I’ve always been a car guy. It’s not that I’m mechanically inclined or that I get into the latest makes and models — neither of these is anywhere close to the truth — but that a car has always been my primary mode of transportation.
When I was a boy, my family lived in rural Oregon, six miles from the nearest town. Automobiles were our only real option for getting around. Even when I went away to college, I relied on a car for most of my mobility. And so it’s been for forty years. As I say, I’ve always been a car guy.
This summer, though, I’ve had a sort of epiphany, one prompted by your comments and suggestions. I’ve learned that I can save money and improve my fitness by leaving my car at home — by exploring alternate modes of transportation.
The Bus
After my small adventure riding the bus in April, I’ve begun to view it as a valid means for getting around town. I think it helps that our friends Chris and Jolie are huge bus advocates, and use it to travel to and from our house. If they can use the bus, so can I — right? Now, instead of seeing the bus as something other people use, I know it’s something that I can use as well.
For example, I’m hoping to take a French class at a local college when the fall term starts. (Kris and I are teaching ourselves French in preparation for our planned vacation to Paris next autumn.) If I do this, I intend to take the bus to school three mornings a week.
I still don’t use the bus often, but it’s now in my pool of options, especially if I don’t want to hassle with a car. Portland’s transit system has an awesome website, so it’s easy to find a route that works for me.
The Bike
I love cycling, but I rarely hop on a bike anymore. For a couple of years during the late 1990s, I regularly rode my bike 5.8 miles to-and-from the box factory during the summer. I was biking over 1000 miles a year. I’ve biked occasionally here at our new house, but I’m older and fatter than I used to be, and my bike no longer really fits me.
I spent the better part of this summer avoiding a bike purchase — I just bought a car, for goodness sake — but two weeks ago, I finally realized that I was being foolish. I bought a city bike, one that actually fits, one that I actually use. Even though I could afford it, I felt apprehensive spending the money. (Still haven’t shaken all of the old mindsets.) But after a fortnight using my new vehicle, I’m pleased with the purchase.
A bicycle is handy not only for exercise, but also for handling middle-distance errands. If a destination is within 10-15 miles and it’s not raining (an important consideration here in Oregon), a bike is a viable option. Biking to my friend Andrew’s house takes about 25 minutes, for example; that’s only 10 minutes longer than it takes by car. And biking to the nearest grocery store barely takes any time at all.
Now that I have a bike that fits me — and one specifically designed for city cycling — I’m eager to make frequent use of it. It’s been over a decade since I had a 1000-mile year. It’d be great to ride that far again in 2010!
My Feet
The bus and the bike are great, but the real revelation in alternate transportation this summer has come from my own two feet. I’ve been walking all over the place.
Kris and I don’t live in a very walkable neighborhood. Despite a “somewhat walkable” Walk Score of 68, there’s nothing much close by. (In calculating walkability for us, the Walk Score counts two minimarts as grocery stores and two bars as restaurants — including one with the dubious distinction of being named “the best dive bar in Portland”.)
After I developed another running injury in June, I decided that I’d have to get my exercise by walking. That meant jaunting five or six miles each day to get the same time on my feet that I’d spent running. It also meant learning to see the surrounding communities in new ways.
For example, I’ve always felt that the nearest city was too far to walk to. It’s 2-1/2 miles to the near side of town and three miles to the far side. But I recently made a deal with myself: Once per week, I allow myself to go to the comic book store and to eat at the cheap taco place — but only if I walk. Walking creates a barrier. By setting this requirement, I can’t just indulge myself on a whim.
It’s not just the comic book store and the taco stand, though. I walk three miles to the credit union. I walk a mile-and-a-half to the public library. I walk a mile to the grocery store. And once, I even walked two miles to the lawnmower repair shop, and then pushed my mower home.
I never thought I could make the time to walk five miles per day, but I was wrong.
And here’s something I’ve learned: Once you start walking five miles a day, your world gets bigger. I know this seems counter-intuitive — a car takes you further faster — but it’s true. You begin to realize that things are closer than you thought they were. Walking is a great way to save money, see your neighborhood, and have fun.
Other Options
Although I may be new convert to alternate modes of transportation, many GRS readers have been working to reduce their car use for a long time, and for a variety of reasons. On Twitter last week, I asked people to share their stories:
Here are some of the replies:
@apricotrabbit wrote: “Between the bus & Zipcar, I don’t need a car in the city & I save tons of money. Plus, I can read while someone drives me around.”
@mrawdon wrote: “I’ve been biking to work twice a week this summer, for the exercise. Cuts down on gas consumption significantly, too.”
@grouchyladybug wrote: “i take the train & bus to work b/c it’s cheaper & more relaxing than driving”
@sarahperiwinkle wrote: “I take the commuter rail b/c its free with employer transit pass, w/in walking distance of home and work, and as fast as car.”
@jessemecham wrote: “is a sweet scooter alternate transportation? 70 mpg and I look good. (Yes, it was partially to save gas).”
It’s important to note that not everyone likes biking or taking the bus. I heard from some people who wish they could use a car more often, or who opt not to use other methods because they’re inconvenient.
Conclusion
Not all Americans have the luxury of being able to explore alternate means of transportation. For good or ill, we’re a car-centric nation that has built car-centric cities that encourage us to stay in our automobiles. But I suspect that there are a large number of people who could travel by bus, bike, or feet — if they only realized how easy it is. (That was certainly true in my case, anyhow.)
For some people, time is an issue, but I have intentionally created a lifestyle that allows me an opportunity to explore more leisurely modes of transportation.
All of this is well and good during the warm, dry months. But what happens when the Oregon rain returns in mid-October? I’m not sure. I suspect my bicycle will go into hibernation, I’ll only walk a couple of times each week, and I’ll really get to learn how Portland’s bus system works. And my spending on gas and car maintenance will continue to drop.
Walking photo by The Giant Vermin. Bus photo by Jason McHuff, who appears to be something of a bus fanatic.
Ventura, California, offers a distinctive mix of sun-soaked lifestyle and cultural depth that enthralls locals and beckons newcomers. If you’re considering a move, you’ll discover a variety of apartments for rent and homes for sale in Ventura that cater to diverse preferences, from beachfront properties to downtown living.
But living in Ventura is more than finding the right home–it’s about immersing yourself in a community rich with unique experiences and vibrant local culture. Whether you’re a long-time resident or weighing a move, this Redfin article will help you discover the best and most unique things to do in Ventura.
1. Foster Park
Ventura, California, boasts an array of outdoor sights–from beaches to parks to mountainous hikes, there’s something for everyone. Daniele Rose of Daniele Rose Photography recommends checking out Forster Park. “The park is tucked back in a peaceful canyon and feels like a serene getaway from the city,” says Rose. “It has beautiful walking trails, a winding bike path, large grassy areas with picnic tables, and a creek with a swimming hole that only locals know about.” As the weather begins to cool and the big, leafy trees turn yellowish-orange in the fall, Rose suggests an East Coast vibe is established in the West.
2. Ventura Botanical Gardens
If flowers, plants, and other vegetation excite you, check out the Ventura Botanical Gardens. “The gardens are colored with clarkia, lupine, poppies, cistanthe grandiflora, and many other flowers and fragrances,” says Barbara Brown, with media and marketing for the Ventura Botanical Gardens. After a rainy few months in Southern California, Brow invites you to experience the spectacular super blooms while the sun beams down, offering 360° views of the Channel Islands, the patchwork of verdant agricultural fields, the Topa Topa mountain range, and of course, the historic downtown Ventura.
3. Murphy Auto Museum
Another unique thing to do in Ventura and a must-visit for motor enthusiasts is the Murphy Auto Museum. David, Docent at the Murphy Auto Museum, shares that their collection features “over 40 vintage and antique automobiles, a huge working model railroad with detailed buildings and landscaping, a collection of Americana and automotive memorabilia, and art.” After endlessly exploring the exhibits, unwind at the attached Tiki Lounge.
4. Pizza Chef
Of course, a list of hidden gems would only be complete with a recommendation for foodies. Lauren Howe with Rincon Property Management suggests Pizza Chief. “This small, family-owned pizzeria has been serving up delicious pizza and pasta for over 40 years,” says Howe “They use fresh and locally sourced ingredients in a cozy and inviting atmosphere.”
