Freedomizing

A little landlord story for you: I was told that running your property at low rent would decrease stress, and increase longevity of your property because you will get tenants that are unwilling to leave due to the low rent. I have found the opposite, and I have gone through quite a few tenants to figure this out. When you offer someone a killer deal, rarely do you get the killer client, its not the person that you are hoping to get to buy your product. You end up getting the low end bargin hunter "chip on thier sholder" entitiled buyer. Nay sayers will argue that rent is different than other products, I disagree, I've seen it across many difffernt things. I just happen to have personal expierence with renting at well below market costs hoping to make up the difference in long term stable tenants that take care of the place. Let's get into the psychology (at least my version of it) John Doe looking for a place to rent, can afford about $1200, thus they are not we...

So often you get held up on the concept of remodeling your home to add value to it. Let me help you; YOU DO NOT ADD VALUE TO YOUR HOME! EVER!!!! Your home can appreciate, which is a beautiful thing, but it's even said that high-end kitchen remodels, for instance, add 90% of what you put into them.   " According to Remodeling Magazine (http://www.remodeling.hw.net/) you're less likely to recoup your investment in a major kitchen or bathroom remodel than you are to get back what you spend on basic home maintenance such as new siding. Siding replacement recouped 92.8 percent of its cost, according to the study. The only home improvement likely to return more at resale was a minor (roughly $15,000) kitchen remodel, which returned 92.9 percent. Replacing roofs and windows were also high on the list, returning 80 percent or more at resale." From HGTV Let us look at those numbers; you LOSE 10% by "investing" in a kitchen remodel. Would you "invest"...

A friend of mine and also a client, we will call her Sara. Sara, when I met her, was 28, in an administrative position as an assistant. A very positive person, fun to be around and terribly underemployed. She struggled to keep positive, and told me she had the opinion of her job at the time "take it or leave it." She began biking to and from work, not a long bike ride but enough to get her blood running in the morning and wake her up. From there she began taking jogs in the woods, having always been a hiker she thought maybe she could accomplish more by jogging the hiking trails. I noticed that she was happier at work over the next six months to a year, then out of nowhere she signs up for one of the most difficult trail run marathons in the country! I pulled her aside and asked if I could use her as a case study at that time. This blog was still a thought; I hadn't even conceptualized the idea of financial freedom through physical achievements. Keep in mind I had thi...

Most everyone who knows me knows my political views; I am not afraid to share them nor am I concerned about "not" talking about them. I feel the same way about religion, sex, drugs, you name it. As a matter of fact, bar none, the best discussions I have ever had are based on religion and politics. The idea that these are "not" to be discussed is in my mind one of the reasons why we are such a divided society these days. PLEASE engage in the discussion, but bef ore you do, realize, the vast majority of educated people, at least of my friends, all want the same thing: very rarely can I find someone where we fundamentally disagree. Where we differ are the policies taken to implement these "changes" or to "give the freedoms." Long story short, we all want the same things, how we get there we disagree. Stop putting me into a box and claiming you know my views because of a presidential nominee I may or may not support, I will do my best to do the same ...

Politics, Religion and Sex, the three fo pau's in American conversation. Probably the top three that either should be discussed or would engage in what would, in my opinion, be a worthwhile discussion to have. All three topics create an instant judgement and place the other participant in a box. I witnessed this in conversation I had just last night regarding Politics. If said person aligns with said party, instantly, they are categoarized in your mind and the mind of the others overhearing the conversation, they are put into a box, and any outside thinking is unthinkable!  Instead of putting them into this box, as that would actually be you building the walls of your box, realize they may be in a box, but make them define their walls before your assume them. Very simular to looking in the mirror, by judging fellow patrons and putting them into a box you have effectively destroyed the potential of a decent conversation and placed yourself securely in your own box. These thre...

After having a conversation with a client we determined as is not difficult to determine that America is heading in the wrong direction, statistics show that the majority of American's agree. Funny because the other aspect of that is politics in which the majority of American's can't agree. A country divided. Thus, the entitlements came up, the idea that no responsibility is taken for actions, and I reversed that logic. That says no reward is given for success either. Neither is recognized. My client said physically cringed when I used the word "team" in explaining the lack of credit in today's corporate world, you always thank your "team." "I couldn't do it without my team." etc. My client called it the "T" word, I laughed, and agreed. Our fearless leader is quoted saying "you can't do it on your own" we all "need" our "team."  Well, I'm here to tell you "teams" are toxic, te...

Cars represent an external scorecard, at least, that is the way it sure seems! Why should I care what anyone thinks about what I look like driving down the road? Did I make it to my appointment on time? Did I get from A to B just as well as the dude parked next to me in the Mercedes? The answer is yes to all of these concepts, however, and this is one big HOWEVER, first impressions are said to be the most important, and also said to warp your relationship forever. I'll confess, I'm the first person to judge a 20 something in a Bently and say "Thanks, Daddy!" judging, profiling, I don't care how un-PC it is we all do it and guess what, lots of times profiling is pretty accurate! Because my idea changes dramatically when I see a 40 something in a Bently, it's at that point a matter of, "Wow, what did she do so well? What business does she own? I bet I could learn a thing or two from her!" Now I just took two extremes for example, and, therefore, I wa...