First, Lauren needs to know why people call him Rock/Rawk. Then, she asks about the “accidental landlord” thing. It turns out, what happened to Rawk and his wife is a tale as old as time: they bought a house thinking they’d stay a while, but then a job offer took them elsewhere. Lauren and Rawk dive into the numbers of that “deal”: purchase price, interest rate, and rent. Then, the conversation transitions to overall personal finance, like saving vs investing and budgeting. Interestingly, Rawk and his wife are long-distance landlords, but they rent in Atlanta! How did Rawk get into investing? One of his professors at UCF told him about Roth IRAs, and that’s how it started. Later, someone came in and spoke at his job about personal finance basics, like compound interest. It sounds like Rawk and his wife are aligned, which we know is very important. Currently, they are investing in index funds, hoping to have enough to live off of in their late 40s or early 50s. At that point, they will have flexibility to go part time or start a business. They’re very into traveling right now too. This leads to discussion about what it’s worth spending money on. Obviously, the answers are travel, good sauce, and movers. For Lauren, it’s wine. Lauren asks another difficult question: rent vs buy. And then she asks about Hondas vs Toyotas. They’re both Honda fans. Lastly, she asks about Rawk’s parents and what they taught him about money, and whether kids are on the horizon.
If you liked this episode, you’ll also like 168: Keep Finance Personal or 156: Financial Independence Doesn’t Have to Be Extreme.
About Rawk:
Rawk is a project manager with a passion for personal finance. A Florida native now based in the Atlanta area, he is a self-proclaimed finance junkie. Rawk has been investing since 2018 and he became an accidental landlord since 2023 with 1 rental. For fun, Rawk is an avid hiker in his spare time.
Connect with Rawk:
https://twitter.com/Rawk_FI
https://www.threads.net/@rawk_finance
Connect with Lauren:
https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy
https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/