5. Edenic Smoothies
Should you find yourself in the mood for something a little lighter, Alexandra Lilly of Alexandra Lilly Interiors suggests Edenic Smoothies. “They have the best smoothies in town as well as amazing sandwiches,” says Lilly. Should you find yourself lost in their menu, Lilly recommends the Dawn Patrol Smoothie, which combines vanilla protein, peanut butter, banana, dates, hemp, flax, and almond milk.
6. Ventura Pottery Gallery
In the market for one-of-a-kind ceramics? Look no further than Ventura Pottery Gallery. “The artists themselves run the gallery, offering customers the unique opportunity to purchase handmade pieces directly from the creators,” says studio owner Ellen Wohlstadter. At Ventura Pottery Gallery you can discover anything from souvenirs to kitchen items and memorable wedding gifts. The gallery is a true haven for art lovers seeking exquisite, handcrafted treasures.
There are numerous types of stocks, categorized by company characteristics, size, region, sector, and more. Equipped with an understanding of different stock types, an investor can start building a diversified portfolio. Though all stocks can experience volatility and potentially lose value, holding a mix of different types of shares can mitigate the risk of being too heavily invested in any one category.
An Overview Of Stocks
A stock represents a percentage of ownership in a publicly traded company. So essentially, investors can own small pieces or “shares” of companies.
Generating returns via the stock market can usually happen in one of two ways. First, the value of the stock can increase over time, something known as capital appreciation. The second is through dividend payments, where companies make cash payouts periodically to all owners of that company’s stock. Some people make investments based on a company’s ability to pay consistent dividends, or “income.” Utility and telephone companies often fit into this bucket.
When you own a stock, you hold equity (or ownership) in that company. That’s why stocks are sometimes referred to as equities. Each individual share represents an equal proportion of ownership. Owners of stocks are often referred to as stockholders or shareholders.
Stock Classifications
Here are some of the ways different stocks are categorized:
Common stock represents shares of ownership in a corporation. When an investor receives common shares, they are typically also granted voting rights to the company and can participate in shareholder voting processes — usually one vote for each share.
Preferred stocks make regular dividend payments, but holders of preferred shares often have zero or limited voting rights. If a company becomes financially insolvent however, preferred stockholders have a claim on assets before common shareholders do.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) group multiple securities into a single share. For instance, a stock ETF will hold numerous companies, while a bond ETF can hold many individual bonds, whether it’s a collection of Treasurys or high-yield debt. ETFs are popular because of the cheap, instant diversification they offer.
Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) is the process of a private company listing and debuting on a public stock exchange. Investors can buy IPO shares on their first day of trading.
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are shell companies that go public on the stock exchange, and then try to find a private operating business to purchase.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are companies that own and operate real estate, usually focusing on one type of property, such as warehouses, hotels or office buildings. There are pros & cons to investing in REITs. For example, one pro is that they tend to pay consistent dividends. Cons include sensitivity to interest rates, and taxed dividends.
Different Market-Caps
The sizes of stocks are classified by the market capitalization of the company’s publicly traded stock. Market cap is calculated by multiplying the stock price by the total number of outstanding shares.
Generally speaking, larger companies tend to be older, more established, and have greater international exposure — so a higher percentage of a large-cap company’s revenue comes from overseas. Meanwhile, smaller-cap stocks tend to be newer, less established and more domestically oriented. Smaller-cap companies can be riskier but also offer more growth potential.
While the market-caps that determine which companies are small or large can shift, here’s a breakdown that gives some rough parameters.
Micro-Cap: $50 million to $300 million
Small-Cap: $300 million to $2 billion
Mid-Cap: $2 billion to $10 billion
Large-Cap: $10 billion or higher
Mega-Cap: $200 billion or higher
Stock Style Categories
Stocks are also sometimes classified by styles of investing. These categories often have to do with how that company makes money and how the stock is valued. You may often hear this associated when discussing value vs growth stocks.
Value stocks are stocks that are considered to be trading below their actual worth. Investors hope that by buying companies that are priced below their “true” value, they can profit as the gap narrows over time.
Growth stocks are companies that are growing at a fast pace or those that are expected to continue growing at a faster rate than other stocks or competitors. Investors can encounter higher valuations in growth investing.
Stocks By Sector
Additionally, stocks are often grouped by the industry that that company works within. According to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), there are 11 recognized sectors, with numerous industries within those sectors. They include (but are not limited to):
Energy: Energy equipment and services, oil, gas, and consumable fuels
Materials: Chemicals, construction materials, containers and packaging, metals and mining
Industrials: Aerospace and defense, building products, machinery, construction and engineering, electrical equipment, industrial conglomerates
Health Care: Health care equipment and services, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences
Financials: Banks, insurance, consumer finance, capital markets, financial services
Information Technology: IT services, software, communications equipment
Communication Services: Diversified telecommunication services, media, entertainment
Utilities: Electric utilities, gas utilities, water utilities, independent power and renewable electricity producers
Real Estate: Real estate management and development, various REITs (retail, residential, office, etc.)
Stocks by Country
Different overseas stocks can be classified by the country or region in which they’re headquartered, even if the company’s operations are global. Individuals looking to invest in international stocks have found that they can do so easily with ETFs, which hold numerous foreign companies within a single share.
Regions that are commonly used in the world of stock investing are:
EAFE is an acronym which stands for Europe, Australasia, and the Far East. Investors may see this used when making investment choices, as the MSCI EAFE is a common index used for international stock funds. These countries are all “developed” nations, which means they have established financial markets, stable political climates, and mature economies.
Emerging-market stocks, which stocks with companies based out of countries whose economies are described as developing. Brazil, Russia, Mexico, China, and India are just a few emerging markets. Emerging markets may be riskier to invest in but may pose an opportunity for high rates of growth.
The Takeaway
There are numerous types of stocks on the market, and it can be important for investors to understand the differences between them. The stock market can be volatile and prone to dramatic declines, but in order to shield themselves from the risks, investors often create diversified portfolios by stocking their holdings through various different stock types.
Diversification is easier to do if an investor understands the different types of stocks that exist in the U.S. equity market. From mega-cap stocks to ETFs to emerging-market companies, there are a myriad of investing opportunities in the equity market.
Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an Active Invest account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).
For a limited time, opening and funding an account gives you the opportunity to win up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.
SoFi Invest® The information provided is not meant to provide investment or financial advice. Also, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment decisions should be based on an individual’s specific financial needs, goals, and risk profile. SoFi can’t guarantee future financial performance. Advisory services offered through SoFi Wealth, LLC. SoFi Securities, LLC, member FINRA / SIPC . SoFi Invest refers to the three investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below. 1) Automated Investing—The Automated Investing platform is owned by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor (“Sofi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC, an affiliated SEC registered broker dealer and member FINRA/SIPC, (“Sofi Securities).
2) Active Investing—The Active Investing platform is owned by SoFi Securities LLC. Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.
3) Cryptocurrency is offered by SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, a FinCEN registered Money Service Business.
For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above, including state licensure of Sofi Digital Assets, LLC, please visit www.sofi.com/legal.
Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform. Information related to lending products contained herein should not be construed as an offer or prequalification for any loan product offered by SoFi Bank, N.A.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
Investment Risk: Diversification can help reduce some investment risk. It cannot guarantee profit, or fully protect in a down market.
Claw Promotion: Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $10 within 30 days of opening the account. Probability of customer receiving $1,000 is 0.028%. See full terms and conditions.
Playing the long game in real estate will set you up for long-term success. On today’s podcast with Elliot Hoyte, we discuss the lessons Elliot learned as he scaled his business. Discover why you must start planting seeds and nurturing leads now in order to hit your growth goals later. Elliot also shares how to find the right hires for a team, why he decided to found his own brokerage, and more.
