The full peanut butter

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Riggerjack
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Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:09 am

The full peanut butter

Post by Riggerjack »

www.johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-reed-s-n ... ow-can-you

I don't bring up john t reed much. He is a how to author, with lots to say about real estate. But this is him talking about minimizing expenses, van living, etc. We see this a lot from millennial, but this guy is a boomer who just blogged about his Lexus sc500.

And I think he even indirectly referenced Jacob in this post. :shock:

Riggerjack
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Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:09 am

The full peanut butter

Post by Riggerjack »

www.johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-reed-s-n ... ow-can-you

I don't bring up john t reed much. He is a how to author, with lots to say about real estate. But this is him talking about minimizing expenses, van living, etc. We see this a lot from millennial, but this guy is a boomer who just blogged about his Lexus sc500.

And I think he even indirectly referenced Jacob in this post. :shock:

chenda
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Location: Nether Wallop

Re: The full peanut butter

Post by chenda »

The link appears not to work...?

BlueNote
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Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: The full peanut butter

Post by BlueNote »

I have been reading John T Reed for about a decade, he's a good writer. I don't agree with some of his viewpoints but he calls them like he sees them and has an interesting and often authoritative perspective. I think he got to FI more through the top line (high income/revenue) path which can be harder than the expense optimization route that most of the FIRE crowd seems to be on. I guess he's one of those rare writers who was able to make a really good living just writing and publishing his own works to a small niche audience (real estate, youth sports, self-publishing etc.) for decades . He just writes what he knows and bakes in a lot of primary and secondary research/study into his books and other works.

BTW your link isn't working

Miss Lonelyhearts
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Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:53 am

Re: The full peanut butter

Post by Miss Lonelyhearts »

The full peanut butter indeed! I first discovered John T. Reed years ago when he was linked on another forum for his anti Robert Kiyosaki articles. (The linker also hated Kiyosaki.) My memory of him was that he was a bit more - how to say it? - analytical. Reading this article and clicking around his website now, he gives off a strong whiff of old guy with strong opinions who stopped listening to anyone else a long time ago. I see he's an expert on youth baseball and international politics as well.

It's to his credit he heard about lean living/RV life/ERE and actually tried it (for a week). He does seem to have missed the point and been stuck on thinking he was doing an exercise in austerity a la his peanut butter and milk days. While you could cite this as evidence that financial indepdence or minimal consumption is having a moment, I think it's more of a world-is-flat, wonder of electronic communication thing. Ideas can be disseminated wider, faster, and so you get interesting collisions like this one.

I googled to find the article. Does this one work? https://johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-reed ... -of-living

BlueNote
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by BlueNote »

Miss Lonelyhearts wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:04 pm


It's to his credit he heard about lean living/RV life/ERE and actually tried it (for a week). He does seem to have missed the point and been stuck on thinking he was doing an exercise in austerity a la his peanut butter and milk days. While you could cite this as evidence that financial indepdence or minimal consumption is having a moment, I think it's more of a world-is-flat, wonder of electronic communication thing. Ideas can be disseminated wider, faster, and so you get interesting collisions like this one.
I agree. One of his most recent articles is about the purchase of his brand new Lexus. That vehicles MSRP is 5x my yearly expenses, it depreciates rapidly and probably has poor gas mileage and insane insurance premiums. He probably thinks we're all a little kooky with the almost exclusive biking/walking/public transit and the generally extreme optimization of expenses. He's also in his sixties and still working, I assume he enjoys the work. I think he really likes freedom, he writes a lot about how he hated being in the stifling environment of the military when he was young so he must have a special appreciation for freedom. He has produced some best-of-breed writing, particularly for real estate investors and writing/self-publishing. I'd say he's the best real estate investment writer I've come across so far.

Miss Lonelyhearts
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Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:53 am

Re: The full peanut butter

Post by Miss Lonelyhearts »

@BlueNote re best of breed: I've never read his books but I have heard the same thing from at least one real estate investor. In particular, the only tax related advice he would give was to read Reed's book on tax avoidance.

ThisDinosaur
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by ThisDinosaur »

Neither link working for me, either.

Why is it that real estate seems to be such a consistent path for wealth? Is it just about the leverage and tax opportunities? Or is it that we had a century long housing bubble and I missed out?

I have my own issues with Robert Kiyosaki. The main one's are his writing style and that he seems a bit like a con-man/motivational-speaker. Why does Reed hate him?

Stahlmann
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Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2016 6:05 pm

Re: The full peanut butter

Post by Stahlmann »

Correct the link :P
I managed to visit the main site, pretty wide of topics are there covered (they do not correlate, ERE is the blog I spend the most time recently so I am bit surprised). But I still don't know to what you are referencing.

Anyway, as it was said many times. Being able to save most of your home pay and invest it good then finding something to occupy yourself is pretty badasss and against the stream. But it's doable.

From "About me"
have had this website since December 1996.
Hardcore. We need him here!
Last edited by Stahlmann on Tue Jul 18, 2017 4:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

IlliniDave
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by IlliniDave »

ThisDinosaur wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:48 pm
Neither link working for me, either.

