law school, and took a job as an attorney. Attorneys make a lot of money, right? So, with all this income potential, why is he doing side hustles that pay him significantly less? Happiness. Being an attorney didn’t make Kevin happy. In fact, it made him decidedly unhappy. He changed jobs several times but in the end decided being a lawyer simply wasn’t for him. So, he left the field to pursue fun things that he liked doing. Kevin loves to be outside. He lives near a university in a large city. He loves dogs. Put that all into a shaker, and out comes Kevin 2.0. Kevin 2.0 takes dogs for walks during lunchtime. He gets out of his downtown office (he makes himself go to a co-working space so he accomplishes things every day) and delivers meals to office workers who can’t get away. Kevin walks dogs around the downtown area for their owners who can’t get away at lunchtime to take them out. Kevin charges scooters overnight, and on his way home, he delivers

Megan Gorman started learning about money very early – at age 5 she begged her parents for a Little House on the Prairie Dress. Her parents said we’re not buying it for you, but you can save up for it yourself. 18 months later, she was the proud owner of a new dress – and a bonus bonnet from her parents who were so proud of her for saving up and being so determined. Fast forward to high school, and she got a job at a vacation resort during the summer high season. Her father made it clear she was to save some of her earnings to contribute to her college tuition, and she was able to save $5,000 a summer. Her experiences with money were empowering up through college, but she ended up with credit card debt and eventually had to negotiate with the banks on a payoff. She took a year off between college and law school, choosing a state law school to keep her costs low. Megan graduated from law school, got a job, and had to navigate adulting – getting an apartment, buying a work wardrobe, starting her adult life on v

Jen Hemphill was born in Colombia and lived there for the first eight years of her life. The economy was really bad, and her earliest memories were of a scary time when her educated father did whatever he had to do to make money. Her redheaded dad stood out in Colombia, and it wasn’t a safe place for him to be. So, they moved to the U.S. Jen remembers being embarrassed for not having money, knowing her friends had it. She attended the same college where her mother was a professor. Discounted tuition coupled with scholarships and a bit of parental help allowed her to graduate with no debt. She bought a car, paid it off quickly, and felt very proud of herself for doing so. Then, she met and married her husband. They took 15 years to pay off his $40,000 in student loan debt. She thought they were doing great, but a deeper look at their finances about 10 years in revealed a huge mess. Thinking back to her childhood, she realized she needed to make big changes in order to get ahead. Her family went on a budget, cu

Lauren and Steven met in high school and attended the same college. After undergrad, Steven was accepted into the Ph.D. program at UC Irvine. During the first year, he decided he didn’t really want a Ph.D. in Physics, but he really enjoyed working with students. They moved back to Florida so Steven could get his master’s in Education, while Lauren worked her first “real” job. But after two years, they were burned out from working full-time. After learning about financial independence and achieving an incredible savings rate—to the tune of $100K in two years—they decided to take a break. Their “break” was a six-month trip to Hawaii, paid for up front by their big savings account—but repaid by a series of side hustles in Hawaii. While most people spend lavishly to go on a tropical vacation for one week, they ended up $1,000 positive while spending six months there. Re-energized, they returned to Florida for a full-time job for Lauren and a continuing tutoring job for Steven—making more money than before they le

J Money wasn’t necessarily BAD with money, but his first home purchase - made because everyone else was doing it - prompted him to seek out advice about money. He stumbled upon the blogging world and was enthralled with the transparency. Here were real people talking about real issues they were facing - similar to what he was going through himself. He started his own blog called BudgetsAreSexy, and soon was approached by someone who wanted to buy an ad on the site. A new source of income generation! His blog success brought attention from national news sites, and traffic grew exponentially once they started sharing his articles. But as traffic grew, so did his time commitment.  As he became more entrenched in the blogging space, he discovered that people buy and sell blogs - so he started flipping web sites. Another source of income generation. When it came time to choose between his full time job and his side hustle, he discovered the decision was made for him when he was called into his manager’s office and