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 you liked this episode, you’ll also like episodes 71 and 72, where Lauren was interviewed by Chris of Heavy Metal Money. Also, check out, episode 134, when Lauren interviewed Clint for his 100th episode. Clint kicks off by asking Lauren about money stories imparted upon her by her parents. Lauren credited her curiosity with her early knowledge about money. Lauren knew they were living well within their means, and keeping up with the Joneses was not a part of their lives. Clint then guides the conversation to Lauren’s much younger sister, and how that influences her path. Lauren’s brother got into drugs when he was very young, which caused Lauren to take her relationship with her sister very seriously. Lauren taught her everything, and this extended to money. Clint asks whether what Lauren’s brother was going through caused her to “adult” earlier, so Lauren shares how and when she got her first house. Next, the conversation transitions to college and early career. Getting into sales was a huge part of Lauren’s financial journey, but she started in retail at Toys R Us. Next, Clint dives deep into Lauren’s relationship with her husband and their nexus in real estate investing. Going into Covid, they had a primary home and a duplex, but it was right when Covid was starting that they started expanding, which resulted in a good deal and a very bad deal, which included a squatter. It doesn’t take long into Lauren’s real estate investing interest to bring to back to her personal finance roots, and that’s where the interview goes next: retirement, and retiring early. Next, Lauren tells Clint the origin story of Adulting Is Easy, the blog and eventually the podcast. Naturally, they eventually dive into the FIRE movement and personal choices Lauren and her husband make. The two close by looking forward to the next 5 years while acknowledging the last 10. Connect with Clint: Twitter: @IAmClintMurphy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clint-robert-murphy/ Connect with Lauren: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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 was learning about the 3 pillars that changed everything for Ruchi: well-being, spirituality, and relationships. Well-being means asking the question, what brings you joy? Budget time and money for those things! A key point is to always expand your comfort zone. A huge part of the spirituality pillar is to pay attention to more of your 60,000 thoughts per day. Use the RIR method, recognize the thoughts, interrupt them when they’re negative, and reframe them positively. Both Lauren and Ruchi share real examples of the RIR method in their own lives. As for the final pillar, relationships, ask yourself when you’re at your best, who are you with? Not everyone is meant to be in our lives forever. Keep in mind how you want to feel every day. Be clear about what you want your life to be like in one year.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 31: Financial Planning for Women and 118: Friends, FOMO, and Finances.

About Ruchi:

Ruchi Pinniger is the Founder and CEO of Watch Her Prosper®, who empowers us to redefine prosperity in business and life through holistic financial guidance and mindset coaching. Her signature approach fosters shame-free empowerment, enabling clients to achieve significant results in profitability and economic growth. Ruchi leverages her years of experience on Wall Street to provide expert advice on financial leadership, tax-time readiness, and small business finances. She is also dedicated to philanthropy, serving on the executive boards of Savvy Ladies and the Pajama Program. Recognized with the Entrepreneur Community Leadership Award 2024, she is committed to helping entrepreneurs thrive, while cherishing moments with her family.

Connect with Ruchi:

IG: @watchherprosperFree Redefining Prosperity™

Workbook: iwanttoprosper.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/watch-her-prosper/

https://www.watchherprosper.com/

Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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 financial advising clients to examine their past spending to make sure their gut feelings about line items, like Amazon or Uber Eats spending, are correct. John then verbally walks through the One Number Budget. He starts with their gross income. He backs out 20% for wealth building first, then taxes. Next, John backs out their rent or mortgage. He suggests at most 15% for the mortgage to be able to live comfortably. Lastly, he backs out any student loan payments. That, my friend, is the One Number. Can you live off that amount of money for 4 weeks? And finally, Lauren asks John to relate this process to the retirement plan. Remember, you have 60 years of living you need to pay for on 30 years of working!

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 131: Budgeting for Dummies.

About John:

John Crane is a financial advisor and retirement income planner with 20+ years of experience. He has authored The One-Number Budget, in which he offers a breakthrough approach to simplify budgeting, grow wealth, and achieve financial balance by focusing on just one number. Budgeting methods in the past 30 years have led to a low median net worth of $215,000 for people in the 55-64 retirement age bracket. This is where John comes in. A family man himself, he knows and teaches families the importance of lifetime budgeting, insurance, investments, and income protection, to help them make their money lives better and futures more secure.

He is also the Founder-CEO of Crane Financial LLC and is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), America’s top association for financial service professionals. He has also received top honors from The Million Dollar Round Table.

