PoFU Podcast

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.