It’s been a tumultuous few weeks in the world, to say the least. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, there has been social unrest, injustices among many marginalized groups, and cries for change across the nation. There is a movement happening like I’ve never seen before in my life. Although we’re all still working towards understanding what reform looks like, there has been an immense wave of action and support from my friends, our community, and the world at large. This is what inspired me to try to make an impact myself.

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 125
Guest: Fritz Gilbert
Audio time: 1 hr 29 min
Read time: 3 min

Fritz Gilbert, of Retirement Manifesto, has created a pre-retirement checklist to guide people in making a smooth transition into retirement. Many people (especially my age) may think of retirement as a faraway concept, something that’ll eventually happen. They may not realize that there’s actually a lot of active planning involved. In this podcast, Fritz explains his personal experience with the 5-year checklist and how it may be helpful for others.

I officially started this blog in April 2020, as we all hunkered down, sheltering in place. Since I was spending more time in the kitchen, baking loaves of banana bread and Levain Bakery cookies, I needed a space to store my recipes so I could come back to them. That was all the motivation I needed to revisit the idea of a blog, yet again.

This past weekend, as I pondered my afternoon snack, I thought of these shortbread cookies. They’re light, crumbly, and pair perfectly together with a warm cup of tea and a good book. I usually add variations to my cookies, as I’m not a fan of just plain shortbread, so I decided to use up some tea leaves I had sitting around. The tea adds a hint of floral / earthy notes and balances the butteriness of the cookie quite well.

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 123
Guest: Avery Heilbron
Audio time: 1 hr
Read time: 2 min

One-line Summary

Learn how Avery Heilbron is planning for financial independence through real estate, with 5 units at just age 25.

His Journey with Money

• Always been frugal, did not like spending money
• Picked up a side hustle de-leading properties
• Financial position after graduating college in 2018: did not have student loan debt, saved money from summer internships, had high-paying job lined up (data scientist/analyst for an insurance company)

About a month ago, I made Levain Bakery’s Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies and have not stopped dreaming about them. Rich, thick, gooey golden mounds of happiness. I received order requests the week after I made them, and recently received another request for those delicious cookies. However, instead of the traditional chocolate chip walnut, I wanted to experiment with a new flavor. My favorite flavor. DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER.

As I was cleaning out my pantry, I found several jars of odds & ends ingredients. Chia seeds that I never touched, a leftover chocolate baking bar, nuts, oats. I’m a big fan of clearing out the food I have in my pantry before grocery shopping, so that’s how I thought of making these energy balls. They’re a breeze to make, healthy & delicious, and you can keep a batch in the fridge for when the snack cravings hit.

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 120
Guest: Michael Kitces
Audio time: 1 hr 23 min
Read time: 2 min

One Line Summary

The 4% rule still works in times of recession because it was modeled for the worst-case scenario over years of historical data, including 3 of the biggest financial crashes in the last century.

Origin of the 4% rule

• In the past, 7-8% withdrawal rate was considered “conservative”
• In 1994, Bill Bengen saw that 7% worked on average but might not account for bad years (recessions)
  • Analyzed historical data and found that a 4% withdrawal rate covers most worst-case scenarios
• 4% is the one rate that worked in the worst historical market sequence

Notes for BiggerPockets Money Podcast 122
Audio time: 55 min
Read time: 1 min

Basics of Financial Independence (FI)

Spend less than you earn

• Track your spending (ex. Mint)
• By tracking his spending, Scott was able to identify his biggest spending categories (housing, transportation, food)
  • House hacked to get rid of housing expense
  • Reduced car travel
  • Can splurge on food because above two categories are minimized

After making this banana bread, I wasn’t sure if I could ever buy another slice at the store. This was not only the best banana bread I’ve MADE, but the best banana bread I’ve ever EATEN. Seriously, I would just skip to the recipe now and get started. And get back to this intro while it’s baking in the oven.