Listen to today’s show and learn:
Elliot’s transition from solo agent to team leader [3:06]
Why mindset matters [5:16]
Tailoring your real estate business to suit your strengths [8:19]
Generating organic business and the next steps to scale [9:43]
How Elliot sets his business apart [12:57]
Why Elliot decided to start his own brokerage [14:52]
Elliot’s predictions for the Boise real estate market [17:52]
The first Real Estate Rockstars mastermind event [21:29]
Elliot’s thoughts on Austin, Texas [24:34]
Tips on finding the right people for your team [28:25]
Aaron’s experience with cryotherapy [32:06]
Elliot’s biggest goals for 2022 [35:00]
Experimenting with Facebook advertising [37:27]
Words of wisdom for new real estate agents [39:00]
Professional courtesies in real estate [42:34]
Why Idaho is a great state to live in right now [44:40]
Where to follow Elliot Hoyte [47:20]
Elliot Hoyte
Elliot Hoyte is originally from England and moved to Boise in 2012. His passion for the community and commitment to helping others led him here to Amherst Madison. Elliot is a graduate of Boise State University, where he excelled in the classroom and earned a degree in Organizational and Relational Communication. Elliot also made a name for himself on the football field as a championship winning defensive lineman. Prior to joining Amherst Madison, Elliot was an acclaimed Porsche Brand Ambassador, ranked as a top 15 product presenter in North America. This experience gave him a unique understanding of what it takes to deliver an exceptional and personal client experience. Elliot decided to call Boise home where he lives in the Depot Bench area with his beautiful wife, Aspen. As an Englishman, he is naturally a big soccer and rugby fan. However, Elliot’s biggest passion is for automobiles and racing. When he’s not working for you, expect to catch him at the local autocross track or fixing up a project car. Ultimately, Elliot’s passion for real estate, coupled with an unrivaled work ethic and tenacious attitude make him a reliable choice. Elliot understands your high expectations and he will stop at nothing to help you achieve your goals with class, integrity, and professional excellence.
Related Links and Resources:
Thank You Rockstars! It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email. -Aaron Amuchastegui
Between the actual Cars movies, and classic movies that feature memorable cars, there are lots of sweet rides we’d like to own ourselves. Here are the top 13 cars we’ve loved from movies throughout the last few decades!
1. KITT
The KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) was an iconic car in the Knight Rider series. It is a modified 1982 Pontiac Trans Am. Michael Scheffe, a customizer, created KITT. George Barris conceptualized and produced the KITTs for the convertible and super-pursuit missions.
One person said, “This is the correct answer, Michael.”
2. DeLorean, from Back to the Future
In the film Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly traveled through time in the DeLorean, one of the most well-known automobiles in cinematic history—the DeLorean sports coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers for its four independent wheels. The front suspension also uses double wishbones, while the rear is a multi-link design. Overall, the design is very attractive to car enthusiasts.
3. General Lee, from Dukes of Hazard
The Dukes of Hazzard’s car, also known as the “General Lee,” is a 1969 Dodge Charger prominently featured in the television series “The Dukes of Hazzard,” aired from 1979 to 1985. The car is easily recognizable due to its bright orange paint job with a Confederate flag emblem on the roof, as well as its signature horn that plays the first 12 notes of the song “Dixie.”
One person said, “Dukes of Hazzard’s car. I remember that car from my childhood.”
4. Herbie, from The Love Bug
The Herbie car is a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle that was featured in several movies, including the 1968 film “The Love Bug” and its sequels. Herbie is a sentient car with a mind of its own and the ability to drive itself. The car is white with red, white, and blue racing stripes and features the number “53” on its doors and hood. In the movies, Herbie often competes in races and outsmarts its human drivers. The car became a beloved character and cultural icon, inspiring a generation of car enthusiasts and spawning merchandise such as toy cars and clothing.
5. Aston Martin DB5, from Goldfinger
The Aston Martin car brand has been featured in many James Bond movies, starting with the 1964 film “Goldfinger.” In the movies, Bond drives various models of Aston Martin cars, which are typically equipped with various gadgets and weapons, such as machine guns, missile launchers, and ejector seats. With the car’s features, it’s no wonder why many people find it appealing!
6. Bean’s Car, from Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean’s car is a 1976 British Leyland Mini 1000 Mark 4, which is a small and compact car. The car is a major part of the character’s antics in the British sitcom “Mr. Bean,” which aired from 1990 to 1995. The car is light green with a black hood and a yellow registration plate reading “SLW 287R.”
7. Batmobile, from Batman
The Batmobile is a car featured in many Batman movies, TV shows, and comics. The car is made to look like Batman, who is a powerful, mysterious, and dark vigilante. The design of the Batmobile has evolved over the years, but it typically features advanced technology and weaponry, such as grappling hooks, missiles, and even a jet engine.
8. Greased Lightning, from Grease
The Grease Lightning car is a 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible that was featured in the 1978 musical film “Grease.” The car was originally owned by Kenickie, a member of the T-Birds gang, but it eventually becomes the main focus of the gang’s attention when they decide to fix it up and turn it into a racing car. The car is customized with various features, such as a flame paint job, a hood scoop, and a set of whitewall tires.
9. The Mystery Machine, from Scooby-Doo
The Mystery Machine is a van that has been featured in various iterations of the animated TV series “Scooby-Doo.” The van is primarily used by the main characters, including Scooby-Doo and his human companions, as they travel to different locations to investigate paranormal mysteries. The van is often depicted as being brightly colored with a psychedelic paint job and featuring the words “Mystery Machine” written on the side in bold letters.
10. Frank Bullitt’s car, from Bullitt
The car featured in the 1968 film “Bullitt” starring Steve McQueen is a 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback. The car is known for its high-speed chase scene through the streets of San Francisco, which has become one of the most iconic car chase scenes in cinematic history. The car was driven by McQueen’s character, Frank Bullitt, a tough and determined police detective who is tasked with protecting a key witness in a high-profile case.
One person stated, “My dream car. Some day I’ll have one.”
11. Jim Rockford’s car, from The Rockford Files
The car driven by Jim Rockford in the TV series “The Rockford Files” is a gold-colored 1974 Pontiac Firebird Esprit. The car is often seen in the show’s opening credits, as Rockford drives along the California coastline, and is a defining characteristic of the character. The car is not only stylish but also functional, as Rockford uses it in his job as a private investigator to chase down leads and tail suspects.
12. Lightning McQueen, from Cars
Lightning McQueen is a character in the Disney-Pixar animated movie “Cars.” He is a red race car that is inspired by real-life NASCAR racing cars, with a sleek and aerodynamic design. In the first “Cars” film, Lightning is a cocky and ambitious rookie racer who dreams of winning the Piston Cup championship.
13. Sam and Dean Winchester’s Car, from Supernatural
The Chevy Impala is a black 1967 model that has become a defining characteristic of the TV series “Supernatural.” The car is owned by the main characters, Sam and Dean Winchester, who use it as their primary mode of transportation as they travel across the country fighting supernatural creatures. The Impala features a powerful V8 engine and a distinctive, muscular design with a sleek black finish. The car has also been customized with various features, including a hidden compartment in the trunk to store weapons and a Kansas license plate with the number “KAZ 2Y5.”
View the original Reddit thread here.
Here are 10 of The Most Beautiful Songs People Have Ever Heard
What’s your favorite song of all time? Check out this article with ten of people’s favorite songs of all time.
10 Movies People Said were Awful that are Actually Great
Have you ever been warned away from a terrible movie only to discover that you really love it? Check out this list of movies people said were terrible, but turned out to be fantastic!
10 Actors People Never Believed would Become as Big as they Did
Have you ever been surprised at an actor or actress’s success? Us too: check out this article of celebrities we never thought would get this popular.
10 Celebrities People Automatically Assume will make a Movie Great
Who’s your favorite celebrity? Would you watch anything they’re cast in? Check out this compilation of Redditors’ favorite actors!
10 Best One-Note Actors of All Time
Can you think of any actors or actresses who were great, and then weren’t? Here’s our top list of one-hit wonders, all in one place!
There’s a divide in the world of personal finance. On one side are the folks who offer advice for scrimping and saving your way to financial success. On the other are the experts who scoff at frugality and champion big wins. I think there’s a place for both.
From my perspective, it’s important to do the small stuff — clipping coupons, conserving electricity — because doing so builds good habits. And, of course, many small actions combine to yield big rewards in the long term. (Plus there’s the fact that a frugal lifestyle costs less to support, which means you can reach financial independence all the sooner!)
On the other hand, the “big wins” camp has a valid point. Too many people focus exclusively on the small stuff because it’s easy to do and doesn’t require any real sacrifice. Yet you improve your monthly cash flow by hundreds of dollars by achieving a single big win, which is likely to be more than you save on all of the thrifty things you do combined.
Big Wins vs. Pyrrhic Victories
The way I see it, there are four types of things you can do to reduce your expenses or boost your income.
Difficult (or time-consuming) things that provide small pay-offs. These pyrrhic victories include things like going door-to-door to collect old newspapers in order to earn money or making your own laundry detergent.
Easy (or quick) things that provide small pay-offs. Because there are so many of these opportunities, they’re the bread and butter of personal finance. They’re the daily victories with which we’re all familiar. On the income side, they include working overtime and participating in research studies. Small, quick ways to reduce spending include clipping coupons, buying clothes at thrift stores, and making use of the public library.
