Adulting Is Easy: Making Personal Finance & Real Estate Easy

In this episode, Jenny interviews Lauren about her decision to end the Adulting Is Easy podcast, at least for now. Thanks for everything over the last 6 years! :)

Leisa grew up without a lot of money, so naturally she assumed that if she had money, she wouldn’t have problems! While this isn’t true, of course, she went down the path to understanding money and teaching others how to come into confidence around money. Her book is a parable about money catalysts because catalysts speed things up. Lauren dives into the 8 money catalysts: Awaken to Possibility, B...

Fred started out as a computer engineer, working at tech startups during the dot com boom. Of course, what followed was the dot com crash and 9/11. He realized that relying on a single paycheck for income was risky, and he set about diversifying his income streams. Fred has seen young people go about tax planning the wrong way when trying to create other income streams, like day trading. Lauren ha...

Chris for into real estate 34 years ago, and Lauren dives right in. It started by being exposed to his dad’s commercial real estate buildings when he was younger. In the 90s, they built over 100 homes, profiting on each. When the 2008 crash came, though, things weren’t good. He had A LOT of homes in his name. To get back in the game, and make good on what he owed, Chris bought a list and started c...

This week we're replaying one of our most popular episodes! Back to regularly scheduled programming in 2 weeks! Thanks Forget passive income, find passionate income? OK, OK, you can do both. This week, Lauren is bringing you her interview with Brian Luebben. They talked about what financial freedom is, and Brian firmly believes the best way to get there is through passionate income. You must f...

Financial literacy has two parts 1) knowing your numbers and 2) knowing the terms people use in the industry. Michelle has always been passionate about numbers, especially business numbers once she became a business owner. Later, when she got her personal finance knowledge and certifications, though, she became OBSESSED. You don’t have to be as passionate as Michelle or Lauren, but you should at l...

Wealth is defined as the people Greg works with as having enough money to do what they want and need to do. They live in a “post-budget world.”  The first-generationwealthy are building their wealth in non-sexy ways, like consistent investing over time. This might be in their own companies or retirement accounts, for example. Most millionaires don’t inherit money. They build wealth themselves slow...

We are exposed to a lot of information about the economy and markets. Much of it is useless. It’s also very short-term focused. Mick’s goal has been to cut through the noise and mellow people out as it relates to their money. In his book, Chapter 4 is about the man who did everything wrong and one who did everything right. The key to remember as you’re reading this chapter (or listening to this co...

Lauren kicks off by asking who Sabrina asks for advice. She leans on supportive individuals and does not ask those that are not supportive of real estate investing and risk. Sabrina’sfirst job out of college was selling mattresses, and so she figured selling big ticket items like houses would mean making bigger money than selling mattresses. Lauren, whose career was in sales, points out that incre...

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS' DAY Rather than posting a new episode that no one takes seriously, this week we're replaying one of our most popular episodes: GO TO THE INVESTING GYM BUT MAYBE DON'T GET AN INVESTING TATTOO. Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------- Decade Investor aka Kolin drops dozens of gems in this week's interview. As a 24-year-old with a $250,000 stock portfol...

Millennials saw their parents work for 40 straight years, and many are considering taking some time off from work, aka taking sabbaticals. Again, Lauren and her guest discuss the book Die with Zero. Sabbaticals allow you to travel, catch up on life tasks, re-evaluate life choices, and alleviate burnout. They’re usually 3 months to 1 year long. A mini retirement, on the other hand, can last years,...

More people are choosing to be child free. Is there a difference between being childless and child free? Lauren thinks so, but it’s a gray area. When coming to Bri for financial planning, her clients are not telling them why they’ve chosen not to have children. Presumably, there are financial implications. Lauren asks if there is a moral obligation to have children. They also touch on whether it’s...

About this week’s interviewer (not guest!), Clint Murphy: Clint Murphy runs both The Growth Guide podcast and newsletter: become better, achieve more, and reach financial freedom. During the day, he and his partners run a real estate development firm, which they’re working on scaling. Clint’s vision is to become more passive over time, while spending half his time in Vancouver and half abroad. If...