Connect with John:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrane/

https://www.amazon.com/One-Number-Budget-Traditional-Budgets-About-ebook/dp/B0B89JC7PR

https://www.cranefinancial.com/

onenumberbudget.com

Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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 still working full time. Lauren shares some personal stories she hasn’t shared before related to Kris’s journey. They talk about how each step in your career you’re learning skills and stacking them together. Lauren then transitions to personal finance, specifically curious about how Kris learned about money. For starters, he’s very goal-oriented, so much so that he set a goal of dunking a basketball when he was younger, and he actually did it. But goals don’t get you all the way there, you should surround yourself with people who don’t know the things you do. And anyone can be successful, like Kris, even in this challenging interest rate environment. If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 126: From Crying Over Debt to $1M Net Worth and 138: Wake Up Call. About Kris: Kris Morin is a former Fortune 200 Strategy Executive and Accenture consultant, embarked on a transformative journey from corporate burnout to financial freedom. As the Co-Founder and Head of Investor Relations at Three Peaks Capital, Kris now leverages his expertise to help professionals nationwide diversify their portfolios and secure robust financial futures. Connect with Kris: Portfolio: https://podfol.io/profile/kristopher-morin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-morin-multifamily-real-estate-expert/ Website: https://www.threepeakscap.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kris.morin.906/?_rdc=1&_rdr Connect with Lauren: https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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, Argentina, Singapore, Nigeria, Peru, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Greece, Brasil, Oman, Bolivia, Czech Republic, Poland, Namibia, Norway, Russia, Austria, Turkey, Slovakia, Egypt, Portugal, Croatia, South Korea, Chile, Kuwait, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Lithuania, Sierra Leons, Morocco, Jamaica, Ukraine, Dominican Republic, Iceland, Malawi, Ecuador, Thailand, Taiwan, Qatar, Vietnam, Uruguay, Iraq, Bulgaria, Latvia, Republic of Moldova, Belize, Aruba, Lebanon, Bangladesh, St. Kitts and Nevis, Hungary, Iran, Ethiopia, Maldives, Zimbabwe, Paraguay, Slovenia, Albania, Cyprus, Grenada, Algeria, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Faroe Islands, Honduras, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, Guatemala, Palestine, Bahamas, Curacao, Equatorial Guinea, Vanuatu, Guam, Luxembourg, Palau, Montenegro, Serbia, Cayman Islands, Andorra

Gender (Spotify):

35% female (43% in 2023, 31% in 2022, 29% in 2021, and 69% in 2020)

52% male (55% in 2023, 69% in 2022 and 2021, 49% in 2020)

13% none specified

Age (Spotify):

0-17: 0%

18-22: 4%

23-27: 4% (down from 14%)

28-34: 32%

35-44: 11% (down from 26%)

45-59: 36% (up from 14%)

60+: 0%

Unknown: 4%

Where are you listening?

Apple: 55%

Spotify: 8%

Overcast: 7%

Browser: 23% (up a lot)

Castbox: 3%

Other: 5%

159: What To Do When You Inherit a Property (or Bequeath One)

160: Turning Real Estate Investing Into MORE Businesses

161: Beyond Broke: Unleash Your Financial Potential

162: Stop Stressing About Money (A How To Guide)

163: Overcoming Landlord Not-So Horror Stories

164: Move Yourself Physically, Mentally, and Financially

165: Personal Finance Questions to Ask Your Sweetheart

166: When You House Hack a House Hack

167: Wealth Blueprint: Using Your 9-5 To Buy Assets and Retire Early

168: Keep Finance Personal: Get Your Time, Energy & Financials Right

169: Real Money is Made During Downturns - Get Ready

170: All About Roofs & Don't Ever Skip Inspections (HMP 26)

171: Taking Over Dad's Real Estate Business

172: Hack Your Way to Wealth (Even on Minimum Wage)

173: Passive Income with Andrew from The Personal Finance Podcast

174: Change Your Own Life: Make More & Pay Off Your Debt

175: Are Student Loans a Scam? How To Pay for College

176: Millions Locked in Retirement Accounts… What to Do?

177: Wedding Venue Business Breakdown

178: Bitcoin: Have Fun Staying Poor

179: REPLAY: Think and Grow Rich AIE 61

180: The Landlord Who Rents

181: Car Wash Cash Flow: Small Business Financial Tips

182: Equity Exchange: Selling Stocks to Buy a Home

183: Net Worth: What, How, and Why

184: Small Expenses That Add Up Over Time

185: Financial Feast: A Smorgasbord of Personal Finance Tips

186: Generating Side Income: Are You Buying Dividend Stocks?