Difficult (or time-consuming) things that provide big pay-offs. Some tasks, such as moving to a cheaper home in a cheaper city, can provide huge rewards, but they take a lot of time and effort to accomplish. These are ongoing projects, and might include selling all of the stuff you’ve collected in your attic or garage. (An example of this is me selling my comic books last year.)
Easy (or quick) things that provide big pay-offs. Here’s where you should spend most of your time: Working toward big wins. These include negotiating your salary (which takes minutes, but pays off for decades to come) and reducing your transportation costs (which you can do in a matter of days).
Here’s a diagram to provide a visual representation of what I’m describing:
Some actions provide bigger payoffs than others. And some are easier than others.
Note: For convenience, I’m saying that the things we do fall into one of these four quadrants. In reality, all of this exists on a continuum. Some of the easy actions are easier than others. And each of us will obtain slightly different results.
As you can see, big wins are the best way to improve your financial situation. They’re easy (or quick) to achieve, but provide big rewards. If you want to improve your financial situation, start with these.
How to Achieve Big Wins
Here are some examples of common ways to achieve big wins that will dramatically improve your cash flow:
Housing
Housing is the biggest expense for most Americans — and by a wide margin. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES), the typical American household spends 32.8 percent of its income on housing, which includes mortgage (or rent), maintenance, insurance, interest, and utilities.
In an ideal world, you’d slash your housing expense by buying an affordable home in a city with a low cost of living. But while that would provide a huge financial reward, it’s not exactly easy, which means it doesn’t qualify as a “big win” in my world. But there are easier ways to reduce your living expenses.
The biggest (and, admittedly, most difficult) is to move within your current city. Sell your home (or move out of your rental) and choose something more affordable. Think about it: If you’re an average American who spends slightly more than $50,000 per year, $1,408 is going to housing every month. Drop that by 10 percent, and you’ll save almost $150 per month. Drop it by 30 percent, and you’ll save more than $5,000 per year!
Transportation
Transportation is our second-largest expense. We spend an average of $750 per month (17.5 percent of the typical budget) to get around, including vehicle payments, gasoline, insurance, and repairs. I know Americans love their automobiles. They’re loath to let go of them, even in the face of logic. But imagine how much you could save if you could cut your car costs in half! How do you do that?
Sell your current car. Replace it with a used vehicle, one that’s fuel efficient. (Side benefit: An older, used vehicle will cost less to insure!)
Drive your car only when necessary. When possible, bike or walk to reach your destination. (Side benefit: Increased fitness, which also saves you money!)
Make use of public transportation. (Side benefit: Time to read!)
Usually when I recommend people make changes to the way they get around, I’m met with a wall of objections. No worries. I’m used to it. But let me suggest that instead of looking for reasons you can’t do this that you instead look for ways you can. You’ll save yourself buckets of money.
Other expenses
Together, housing and transportation consume half of the average American’s budget. There are enormous opportunities to save if you choose to economize on these two categories. But there are dozens of ways to achieve big wins in other areas too.
The CES reveals that the typical household spent $1,736 on clothing in 2012, $3,556 on health care, $2,605 on entertainment, and $6,599 on food (which doesn’t include the $783 that went toward alcohol and tobacco).
Because each of us is different and we spend in different ways, opportunities for big wins vary from person to person. For example, after tracking my spending for the last half of 2013, I realized that I was spending way too much on travel. This year, I hope to cut my travel costs in half. Doing so would allow me to save money toward other goals, such as, guitar lessons.
Examine your own spending. Where do you have the most room to cut back? How can you do it? Look for big wins — and make them happen.
Income
I’ve written before about the importance of increasing your income. While it’s great to cut your spending, you can only trim your budget so far. Your earning potential, on the other hand, is theoretically unlimited. If you really want to get rich — slowly or otherwise — you’re going to have to make more money.
But as with spending, some methods of boosting your income provide big wins while others don’t. Here are two easy (or quick) ways to make a big difference to the amount of money you make:
Take a second job. Earning more in your spare time is a quick way to boost your cash flow, and it’s something that almost anyone can do. Some people don’t like the idea of taking a second job (they feel like it’s beneath them) and others are full of reasons that doing so is impossible (they don’t have time, the job market is tough). But for those who choose this path, a second job involves less risk and planning than most other income-boosting strategies, and it’s likely to cause far less stress than your primary job.
Negotiate your salary. One of the best ways to increase your income is at the source: during salary negotiations when you land a job or during a performance review. For many folks, salary negotiations can be awkward or scary. But in his book Negotiating Your Salary, career coach Jack Chapman argues that those few minutes during which you ask for more money in an interview can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars over your career. Maybe hundreds of thousands. That’s a big win.
There are other ways to supercharge your income — become better educated, start a side business, become a landlord — but they take more time and effort. You can find a second job this week and be earning more toward your financial goals. And you can negotiate a salary increase the next time you sit down for a performance review. Both provide big boosts to your earnings for a minimum of effort.
The Bottom Line
I’m not saying you shouldn’t make your own laundry detergent or collect newspapers to earn money. But I think it’s important to put these activities in their proper place and to realize that you will never get rich doing them. (In fact, they’re a poor way to get out of debt.) It’s better to focus on actions that are easier to complete and/or yield greater rewards.
The biggest barrier between the average person and big wins isn’t ability. It’s psychology. Big wins generally require effort and sacrifice, which can be tough to stomach, especially if you’re just getting started with smart personal finance. But the sooner you understand that these aren’t fringe ideas, the quicker you’ll get out of debt or reach financial independence. The small stuff forms a great basis for behavioral change, but it’s doing the big things that will make you rich.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Guest Post The Top 5 Neighborhoods in The DC Area for Runners You’re lucky you don’t live in Boston. They rank #1 in the nation for most hours lost to sitting in traffic congestion. Bostonians lose 164 hours staring at the back of someone else’s bumper. … [Read more…]
The perfect balance of environmentally friendly initiatives and city atmosphere.
We scored and ranked every U.S metro for environmental efforts based on numerous, measurable factors. These factors include alternative fuel resources, recycling jobs and air pollution, registered alternative fuel vehicles and traditional fuel vehicles. These factors were scaled, scored and ranked scored and ranked while controlling for differences in population and land area. Based on this ranking, we’ve compiled the top 10 cleanest cities worthy of analyzing, with Davenport-Bettendorf-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL coming in at No. 1.
Quad Cities cleanliness
Davenport-Bettendorf-Moline-Rock Island, also known as the Quad Cities, has taken several steps to become a more environmentally sustainable region, earning our title as the cleanest city. The Quad Cities area has several renewable energy projects, including a solar farm in Moline, IL, and a wind farm in Iowa. The region is also exploring additional opportunities for renewable energy development, setting a precedent for green initiatives.
Recycling jobs
Recycling jobs in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL area are primarily focused on the collection, processing and management of recyclable materials. This group of cities has a whopping 530 recycling jobs, which is in the top 10 metros with the most recycling jobs.
When compared with job opportunities in other industries, these cities have 3.1 recycling jobs for every 1,000 other types of positions. This is great for people who want to contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing waste, conserving resources and minimizing pollution.
Electric vehicles popularity
Alternative fuel cars are increasing in popularity, with good reason. Also known as green or clean energy vehicles, these automobiles use fuels or power sources other than traditional gasoline or diesel. These vehicles reduce the environmental impact associated with cars and contribute to more sustainable transportation.
The high number of alternative fuel vehicles registered in the Quad Cities showcases the region’s commitment to sustainable transportation. With over 400,000 of these vehicles, the area’s proportion of alternative fuel vehicles to traditional cars stands at an impressive 16.17%, reflecting a shift towards greener mobility. While the area is car-dependent, this area is fairly bike-friendly with a bike score of 40.
Air pollution
As cities grow and greenhouse gas emissions are better understood, there is a dire need to control air pollution for breathing health and the future of the earth. The Quad Cities embracing alternative fuel vehicles plays a crucial role in their air pollution.
With an admirable score of 9.4, Davenport-Bettendorf-Moline-Rock Island is proving its commitment to sustainability practices. To offer context of their pollution score(the higher the number, the less air pollution), the neighboring city, Cedar Rapids, IA, comes in at an 8.8 — showing they have slightly worse air pollution. As cities begin to implement practices and work to improve living conditions for their residents, we hope to see scores climb.