Why is it that real estate seems to be such a consistent path for wealth? Is it just about the leverage and tax opportunities? Or is it that we had a century long housing bubble and I missed out?
I think about any *investing* strategy will consistently produce increased wealth. Speculation and aggressive leverage are different matters that sometimes work spectacularly, and sometimes fail disastrously. But a relatively conservatively financed portfolio of rental real estate, especially single-family residential properties, tends to retain at minimum much of the principal value as well as provide a fairly steady positive cash flow. The tax advantages are icing on the cake. The downside is that it's generally somewhat more hands-on, can almost be like owning a small business (the reason I shy away from it), compared to other types of investing. Like most endeavors with a high likelihood of success, unless you are going to take massive gambles, it's a slow and steady (but reliable) path to increasing wealth. There isn't any magic to it--you are just taking an ownership stake in something that produces a net inflow of cash.

BlueNote
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by BlueNote »

@IlliniDave

I was once interested in becoming a real estate investor because of the potential for "positive cash flow" i.e. immediately taking in more cash then I pay out. However after reading some of JTR's stuff I learned that the vast majority of real estate investors don't have positive cash flow or say they do but can't prove it. I think mostof the time people just don't calculate it properly, they think they have PCF but then it turns out that opportunity costs or some other thing wasn't included. Most people renting out single family homes could be profiting from amortization in the long term, but amortization of principal is marginal at the beginning of a mortgage.

Miss Lonelyhearts
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by Miss Lonelyhearts »

@TD https://johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-reed ... dad-part-1 or Google if link isn't working. "John T Reed rich dad" pops up in auto suggest for me

IlliniDave
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by IlliniDave »

BlueNote, I've only considered doing it on debt-free basis (no mortgage) so it's a bit easier to maintain a positive cash flow. I understand that's not how it is typically done. I also see it as a diversifier so it wouldn't have to be (on paper) the most profitable use of my money (opportunity cost, while real, is arguably canceled out by increased diversification). That's a good link you shared. There's a lot of sketchy information out there that gets people into trouble through over exuberant real estate pursuits. That's a decent list of many of the things to be wary of and investigate further, especially for larger multi-family properties.

For me though maintaining rentals is too much like trying to be a stock trader/speculator. To do it well just takes too much ongoing effort and doesn't dovetail well with the lifestyle I am cultivating for myself. Things may change down the road, or they may not.

Riggerjack
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by Riggerjack »

Sorry folks, I'm posting from a new phone. It thinks it is smarter than I am, and so far, it seems to be right.

Reed is an old guy, who did the west point/active army thing, then bought an apt complex, then more,then got the Harvard MBA, then started writing. I like him because he knows what he writes, and gives real world, working examples. And he's a curmudgeon. I like to read the writing of people who mean every word, whether I agree or not. He wastes no effort on pretence.

His RV experience that I so poorly linked above was part of his ongoing hyperinflation project. He did the research, wrote the book, and continues to do the research. So while other authors write about hyperinflation, causes, and actions you can take (hint: they think you should buy gold), he goes into the actual laws that have been written for capital controls, practical advice for what to do to prepare, including what that will cost if there isn't any hyperinflation. And he is very specific about not investing in gold. Or silver. In fact, if hyperinflation is your worry, he makes a good case for buying nickles, if you can't think of a better plan. He advises leaving the country, and so he has left the country, and digs into visa details, and tries living cheap in an RV to see what needs to be addressed.

He's old and rich, and he is writing for his peers. So some of his ideas will seem out of touch. I am always looking for a different perspective, so that doesn't bother me.

I have an old copy of his tax avoidance book, I can't recommend it enough if you are going to play in RE.

He also did a great, and expensive ($50) book called succeeding. Worth every penny. I have bought a few copies and give them away as graduation presents.

SavingWithBabies
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by SavingWithBabies »

Looks like the digital copy of Succeeding is a bit more affordable at $29.95: https://johntreed.com/collections/succeeding

It sounds interesting but I'm guessing I'm far enough along that maybe it isn't as useful (already have spouse, career, etc)? Or would you still recommend it?

Also, if one could really get a house that big in San Francisco for $3,300/month, I'd probably still be there (in a smaller house)! He's about 2x off on that one at least. But this is nitpicking as it doesn't impact his main points.

Riggerjack
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Re: The full peanut butter

Post by Riggerjack »

Succeeding was a great book. A little dated,but it is about maximizing your strengths and talents, while minimizing weaknesses. We all TRY to do that anyway, but he gives specific recommendations and strategies. This is what I like about his writing, real actionable ideas. Start with theory, expanding to specifics. This means his writing is like my talking, direct, focusing on effective communication, rather than being witty, or leaving impressions/trying to imply that he is more than he is. This is a how to author writing about best practices for living life. It is not high literature.

While he writes like an INTJ, the book is about finding your strengths and weaknesses, thus geared to the General public.

It is short, I think I read it in an evening. But I did reread a few parts, which almost never happens.

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