Where to Stay: Hotel AS Lisbon; Honest Hotel Seville Where to Eat: Restaurante Inefável in Barcelos, Varela Churrasqueria in Pontevedra, Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon, Billy Brunch in Seville What to See: colorful statues in Barcelos; the car-free town center of Pontevedra; Tropical Botanic Garden in Lisbon; ceramic museum in the Triana neighborhood of Seville Day 15: On the road from Porto to Pontevedra with a delicious stop in Barcelos Getting from Porto to Galicia by car is under two hours, so we had time to kill. We were staying with a friend in Pontevedra and not meeting till the [...]
Where to Stay: Hilton Dublin Airport, Hotel Arrizul Catedral, AC Hotel Porto Where to Eat: anywhere that serves pastel de nata and francesinha:) What to See: In San Sebastian: take the funicular to see all of San Sebastian (photo above), walk on the beach, walk alongside the beach, Old Town. In Northern Portugal: charming small towns Caminha and Viana do Castelo for river side, Espinho for beach; Gaia and Porto riverfronts; Mercado do Bolhao Day 8: Flight from Dublin to Madrid and on the road from Madrid to San Sebastien Our plan was to fly back to Madrid and head [...]
Where to Stay: Arlington Hotel in Dublin, Foyles Hotel in Clifden Where to Eat: The Rolling Donut, Old Storehouse, Ryan’s Village Café, Mannion’s Bar, Off the Square Restaurant, EJ King’s, Guy’s Bar What to See: In Dublin – Half Penny Bridge, Spire, Dublin Portal, Trinity College, Stephens Park, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church, Half Penny Bridge, Temple Bar; in Galway – Latin Quarter, Galway City Museum, Galway Cathedral; in Clifden – town center, Connemara scenic drives, Aesleagh Falls Day One: In-flight Movie Marathon and Lunch at Malahide Castle We had Avios points that were expiring in 2025, so we used [...]
In my last post, I weighed the rent v. buy decision for a property we would only use part-time. The property we were considering was a duplex (not pictured) in upstate New York, about 30 minutes from Albany and near a SUNY (State University of New York). While the property had enough potential that we made an appointment to visit it with a real estate agent, we ultimately passed on it. The property ended up selling, but there is another duplex in the same town still listed for sale for just under $115,000. While the unit was just under $120,000 [...]
We’re not actively looking to buy more real estate right now, but every week or so, I look at certain geographies I’m interested in – one of which is upstate New York near Albany. We already know the area because I helped a friend who lives there come up with viable alternatives when a rent-to-own deal went bad. There are several small towns clustered together, and as it turns out, there’s a duplex, walkable to the town center, in our favorite of the small towns. A duplex within three hours of NYC for under $150,000! We like the town because [...]
How often do you adjust your investments? Periodically (annually, quarterly), one should rebalance their portfolio. If one asset class has run up in value, you might have more money invested there than you originally intended. Similarly, if an asset class has decreased in value, you might have too little exposure, if that investment still fits in with your plans. As we look at our investments, potential overexposure to Jacksonville real estate is front of mind. I consider our investment portfolio pretty well-diversified. Our net worth is split almost evenly between real estate and traditional paper assets at 45% of our [...]
Asian Persuasion made its worldwide premier at the Soho International Film Festival in New York City on September 16. Luckily, I was already going to be in New York that week, when director Jhett Tolentino texted me an invite to the premier and afterparty! I had profiled Jhett in my Forbes column (read his fascinating career pivot story from accountant to Tony-award winning Broadway producer!), and he’s been kind enough to give me script feedback on Legacy Breed. Of course, I was excited to support Jhett on his directorial debut. Being in love with food, NY and childhood dreams Asian [...]
Given that all our online behavior is tracked, I must be tagged as a cynic, pessimist or doomsday thinker because several posts about the negative aspects of the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement were suggested to me: Fortune wrote about early retirees feeling lost and unfulfilled. Gobankingrates.com was even more to the point with their take: I Retired Early And Regret It (subtitle: Why I Went Back To Work To Continue Building Wealth). Ramit Sethi is not a Negative Nelly on FIRE and presents a healthy, balanced approach to money. Still, one of his podcast episodes was suggested to [...]
I loved seeing this post on Business Insider featuring five different real-life examples of house hacking House hacking is renting out part of your home to cover your mortgage and potentially even make a profit. In the post, you’ll see owners who took on roommates for spare bedrooms or bought a duplex to live in one unit and rent out the other. One owner renovated an unfinished basement to rent out even more space. One couple had six-figures in student loans and worked low-paying social work jobs but still managed to house-hack into a situation that cut their mortgage payment [...]
In 2008, Dr. Regina Lark was laid off from her role as Director of the extension program at UCLA. A PhD in women’s history, Lark had worked in the university system since she graduated and was 50 years old when she was laid off. Yet, instead of finding another role in academia, Lark founded A Clear Path, a professional organizing firm based in Los Angeles, which now has 13 employees, seven figures in revenue and 15 years in business. I love Lark’s story as a real-life example of a late-career pivot. Too many late-career professionals assume there’s an expiration date [...]