Source: Rent. / The Bridges Loft
Renting in Davenport-Bettendorf-Moline-Rock Island
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is a vibrant metropolitan area situated along the Mississippi River in the Midwestern United States. Known for its scenic beauty and rich cultural heritage, this region comprises the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Moline, Rock Island and East Moline in Illinois. The Quad Cities are renowned for their strong sense of community, thriving arts scene and a growing emphasis on sustainability, making it the perfect city for renters.
The region’s dedication to sustainability not only enhances the quality of life for its residents but also serves as an inspiration for other cities yearning to implement more clean and green practices. This area provides a stellar example of the harmonious blend of natural beauty, cultural diversity, city living and green initiatives.
Top apartments in Davenport-Bettendorf-Moline-Rock Island
The future is green
With Davenport-Bettendorf-Moline-Rock Island leading as the cleanest city, their achievement highlights the significance of their commitment to promoting alternative fuel vehicle usage, creating recycling jobs and fostering a culture of sustainability. By prioritizing these green initiatives, they are not only improving air quality but also paving the way for a brighter and more sustainable future, setting an inspiring example for other cities to follow suit.
The dedication of Davenport, Iowa, and surrounding Quad Cities to creating a cleaner and greener environment will have lasting positive impacts on the well-being of both current and future generations. Start your green life in this forward-thinking group of metros today!
Last Updated on February 25, 2022 by Mark Ferguson
Buying one rental property may not make you a ton of money right away. However, rentals can be an amazing investment when held for the long-term and when multiple properties are purchased. There is also the opportunity to buy larger commercial or multifamily properties, which can increase returns as well. With a good rental property, you should be making money every month (cash flow); you should make money as soon as you buy by getting a great deal; you will have fantastic tax advantages, you can use financing which greatly reduces the amount of cash needed; and the property value and rents will most likely go up in value over time.
Rental properties have been a great investment for me. I make more than $100,000 a year from the cash flow on my rental properties after all expenses including mortgages, property management, maintenance, and vacancies. I now have 20 rental properties which are a mix of residential and commercial. I bought my first rental property in December of 2010 for $97k. I started with residential properties but now buy almost all commercial, including a 68,000-square-foot strip mall in 2018.
You cannot buy just any property and turn it into a rental if you want to make a lot of money. You have to buy properties below market value with great cash flow to be a successful rental property owner. Not only do I make money every month from my rentals with minimal work, but my rentals have also increased my net worth thanks to buying below market value and appreciation (I don’t like to count on appreciation, but it is a nice bonus). This is not just a hypothetical article. I have owned rentals for many years, kept track of their returns, and written many articles about what I have learned.
The cool thing about real estate is while I have more than $6,000,000 worth of rental properties, it did not take millions of dollars to buy them.
Why did I choose rentals?
One of my passions is automobiles. I purchased a 1986 Porsche 928 a few years ago, and I absolutely love that car. I also have a 1999 Lamborghini Diablo, a 1981 Aston Martin V8, a 1998 Lotus Esprit Twin Turbo, and a few other cars. In my early 20s, I never thought I could afford any of these cars in my early. However, I started to make decent money as a real estate agent in my mid to late 20s. The problem was I was not saving much money. I just kept spending it. I knew if I ever wanted to get ahead in life and be able to afford these cars, I would have to invest the money I was making. I researched everything I could and decided rental properties were the best investment. I worked very hard to save money to buy my first rental.
As soon as I started buying rentals, I could see the fruits of my labor. I was making money every month from rent, I made money as soon as I bought the house because I bought it below market value, and it was forcing me to save money. I wanted to buy as many as I could, and I knew with steady money coming in every month from the rentals I could someday feel comfortable buying expensive cars.
[embedded content]
Why are rentals a good investment?
Not all properties are a good rental, but if you can find properties that are, they can be an amazing investment. A rental property should have a number of attributes
Cash flow
Good rentals will make money every month after paying all expenses. The expenses should include mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancies, and property management. The cash flow is the rent minus all of these expenses. Some people like to shoot for different numbers, but I always liked to see $400 to $500 in cash flow per property.
Buy below market
I get a great deal on every rental I buy. I don’t want to pay retail when I can pay to 20% to 30% less than retail. It is not easy to get great deals, but it is possible. On almost every house I have ever bought, I got a great deal. That instantly increases my net worth, makes me more cash flow, and looks better on my balance sheet for banks.
Leverage
You can put as little down as 20 percent when buying rentals. You can put even less down when buying a property as an owner occupant and then turning the property into a rental.
Tax advantages
Most expenses on rental properties are deductible or depreciable. You can also depreciate the structure of a rental property, which means you can save thousands of dollars each year on your taxes. You can also complete a 1031 exchange on rentals to avoid capital gains taxes.
Appreciation
Many people only talk about housing prices when comparing rentals to the stock market, but appreciation is a bonus. It is not what you are shooting for when buying a rental property because no one knows for sure if prices will go up or when.
It is not easy to find rental properties that are a good investment. It takes me months to find great deals that make over $500 a month like mine typically have, and they are not available in every market. My typical rental property used to cost between $80,000 and $130,000, and it rented for $1,200 to $1,500 a month. I put 20 percent down on the properties and finance the rest with my portfolio lender. I usually end up spending $25,000 to $35,000 in cash to buy each rental property. Cash flow is not the only benefit of rental properties. I slowly pay down the mortgage every month; I have great tax advantages; and they will most likely appreciate.
I am able to save that much cash from each rental property because I make a very good living as a real estate agent as well as from fixing and flipping houses. I like to have nice cars and a nice house, but I always make sure I am saving and investing money first. There are ways to buy rental properties with little money down, but I think you will get further ahead in life by saving as much as possible and investing wisely.
How much do you need to buy a rental?
I go over the exact cost of a rental property here, but let us assume that it costs $30,000 to purchase and repair one rental. You do not have to invest $90,000 a year to buy three rentals a year because you can begin refinancing rental properties after you own them for a year and take cash out to invest in more rentals. You can also save the cash flow from your rental properties to buy more rental properties. I usually buy my properties for about $100,000, with a four percent interest rate and 20 percent down, which leaves a payment of $381 for principal and interest. Those numbers combined with rents from $1,200 to $1,500 a month leave me with at least $500 a month in income from my rental properties.
How much should a rental property cash flow?
It is not easy to make $500 a month in cash flow from a single rental property. I detail how to calculate cash flow here, and I created a cash flow calculator to help people determine cash flow. Cash flow is not the rent minus the mortgage payment: you must consider many other factors. My rents range from $1,250 to $1,600 a month, and my mortgage payments range from $450 to $650 a month. I have to account for maintenance and vacancies on my rental properties, which leaves me with about $500 in profit each month. I buy my properties for $80,000 to $130,000 and usually make quite a few repairs before I rent them out.
What are the long-term returns for someone with little money?
Investing in rental properties can provide fantastic returns when you have a lot of money to invest. Even if you have little money, you can invest in rental properties. I am going to walk through how many years it will take someone to accumulate one million dollars from investing $7,500 a year into long-term rental properties.
The more money you make and save, the easier it is to make one million dollars from rentals. However, even people who do not make a lot of money can get there, although it may take a little longer. I am going to write out this plan assuming someone has a $75,000 salary and can save 10 percent of their income a year.
When you first start out, $7,500 does not go very far, and it takes a lot of money to buy an investment property. Luckily, there are many ways to buy a rental property with much less money if you are an owner occupant or use some of the techniques I discuss here. In the first year, the best bet is to buy a HUD home or REO that needs some work but will still qualify for an FHA or conventional loan. The key to my strategy is buying houses below market value. HUD or REO houses are a great way to do that. We will assume the investor can buy a house similar to the ones I purchase in my area, which cost around $100,000. There are closing costs that the buyer is charged when they get a loan, but you can ask the seller to pay most of your costs.
Buying as an owner occupant year one
The first step is to buy a house. But you cannot buy just any house; you want to buy a house as an owner occupant that you can later turn into a rental. You also want to get a great deal on a house to gain instant equity. To get a great deal on a house, you may have to buy one that needs some repairs. With a HUD home, you can roll $5,000 of the repairs needed into the loan with the FHA escrow and only put 3.5 percent down for the down payment. If the home needs a lot of work, you could use an FHA 203K loan to roll more repairs into the loan. We will assume this house needs $4,000 in work to qualify for a loan, and you bought a HUD home with the costs rolled into the loan. With an FHA loan, you have to pay mortgage insurance every month and an upfront mortgage insurance premium (which could be $200 or more a month).