Ruchi starts by sharing a story about how she thought a Prada purse would make her happy when she was on Wall Street. We are searching for external validation, but it really comes down to the work we do internally. Ruchi shares about the success and corporate ladder climbing she did early on, and how hollow it really felt. After hiring a coach, she found her calling as a “financial therapist.” It...

A budget is your plan on how you’re going to manage the money inflows and outflows of your household. Who budgets? Basically nobody. A lot of how we use money today is practically frictionless, and budgeting requires examining how you’re spending differently than you naturally do on a day-to-day basis. Everyone should budget by using a process that works for how they think. John encourages his fin...

NOTE: This episode fell through the cracks in Sep 2024 *sorry about that* but you're getting it now! Interestingly, Kris’s journey started with him wanting to be a surgeon. But he ended up becoming a teacher and becoming bored with the repetitive nature. Wanting a challenge and more money, he became a consultant and went to business school. Kris’s real estate investing journey began while he was s...

It's that time of year. Time to look back on Adulting Is Easy's FIFTH full year of podcasting. About the listeners: 80% from the US (81% last year) Others: Canada, UK, Australia, South Africa, China, Cambodia, Germany, Spain, Philippines, Mexico, Netherlands, India, UAE, Sudan, Switzerland, Japan, Ireland, Ghana, Denmark, Israel, Belgium, Finland, Romania, Italy, Sweden, France, Pakistan, Argentin...

Brian and Lauren discuss college degrees, and whetherthey’re valuable or not, given Brian isn’t happy with his degrees. Spoiler, there’s inherent value in getting a degree. Lauren asks Brian to dive into what it was like to be in real estate during the bubble and leading up to the 2008 real estate crash. While he lost his job with a hard money lender, he was able to get another job in the real est...

Which is the better investment – real estate or bitcoin? Is bitcoin even an investment? Or is it currency? A commodity? Lauren challenges her friend Rajat about bitcoin and he challenges her about real estate. The result is a rich debate about two different investment options that have minted millionaires. Naturally, real estate (and the stock market) have been around quite a bit longer and thus h...

Brett opens up by defining what credit cards are, then he gets into the pros and cons of credit cards. The main pros are travel insurance, consumer protection, and rewards. The main con is the high interest rate and propensity for people to spend money they don’t have, the “poison” of personal finance, if you will. Both Brett and Lauren are using 0% credit cards right now to carry balances, but th...

Lauren kicks off by asking who should even buy a home. Homeownership is not necessarily always better than renting. You should consider your lifestyle and how long you want to live there. Dale believes your primary residence is an asset AND ALSO THAT YOU SHOULD PAY OFF YOUR HOUSE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It’s an emotional investment then, not a financial one. Lauren asks what Dale’s thoughts are about...

Estate planning is probably the least sexy topic in personal finance, but we need to talk about it. Death comes for all of us. David opens by telling us about the estate issues after his parents passed away, which made him passionate about this topic. Estate planning involves more than just wills, and it’s not just for rich people. The goal is to leave a legacy, not a mess. Professionals you need...

As the son of an immigrant, Lauren asks about how that shaped his life. Like many of us, Tony was under the impression that if you got to school and if you get a good job, you will be successful. That illusion was shattered when he was laid off. Even with a good job, it’s hard to pay even regular bills and also save money. The rules of the game have changed, and for the first time ever the upcomin...

Chrissy opens up by telling us about her new book, Ladyshark, which is all about becoming a millionaire in your 30s. Why would you want to become a millionaire in your 30s? Freedom! But does being a millionaire mean you’re successful? Not necessarily. Chrissy talks about how her father, an immigrant, shaped how she perceives the world. The two touch on networking and its difficulty and importance....

Hey everyone! Lauren has been having quite the summer, and with a couple of trips, buying/renovating a new primary, and a move we're doing a replay this week. Fear not, though, this is our most popular episode of the last couple of years so if you haven't listened yet, you'll love it. If you have listened, you may just love it again. Show notes: Athena got into the personal finance con...