187: What if You Can't Pay for College and Save for Retirement?

188: REPLAY: Budgeting for Dummies (AIE 131)

189: Fight All Day and Make Money

190: How Retiring at 44 Changed My Life

191: The Government Has Your Estate Plan if You Don't

192: Paying Your Home Off is An Investment

193: Credit Cards are Like Fireworks

194: Real Estate vs Bitcoin

195: Lifestyle Design: The 5 Freedoms

196: TODAY

Coming up: The plan is for me to be interviewed for episode 200!

Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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 estate space, and that led to his current company, Spark Rental. Soon, the conversation transitions to lifestyle design. Brian and his family have lived outside of the country for years, starting in the UAE. He has borrowed the 5 freedoms framework to help with lifestyle design: 1) freedom from financial stress, 2) location freedom, 3) time freedom, 4) work freedom, and 5) financial independence. Interestingly, once you get the first 4 freedoms, you don’t usually need full financial independence. You are happy to do enough to cover any shortfalls. Brian brings it home by explaining why he likes real estate to achieve the 5 freedoms but notes it does not have to be everyone’s freedom vehicle of choice. He also dives into more detail about Spark Rental.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 44: All the Ways You Can FI or 77: FIRE in Your 20s.

About Brian:

Brian Davis is a real estate investor and personal finance writer. After graduating from University of Delaware in 2003 with two useless bachelor’s degrees and an even more useless minor in anthropology, he fell headfirst into real estate finance by accident. He promptly went on a property buying spree from 2005-2008. It was what you might call a “learning experience,” all of the lessons expensive. Eventually, Brian tired of land lording and unloaded his own portfolio of rental properties. Nowadays he only invests passively in real estate. Along with his wife and daughter, Brian spends most of the year abroad living by his own rules. He loves writing, hiking, cooking, pairing wine with said cooking, scuba diving, and occasionally surfing (badly). Most of all, Brian loves showing others how they too can create their ideal lives through real estate investing and lifestyle design.

Connect with Brian:⁠

https://sparkrental.com/

⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/sparkrental/

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/sparkrental/

⁠⁠https://x.com/sparkrental/⁠

Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/

⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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 have a bigger track record to fall back on. Lauren educates Rajat about real estate, and he educates her about bitcoin. Let us know which you think is better when you’re done listening!

Connect with Rajat:

https://www.youtube.com/@rajatsonifinancehttps://x.com/rajatsonifnance

Full, original conversation:

https://youtu.be/A-hsooaDILU?si=Xa0LyhFqNKPno9j1

Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

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 they arenusing these responsibly and will pay them off before the interest hits. Credit cards are like fireworks. If you play with them responsibly, you’ll get a beautiful show. If not, they’ll blow up in your face. How do you know which cards are best? It depends on what you’re looking for: cash rewards or travel ones. Lauren asked about annual fees, and Brett point out that you can get more value than the annual fee in most cases. Then, Brett casually drops into the conversation that he has had over 100 credit cards since he was 18, 13 years ago. Right now, he’s using his Chase Sapphire for everything, including a rental car recently in Denver. When a hailstorm rolled through, the damage was covered by the credit card! How does having so many cards affect your credit? It turns out it’s not too serious of an impact, usually 5-7 points. Lauren then asks about how credit card limits work. Interestingly, Brett points out that you can transfer credit lines to different cards with the same provider. Lauren asks Brett to explain how credit card companies make money if they’re able to give Brett all these rewards! They make money on interest, late fees, and processing fees as well. Lauren then shares a consumer protection win of her own. Brett closes by reminding people that they’re using their credit card every day. They should analyze whether they’re actually using the right one.

About Brett:

Brett Holzhauer is a self-proclaimed personal finance nerd. He currently works at Biz2Credit wherehe is a Senior Writer. Before that, he was a personal finance reporter at CNBC and Forbes. Along the way, he has been on his own financial journey. Hesuccessfully paid off $80,000 in student loan debt, while buying his first home in South Florida in 2022, bought his first investment property in 2023, and is currently under contract for his second investment property. When he isn't money nerd-ing, he is watching college football or getting tan at the beach.

Connect with Brett:

Twitter @brettholzhauer

Biz2Credit.com

Upgraded Points

Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/