With a conventional loan, mortgage insurance is much lower than FHA, and you might be able to remove it after two years. However, you may not be able to roll the repairs into the loan, but you could get the seller to fix some items before closing. If the repairs are cosmetic items, you should be able to get a loan without making the repairs before closing. I will assume the total cash needed to close on this hypothetical house is about $5,000. Hopefully, this house was bought below market value because it needed some repairs and was a foreclosure. Once the house is repaired, it should be worth around $125,000.
Since you bought this house as an owner-occupant, you have to live in the home for at least one year.
Year two
After one year, you have gained about $22,000 in net worth; $125,000 – $100,000 purchase price – $4,000 repairs rolled into the loan + $1,000 gained in equity pay down. In year one, no rent was collected because the home was owner-occupied to get a low down payment. In year two, the house is rented out and you can buy another owner-occupied home using the same strategy. When you try to buy a home right away, you won’t be able to count the rent from the first house as income right away. It is best to buy houses priced low enough that you can qualify for two houses at once to make this work. Otherwise, you may have to wait up to a year for the rent to count as income and can buy again.
You can only have one FHA mortgage at a time, so this time you have to get a conventional loan with 5 percent down. In the second year, you have saved up another $7,500 from your job and have $2,500 left over from the first year for a total of $11,500 saved. The second home also costs $100,000, and the seller pays 3 percent closing costs. The down payment needed is $5,000, and $5,000 in repairs are needed on this second house. The total cash needed to buy an owner-occupied home is $10,000 and the repaired value is $125,000.
The first house is rented out for $1,300 a month (which I will do all the time on a $100,000 purchase), and the payment is $550 with taxes and insurance. Add vacancy, maintenance, mortgage insurance and we’ll assume $300 a month in positive cash flow.
Year Three
In the second year, you made $25,000 from buying house number two (equity) and made $3,600 from cash flow. You also made $2,500 from equity pay down on both loans (I am assuming each loan will pay down $500 more each year). In year two, all the savings was used from year one, but you saved $7,500 and made $3,600 in cash flow for a total of $11,100 savings. Buy another house using an owner-occupied loan and use $10,000 of cash. Net worth increases to $53,100 after adding the equity pay down, cash flow and equity gained in the purchase of a new home.
The second house is rented out again using the same figures, although the mortgage insurance may be less because we are using a conventional loan instead of an FHA loan.
Year Four
Another house is bought below market value in year four. Cash flow increases to $7,200 a year plus $1,100 in previous savings and $7,500 saved this year. You now have $17,300 cash saved up before we subtract another $10,000 for the purchase of a new house as well as cash for the repairs. Net worth has increased $25,000 on the purchase plus $4,500 in equity pay down. The total net worth increase is now $90,800 for the last four years.
You own four houses and three of them are rented out. At this point, you may be able to remove the mortgage insurance on the conventional loans that have been held for two years, but I am not going to in my calculations to keep things simple and conservative.
Year Five
In year five, we repeat the entire process again and come up with the following numbers. Cash flow increases to $10,800 and previous savings $5,800 and $7,500 saved up equals $25,600 saved cash. The investor purchases another property and uses $10,000 in cash to leave $15,600 in his cash account. Net worth increases by $7,000 for equity pay down: $10,800 for cash flow and $25,000 for the purchase of a new property. The total increase in net worth is now $133,600.
You may have noticed this investor just mortgaged his fifth house. For many people, getting a loan on more than four houses is very difficult. However, the investor is buying houses as an owner occupant, which makes it much easier to get a loan.
Year Six
The same process is repeated all over again. Cash flow is $14,400, previous cash is $14,100, savings equals $7,500 for $37,500 cash minus $10,000 for a new purchase. The investor has $27,500 left in his bank account. He increases his equity pay down to $13,500, has an increase of $25,000 in net worth from a purchase, and an increase in net worth from cash flow of $14,400. He now has increased his net worth by $186,500.
Year seven
In year seven, the seventh house is purchased. Cash in the bank equals $26,000 from previous savings, $18,000 in cash flow, and $7,500 in new savings, which totals $53,000. You are now able to buy two properties this year! Buy another owner-occupied property using $10,000 and an investor-owned property.
To purchase an investment property, we need to put at least 20% down, and we still need to make repairs. We are buying below market value still, so we are going to assume we are adding $25,000 more a year in equity and $3,600 more a year in cash flow. Estimated costs for down payment and repairs is $32,000 to buy an investment property. You have $11,000 of cash left after buying two properties this year. Net worth increased by $60,500 after adding the usual amounts to total $247,000.
Year eight
Year eight is very exciting because we get to add two properties into the mix instead of just one. With the extra houses added, increased cash flow, and continued equity pay down, our net worth increased $98,200 in just one year! Total net worth is now $345,200, and you are making real progress! You have $42,200 saved up after buying another house in year eight as an owner-occupant, so you can buy another investment property, but won’t, because our margins will be too thin with only a couple thousand in savings.
Even though you are still making only $75,000 a year, you increased your net worth by almost $100,000 a year. There are not many people who can increase their net worth by more than they make in a year!
Year nine
In year nine, you are adding $26,500 in equity pay down, $28,800 in cash flow, $25,000 in built-in equity with purchases, for a total net worth increase of $80,300. Your total net worth increase over nine years is now $425,500. You also have $60,000 saved up after paying for one house as an owner occupant, which is enough to buy another investment property, leaving $26,500 cash left over!
Year ten
In year ten, you have enough cash to buy two more properties and have $28,000 in cash left over. Net worth increases by $114,500, bringing us up to a total increase of $540,000.
Year eleven
You can buy two more properties and increase your net worth by $129,200 for a total of $669,200. Cash flow is at $43,200 a year, and there is $36,700 of cash left over after buying two more properties. You could buy a third house this year but decide not to stretch your limits. You need to make sure you have plenty of reserves for the rentals.
Year twelve
This year, you buy three houses because there is $94,600 in cash available. After buying the three houses, there is $22,100 cash left in savings, equity was paid down, and $44,500 and $50,400 in cash flow was generated. Total net worth is now $814,100! You are getting closer to making one million dollars investing in real estate!
Year thirteen
You have increased your net worth by $190,200 this year because you bought three houses last year. The total net worth increase is now $1,004,300! Your actual net worth will be higher than this because I did not calculate savings from your income into the net worth, just the gain from buying rental properties. Cash flow is now $61,200 a year, and you have paid off $54,000 of equity in one year!
You own 16 rental properties which are producing over $60,000 a year! The incredible part is we did not increase the rents at all, even though they are likely to go up over thirteen years. We assumed there was no appreciation, even though there likely will be over that time. Due to the tax advantages of rentals, you are probably taking home as much in passive income from your rentals as you are from your job.
Things we did not consider
This was a very basic calculation for how to make one million dollars investing in rental properties. It would take a book to go through all the variables and possible roadblocks that might come into play. Here are a few items we did not consider, which would have an impact on the time it takes to reach one million dollars in increased net worth.
Inflation will increase the prices of homes and wages as well as rents. While the investor has to pay more for houses each year, he will also be making more and saving more. The biggest factor is the rent increases. His rent on the first houses he buys will increase as time goes on, but his payments will stay the same. His cash flow will increase greatly as time goes on, which we did not account for.
Taxes were not accounted for either because that gets very complicated. The cash flow the investor is making would be income, but the investor could offset that with depreciation from the rental properties. I assumed those two factors even themselves out.
Investment property purchases had 20 percent down, where the owner-occupant purchases had 5 percent down. There should be an increase in cash flow on the investment property purchases because of the lower down payment, but I left them the same to make the math easier.
Refinancing was not considered either, but the investor could easily have refinanced a couple of properties to get more cash out to buy more rental properties. This would have increased cash flow and net worth due to the increased number of properties purchased.
Obtaining more than 4 or more than ten mortgages can be difficult. I am assuming the investor is able to get as many loans as possible with a lender. I can have as many loans as I want with my portfolio lender, but many people cannot. This would be a roadblock once he reached ten financed properties.
Buying owner-occupied properties each year is possible but may not be realistic. Moving thirteen times in thirteen years may put a bit of stress on the family!
I also assume the investor manages his homes himself, which is doable in the beginning but it maybe tough when he gets ten homes or more.
