Michael
I'm living the path to financial success and sharing everything I learn in this blog. I believe in the power of cash flowing investments, due diligence and time. This is my journey so far.
I learned everything I know from books, podcasts, conversations with friends and family and of course through real world experience as a cash flow investor. And I'm always pushing to learn more.
To see my investing timeline, check out our about page
Comprehensive List of Blogging Expenses
There’s an old saying “you’ve got to spend money to make money,” and in many contexts it is true. Blogging can be one of the most rewarding, and lucrative, businesses out there today. But what does it really cost to run a blog? You can start a blog for under $50, and you can also spend thousands of dollars a month running a blog. It all depends on how big your operation is, how you make your money and how quickly you want to grow. In order to profit in any business, you must first know how much it costs. So here’s my comprehensive list of all expenses that you could run into as a blogger. About Me and My Blogging Sites Real quick, before I start my list, I want to briefly give you some information about who I…
2 Bedroom Sets That Work Great in Airbnbs
Those first couple weeks after closing on a new Airbnb investment property can be madness. You have dozens, perhaps hundreds of items to buy. From refrigerators, appliances, tables and chairs for your kitchen to bed frames, dressers, nightstands and mattresses in your bedrooms. Not to mention all the decor and other touches involved (we usually do some painting and a few small projects). It’s nice to be able to buy a package deal where you get a unified look for a good price to ease the burden of all those purchases. And that’s exactly what a great bedroom set does for your Airbnb. The Most Important Thing In An Airbnb My wife Kate and I have been hosting for more than 5 years now, and as much as it pains me to say this, the most important thing in making…
The Top 3 Best Rugs In Our Airbnbs
Your ideal rug for an Airbnb is one that looks amazing, has a luxury feel, but holds up to the constant food traffic and vacuuming. For us, this usually means a sturdy low pile rug (long shag rugs are almost impossible to vacuum). While rugs aren’t at the very top of the list for purchases that can make or break your Airbnb business, they can make a HUGE difference in the way your space looks and feels. A well placed, beautiful rug can seriously enhance your Airbnb. It can turn a “meh” space into a “this is nice!” space. So today I’ll be sharing a couple rug purchasing blunders we’ve made and also listing some of our successful purchases that have worked out. A Large, Expensive Rug That Got Ruined My wife Kate, who is the interior designer of our…
Best Wine Glasses For Your Airbnb
The golden rule of buying things for your Airbnb is to buy something “easy to use, hard to break.” But there are times when it’s OK to break this rule. We bought another home and listed it on Airbnb just two months ago, and we ended up buying real glass, stemless wine glasses. Even though we know from experience that some of them will likely break in the coming years, we feel that the wine drinking experience is much improved with real glass. So today I’ll just talk through some of the experiences we’ve had and things we consider when buying wine glasses for our Airbnbs. Then I’ll share 3 different brands that we actually put in one or more of our listings. All The Ways Wine Glasses Can Break Anyone who has had a drink out of a wine…
Best Refrigerator In Our 4 Airbnbs
While a refrigerator isn’t a tier 1 concern in your Airbnb, it is something most of your guests will use. And that means that your fridge can cause problems. We’ve run into a few problems during our 5+ years hosting Airbnbs and ended up replacing a few fridges. What we’ve found is that the best refrigerator for Airbnb is one that is small, has a fridge and a freezer, has ice in it, but does not have any dispensers. The ice doesn’t have to be produced by an ice maker, and in many cases it’s preferable if it doesn’t have an ice maker. Today I’ll be sharing 3 fridges that we’ve used in our Airbnbs, and even showing you the one we bought most recently. What Do We Stock In Our Refrigerators? Guests don’t need much to already be in…
The Best Silverware For Airbnb (Hint: Stainless Steel)
After hosting 4 different Airbnbs over the last 5 years, my wife and I have never had to replace any of our silverware. I’ve never put much thought into it, but we must have made some decent purchasing decisions. The common denominator for silverware across all our listings has been stainless steel. In all honesty, it’s hard to find a set of silverware that’s NOT stainless steel, so maybe we weren’t as smart as we thought. But either way, I’m sharing the three sets we’ve bought that have stood up to years of guests and have emerged without a scratch. What Exactly Should You Stock In Your Kitchen? In our Airbnb market, kitchens are an important selling point. We live in a college town, and the University is without a doubt the biggest draw to our listings. I’d say around…
10 Valuable Assets To Buy In Your 20s
My person definition of “investing” is the acquisition of cash flowing assets. This definition doesn’t fit everyone, but it’s how I’ve come to frame my investing decisions. Regardless of whether cash flow is at the top of your list, acquiring assets throughout your life is a recipe for a financially free future. I define “asset” as anything that returns more monetary value than you spent to acquire it. And I have here a list of 10 assets that anyone in their 20s should be looking to invest in. 1. Dividend Stocks Benefits Regular payouts in cash Very passive Big gains can be realized over long periods of time Drawbacks Very low cash on cash return Very average overall return on investment Meaningful growth takes a long time Dividend stocks are my top asset pick for someone in their 20s. The…
Best Airbnb Dishwasher To Encourage Your Guests To Clean
The best dishwasher for your Airbnb is one that doesn’t have a lot of unnecessary features, is easy to operate and won’t break down. Today I’m sharing two of the dishwashers we have in our listings that have checked those three boxes. They’ve both been working without issue for at least 2 years, and have been easy for our guests to operate. Dishwasher vs. Hand Washing In Our Airbnbs At the moment, we have 4 Airbnbs that we manage. Three of them have dishwashers and the other does not. All 4 listings have silverware, dishes, glasses and mugs. And even though that one listing doesn’t have a stove top or oven, guests still cook from time to time with the microwave, toaster and electric skillet that we provide. Cooking is less common, but it still happens. And from time to…
The Simple, Effective Blog Post Metrics I Use
Blog post metrics can become useless noise if we try to complicate them too much. There are two sides to metrics, the good side and the bad side. The good side is when your metrics highlight the things you’ve done well and the mistakes you’ve made, allowing you to make changes to your workflow process and spend your energy more effectively. The more you can improve your process, the more valuable your efforts will be. The bad side is when you spend so much time burying yourself in numbers that you forget to do the things that actually earn you money (like creating content). It’s best to keep your metrics simple. Only pay attention to what helps you improve your process and ignore the rest. When it’s all said and done, the most important metric of all (in my opinion)…
When To Hire a Freelance Writer For Your Blog
In my opinion, the time to hire your first freelance writer is after at least 1 year of consistent, serious blogging on your own. You should have at least 50 articles that are more than 9 months old, and preferably written over 100 total articles yourself. The Three Situations The way I see (and the way I’ve experienced it), there are three different situations you may find yourself in with regard to hiring writers for a blog. 1. You’re new to blogging When you first enter the world of web publishing, there’s a lot you don’t know. Or at the very least there’s a lot you don’t have experience with. First and foremost, you haven’t written very many articles. If you’re going to hire a freelance writer or two, then you need to have some idea of what differentiates a…