168: Finance Friday: Budgeting Expenses While Living on The Road with Renewable Energy Worker Clayton

A big piece of advice given by many wealthy people and real estate professionals is to simply “get started when you’re young”. This is exactly what our guest has done today. Clayton, a renewable energy worker, travels around the midwest for work, living out of an RV with his partner.

His company grants him a company car, a company phone, a food stipend, a handsome 401(k) match, and a comfortable salary. Clayton has taken advantage of these big perks by maxing out his Roth, buying a rental property, and using his primary home as a house hack. He’s checking all the boxes at just 26 years old, with a TON of potential to do more.

Clayton is close to having the big 3 things in life paid off: housing, transportation, and food. With extra income coming in every month, what can Clayton do to put himself in an even stronger position than before?

First, he’ll need to start budget and expense tracking. This is something many guests find challenging at first, but can really help alleviate any fears of where money is going. Next, he can start adding a bigger chunk of money to his rental property reserves, that way the mortgage is always being paid (even if someone misses rent). Last, he can start looking for another house hack and another rental property. Tune in to hear Scott’s ingenious way of looking for properties even if you’re on big sites like Zillow, Trulia, or even the MLS!

In This Episode We Cover

• Why everyone should house hack when possible to do so
• Frontloading your Roth and making sure you max it out every year
• Bill tracking vs. expense tracking (and how one works better than the other)
• How to use automatic budgeting apps to fine tune your spending
• How to define your specific criteria when looking for rentals 
• Why landlords need a 6 month reserve for their rental properties
• And So Much More!

Links from the Show

• BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group
• BiggerPockets Forums
• Finance Review Guest Onboarding

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow168

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