How Did I Build a Rental Property Portfolio
I have 20 rentals now, but I did not buy them overnight. I started in 2010 and slowly bought them over the last 9 years. I bought 1 in 2010, 2 in 2011, 2 in 2012, and kept building from there. I worked very hard to make a great living as a real estate agent, but I also used real estate to buy more rentals.
I bought my first rental by refinancing my personal house and taking cash out of it. I also refinanced some of my rentals along the way so that I would have more capital to buy even more rentals. I was lucky that our market appreciated so much, but I also bought every rental property way below market value, which allowed me to take cash out when I refinanced.
I stopped buying residential rentals in 2015 because the market in Colorado became too expensive. However, I was able to invest in commercial rentals in my area and cash flow on them. There are a lot of different ways to invest in real estate!
[embedded content]
How much have my rentals made me?
I put together some stats to show how much rentals made me after four years of owning them. It has been a few years since then, and things have gotten even better! At the time, I had bought 11 rental properties. After doing some calculating, I discovered my rental properties have appreciated and been bought cheap enough to produce a gain of $600,000 since December of 2010! It is important to remember that net worth is all on paper, and I would not realize $600,000 in profit if I decided to sell all of my rental properties today. I would have to have selling costs, and I would have a large tax bill if I sold my rental properties.
How much equity have I built with rentals?
One thing I have done with every rental property I buy is buying them below market value. I try to buy my properties at least 20 percent below the current value, and if a home needs repairs, I want that rental property worth 20 percent more than the price I paid plus the cost of the repairs. For example; if I buy a rental for $100,000 and it needs $20,000 in work, I want it to be worth $144,000 or more when I am done repairing the home ($100,000 + $20,000 = $120,000 * .20 = $144,000). That means I usually gain at least $20,000 in net worth on every rental property I buy. The 11 rentals I have bought have gained at least $220,000 (I buy many properties at more than 20 percent below market) just by buying homes at the right price.
I also have been lucky that prices have increased significantly in Northern Colorado in the last few years. I would say lucky for the sake of calculating net worth, but the increase in prices has made it harder to buy cheap rental properties with great cash flow. If you want to know how much my houses have appreciated, I broke down each rental and how much money it has made below.
Rental 1
I bought my first rental property for $96,900 on 12/5/2010. At the time I bought it, I knew it was worth at least $125,000, which is not a huge spread between the buy price and fair market value, but the home needed less than $2,000 in repairs.
The house is now worth at least $165,000 and most likely more. I had it appraised earlier this year, and the appraisal was $165,000 and our market values have increased since that time. If the house is worth $165,000, then my net worth increased about $66,000 after you subtract the repairs. The home was rented out for 1,050 a month when I first bought it and now is rented out for $1,400 a month.
Rental 2
I bought rental property number 2 for $94,000 on 10/5/2011. This home needed much more work than number one, and I spent about $15,000 repairing the house. At the time I bought this house, I thought it was worth $140,000 after it was repaired, and this house is now worth around $175,000. That leaves me with a net worth increase of about $66,000 on this property as well.
This house has been rented to my brother-in-law since I have owned it. The rent has been steady at $1,100 the entire time but could be $1,400 to $1,500. My brother-in-law has a house under contract and will be moving soon.
Rental 3
I bought my third rental property for $92,000 on 11/21/2011. This house needed repairs, and I spent about $14,000 getting it ready to rent. At the time I bought this house, I thought it was worth $135,000 fixed up, and this house is now worth around $170,000, which creates a net worth increase of $64,000.
This home has been rented to the same tenants for $1,250 a month, but we just raised the rent this month to $1,300 a month. It would probably rent for $1,400 to $1,500 to a new tenant.
Rental 4
I bought rental property number 4 for $109,000 on 1/25/2012. This home also needed about $14,000 in repairs before it could be rented. At the time I bought this house, I thought it was worth $145,000. This house is one of my most valuable rental properties and is worth $185,000 in today’s market. That leaves a net worth gain of $62,000.
This home was rented for $1,300 up until this year when I rented it to new tenants for $1,500 a month.
Rental 5
I bought rental property number five for $88,249 on 12/14/2012, and it needed more repairs than the others. The market had definitely begun to improve at this point, and finding a home that was under $100,000 was very tough. This home was a good deal, even though it needed $18,000 in repairs. I thought it was worth around $130,000 when I bought it, and I now think it is worth $165,000. That leaves a net worth increase of $59,000.
This home has been rented to the same tenants for $1,200 a month.
Rental 6
I bought rental property number six for $115,000 on 3/7/2013. This house needed about $15,000 in repairs, and I thought the property was worth about $150,000 after it was fixed up when I bought it. It is now worth $170,000, and that leaves a net worth increase of $40,000.
This home was first rented for $1,300 a month until earlier this year it was rented for $1,400 a month.
Rental 7
I bought rental property number 7 for $113,000 on 4/18/2013. This house needed only $9,000 in repairs, and I thought it was worth $155,000 when I bought it. This neighborhood has done great, and the home is now worth $185,000, which leaves a net worth increase of $63,000.
This home has been rented for $1,400 a month since I bought it.
Rental 8
I bought rental property number 8 for 97,500 on 11/18/2013. The home needed $15,000 in repairs, and I thought it was worth $150,000 once fixed up. It is now worth $165,000, and that leaves a net worth increase of $52,000.
This home has been rented or $1,400 a month since I bought it.
Rental 9
I bought rental property number 9 for $133,000 on 2/14/2014. This home only needed $4,000 in work before it was rented, and I thought it was worth $155,000 after it was repaired. I think it is worth $165,000 now, and that leaves a net worth increase of $28,000.
This home is rented for $1,400 a month.
Rental 10
I bought rental property number 10 for $99,928 on 4/13/2014. The home only needed $3,500 in repairs before it was rented, and I thought the home was worth $125,000 when I bought it. I think it is worth about $130,000 now, leaving a net worth increase of $26,500.
This home is rented for $1,250.
Rental 11
I just bought rental property number 11 on 7/24/2014. This house will need about $15,000 in repairs, and I paid $109,318. I think this house is worth $155,000 repaired, leaving a net worth increase of $30,000.
I think this home rents for $1,400 a month.
What is the total gain?
If you add up all these numbers, my total net worth has increased by $556,500, but these numbers do not tell the entire story. I had more costs than I listed when I first bought these houses, but I did not go back through each closing file to get those exact costs. On many of these properties, I had the seller pay some closing costs, which covered much of my buying costs. I also had some carrying costs while I was getting the properties repaired and they were not rented out yet. However, I also did not include any of my cash flow or the money I made on these properties since 2010. I used all of my cash flow to pay off rental property number 1, which added up to over $70,000. That $70,000 in cash flowdefinitely covers all the closing and carrying costs I had on each property and went directly to increasing my net worth by paying off a loan. Speaking of paying down loans, I did not include the equity I have gained over the last 3.5 years by paying down my loans. I have paid down thousands of dollars of loan balances with regular payments on my rental properties.
Net worth is not money in my pocket but what I am worth on paper. Even though it is cool to see this number increase over time, this money is not all readily available. I would have to sell my rental properties to see this money, and I would not see all of it. There would be selling costs when I sell the properties and taxes owed once I sold them. Since I am using the depreciation on the rental properties to save me in taxes, I would have a higher than normal tax bill because I would have to recapture that depreciation.
What about in 2019?
I have 20 rentals that have increased my net worth about $3,000,000 in the last 9 years. I have gotten lucky that Colorado has appreciated like crazy, but they were still awesome deals even without that appreciation. They make me about $13,000 a month after all expenses. The cool part is I have spent less than $350,000 on the properties after refinancing some to take money back out. Talk about an amazing investment!
You can see all my rentals here.
My book on making money with rental properties
I provide a lot of information on my blog and YouTube channel, but I also have written six books. My book Build a Rental Property Empire has been a best-seller for years. It goes over everything I do to find, finance, repair, manage, and even sell my rentals. I also added a commercial chapter to go over that aspect as well. You can find the book on Amazon as a paperback, audiobook, and Kindle. Build a Rental Property Empire: The no-nonsense book on finding deals, financing the right way, and managing wisely.
Conclusion
It can take time to make a lot of money with rentals, but it is possible. Over the years I have bought a 1999 Lamborghini Diablo, a 1998 Lotus Esprit, a 1981 Aston Martin, and more thanks to the rental properties. The rentals have also allowed me to be aggressive with my house flipping business because I know I have that cash flow coming in every month. We flipped 26 houses last year!
