Affluent but Frugal

We've officially owned our first rental property for over a year! Since hitting this milestone, it seemed a good time to reflect on how it has been going. When we made the purchase, this is what I initially projected for costs/revenue per month: Rent: 1225 PITI: 570 (PITI: principal, interest, taxes, insurance) Maint: 120 (estimated at ~1.5% of purchase price) Management: 123 (I'm self-managing currently, so I pay this to myself to manage. But it's based on 10% of the gross rents, which is about what we'd pay an outside company.) Lawn: 80 Vacancy: 123 (estimated gaps in tenancy, 10%) Monthly cash flow: 209; 2,508/year. We have around 19,000 cash invested, which makes the cash on cash return 13.2%. First, the bad news is in 2016, we were cash flow negative $321.78 overall  for the year (did not include any tax benefits or principal pay-down in this calculation). This is mostly because I included the cost of the appraisal and home inspection in the fi...

Waterfalls all around every corner! Last year I was fortunate enough to go to Iceland with several friends and I have to say it is a beautiful country!  The natural beauty of the country was both incredible and very unique. If you have been thinking about it but haven't made the plunge yet, I strongly recommend it! The people are also incredibly friendly and they making traveling as easy as possible. Now for the bad news, traveling in Iceland is also very expensive. Even "budget" travel there is not really cheap . To keep from totally blowing your budget, here are some suggestions! 1. Book accommodation with a kitchenette Food is very expensive in Iceland because it's an island and a lot of food is imported. A quick take-out meal will run you at least 15-20 USD and a nicer sit-down meal will be 30-50 USD, more if you have a few drinks. If you can eat breakfast + another meal a day "at home," it will save you big bucks. I would suggest hitting up ...

I was fortunate to visit Iceland with several friends in September 2016 and if you are planning a trip there, trust me the scenery will not disappoint! There were waterfalls, black sand beaches and sheep galore! I definitely plan to go back in a few years. What do you need to pack to make it an awesome trip? Check out my list of essentials below to avoid over-packing or buying a bunch of things you don't need. 1. Rain jacket You will get wet. I repeat, you will get wet and almost every day. There will be light rains and spray from waterfalls. I bought this reasonably priced  coat from Amazon  and it kept me warm and dry through the whole trip! If you are traveling during a warmer season, you might look for something a little lighter but in fall/winter this jacket will keep you warm. Make sure any jacket you get, has a hood because then you don't need am umbrella. But they don't have it in teal anymore! 2. Moisture wicking tops, bottoms I pac...

My fiance and I bought our first rental property at the age of 30. It's not easy and it was a little scary but you can do it too. How? Here are some suggestions to help you get started! Save, save, save. You will need money to buy a rental property. You might be able to buy one without putting any money down but you certainly can't own one. You will need money to fix things that break and to cover vacancies. We saved some of our down-payment by renting out a room in our house, you can read about it here . If you're buying a $100,000 house you need to save up, I would suggest $40,000 for down-payment, closing costs and emergency fund before you buy! Yes this is hard, but it's also the most important step.At some point you might want to spend it all on a vacation but later, when the rent money starts to come it, you'll be so glad you didn't! Read about what makes a good rental property. When I first bought the house we live in now, I had the idea that event...