Random Thoughts

Eating Whatever I Wanted For over a decade after I moved out on my own I more or less ate whatever I felt like. I tried to eat 'healthy' (whatever that meant) but in general I didn't have any plan or purpose for what I would eat. By the time I was close to finishing my undergraduate degree I had gained about 30 pounds and needed to take drastic action. My roommate and I started a workout and diet plan in my last semester of university and over the next four months I got into the best shape of my life. After reaching my fitness goals I managed to stay in shape for about a year until my old habits leaked back into my life and I gradually gained back the weight...the problem was that I could convince myself to achieve a short term goal but I didn't have a long term plan. Making a Plan Two years ago when I had hit my self-imposed weight ceiling (200 lbs) I decided it was time to do something again but that this time I wouldn't settle for a short-term solution. S

What? For sure renting a house for personal use while owning multiple rental properties is an unconventional decision...but I think if you read the rest of this blog you'll understand why I do it and it might even make you think about how you make decisions regarding your own housing (although I very much doubt anyone else will actually start renting their primary residences!). I also want to point out that I should probably save this post for better economic times as this is literally the worst time to own the kind of real estate I do but I'm putting it out there anyway because it still barely makes sense in this environment and I know from experience that it works very well in better times... Classic Rent vs. Buy Analysis You see lots of articles about whether you should rent or buy in both the mainstream media and from personal finance bloggers. Some of these are good but most of them don't really help  (if you'd like to know why this guy's analysis is so o