Life insurance is a highly important component of many people’s financial plans. One of the key reasons for this is because the proceeds from a life insurance policy can be used for multiple needs of one’s survivors, such as paying off debt, replacing income for everyday living expenses, and paying the high cost of the insured’s funeral and other final expenses.
If you are currently searching for the right life insurance policy, it is essential that you go with the right type of coverage, as well as the best amount regarding future anticipated needs. It is also recommended that you ensure that the insurance carrier you get the coverage through is secure and stable financially and that it has a positive reputation for paying out its claims to policyholders. One insurer that meets these criteria is Amica Life Insurance Company.
The History of Amica Life Insurance Company
Amica Life Insurance Company is the oldest mutual insurer of automobiles in the United States, with more than 100 years in the insurance business. Amica is a mutual insurance company, which means that it does not have stockholders, but rather the company’s policyholders are considered owners in the company.
The company was initially established in 1907 as The Automobile Mutual Insurance Company of America, and the first products offered by the company were automotive, fire, and theft insurance.
Over the years, it has grown and expanded and added additional product offerings to its mix. It has 44 offices around the United States. Amica Mutual Insurance Company is headquartered in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Amica has several subsidiaries. These include:
Amica Life Insurance Company – This subsidiary of Amica offers both life insurance and annuity products, as well as some types of health and specialty products. This entity does business in all of the U.S. states except Hawaii. Amica Life Insurance Company was established in 1968.
Amica Property and Casualty Insurance Company – Amica Property and Casualty Insurance Company is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Amica Mutual Company. This entity provides auto insurance in New York and New Jersey. It was established in 2005.
Amica General Agency, Inc. – Amica General Agency, Inc., was founded in 1987, with the purpose of assisting with special or unique insurance needs.
As a mutual insurer, policyholders may be eligible for dividends – which can be taken as cash, or added to a permanent life insurance policy’s cash value, or used to purchase additional life insurance protection. (It is important to note that dividends are not guaranteed).
Amica Life Insurance Company Review
In addition to providing insurance coverage, Amica is also a key contributor to the communities in which it serves. For example, just one of how this company helps to build community ties is by sponsoring Habitat for Humanity.
Amica has also earned numerous awards and accolades throughout the years. These include:
Highest Customer Satisfaction Among National Homeowner Insurers from J.D. Powers for more than 15 consecutive years
Best Places to Work in 2017 from the Providence Business News and Best Companies Group. The company has been included in this list eight times.
Insurer Ratings and Better Business Bureau (BBB) Grade
Based on the company’s financial strength and claims paying ability, Amica Mutual Group has received a rating of A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best Company. Amica Life Insurance Company has also received an A.M. Best rating of A+.
Also, Amica has been an accredited business through the Better Business Bureau since January 1, 1957. The company has been given a grade of A+ from the Better Business Bureau, which is on an overall grade scale of A+ to F.
Over the past three years, Amica has closed out 79 total customer complaints via the Better Business Bureau, with 52 of these being closed out within the past year. Of the 79 customer complaints, 45 of these had to do with problems with the company’s products and services. Another 26 complaints dealt with billing and collection issues, six were related to advertising and sales issues, one was about delivery issues, and another one had to do with guarantee and/or warranty issues.
Life Insurance Coverage Offered Through Amica Life Insurance Company
Amica offers both term and permanent life insurance coverage options. With a term life insurance policy, there is death benefit protection only, with no cash value build up. Because term is considered to be the most basic form of life insurance coverage, it can often be quite affordable, especially for those who are young and in good health. Term life insurance policies will cover an insured for a certain length of time.
Permanent life insurance offers both death benefit protection and a cash value or savings component. The money that is inside the cash value portion of the policy is allowed to grow and compound on a tax-deferred basis, meaning that there is no tax on the gain until the time the funds are withdrawn.
Amica offers a level term insurance product that not only provides life insurance coverage for a set length of time, but that can also essentially be “customized” to best fit an insured’s personal needs.
These term insurance policies allow the choice of coverage for ten years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, or even for 30 years. During the period that is selected, the amount of the premium rate will remain the same – and, as long as the premium is paid, the policy will guarantee a level amount of life insurance protection up to the insured’s age 95. (With these policies, the coverage amount will also not decrease as the insured gets older).
Amica’s level term life insurance coverage also allows the option to add a cost of living adjustment rider. This provides the opportunity to offset inflation by increasing the face amount of the policy each year – at the same premium rate.
Also, the insured may also wish to take advantage of the conversion option, which can allow him or her to convert the term policy over into a permanent form of life insurance coverage. This option is available, regardless of the insured’s health.
The policy can also include a terminal illness rider, which allows the insured to receive a portion of the policy’s death benefits if he or she becomes terminally ill. These funds can help to pay for medical expenses or any other need that the insured sees fit.
Additional optional benefits and riders that can be available with the Amica level term life insurance policies include the waiver of premium, the children’s insurance rider, and an accidental death benefit rider.
Regarding premium price, Amica Life Insurance Company offers discounts for larger policies, and there are no policy fees. Also, an insured may be rewarded with a lower amount of premium if he or she is in excellent health, and they make healthy, positive lifestyle choices, such as exercising and eating right. For those who qualify for Amica’s better premium rate classes, there may be no need to take a medical examination as a part of the insurance underwriting process.
About permanent life insurance coverage, Amica Life Insurance Company offers whole life insurance. With a whole life insurance policy, the death benefit is guaranteed, and the cash value funds will grow at an interest rate that is set by the insurance company. Also, the amount of the premium cannot be increased – even as the insured ages, and if they contract an adverse health issue.
Whole life insurance is meant to cover an insured for the entirety of their lifetime – as long as the policy’s premiums are paid. And, the cash that is in the cash value portion of the policy may be either borrowed or withdrawn by the policyholder for any need or reason.
The whole life insurance from Amica also has some ways to customize the coverage to meet the needs of the insured better. For example, there is an early benefit provision, whereby if the insured is diagnosed with a terminal illness and given a life expectancy of one year or less, then they may receive advanced funds from the policy’s death benefit.
There are also additional optional benefits and riders, which include a waiver of premium, children’s insurance, accidental death benefit, and/or a guaranteed option to purchase additional insurance.
As with Amica’s term insurance policies, there can be premium discounts available for larger policies, and there are no policy fees. Also, Amica may reward an insured with lower premiums based on the insured having excellent health and lifestyle choices.
Amica also offers a simplified whole life insurance policy option. Here, the application and approval process is fast and easy and does not require a medical exam to qualify for the coverage. This coverage protects an insured up to the age of 120, and it guarantees level premium, never to increase – even regarding age or health condition. The premium payment on this simplified whole life insurance coverage option can be made monthly, quarterly, annually, or semi-annually.
The simplified issue whole life insurance plan is available in face amounts of $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 or $25,000. There is no waiting period for coverage to begin, and there is a 31-day free look period for the insured to determine whether or not this is the right coverage for their needs. (And if not, they can return the policy and receive a full premium refund). Simplified issue whole life policies are often used to help survivors pay for funeral and other final expenses, as well as final medical bills and debt.
Other Products and Services Offered
In addition to providing life insurance protection, Amica Life Insurance Company also has additional products in its inventory, including:
Auto Insurance
Home Owners Insurance
Marine Insurance
Personal Liability Coverage
Condo Insurance
Renters Insurance
Motorcycle Insurance
Small Business Insurance
Wedding and Event Insurance
Investments
Retirement Annuities
Traditional and Roth IRAs
How to Find the Best Life Insurance Premium Quotes with Amica Life Insurance Company
If you are looking for the best life insurance premium rates with Amica Life Insurance Company – or on coverage from any insurance company – it is typically recommended that you work with an independent insurance agency or broker that has access to many different insurance carriers. That way, you can directly compare – in an unbiased way – the policies and the premiums of multiple insurance options, and from there you can more easily choose the one that may work best for you.
When you are ready to move forward with comparing life insurance policy options, we can help. We are an independent life insurance brokerage, and we can provide you with all of the essential information you need for making a well-informed decision. We can do so for you very quickly and easily, without having to meet with an insurance agent in person. In fact, you can receive the details that you need directly online from us. If you are ready to proceed, then just simply fill out our quote form.
We know how overwhelming it may be to look for the right life insurance coverage. There are many angles to consider – and you want to make sure that you are going with the best alternative for you. We can help you to find the coverage that’s best. So, contact us today – we’re here to help.