The Financial Freeman Podcast: Recent Episodes
Gary Freeman
Here's the million dollar qu (if only this was the answer...) - how much money are we set to make from our latest 6 bed HMO? In the latest episode of the podcast we talk about gross revenue and run through the expenses.
The biggest expense after the mortgage is management fees - we discuss whether they are worth it.
We also discuss profit from capital growth as well as just rental income. In the current market conditions we think you should factor in capital growth. Perhaps not, at a rate of 10% a year, although it looks like we are on for that again this year (as predicted!) but a more prudent figure of say 3%.
Join Gary and Roni as they drill down into the refurb costs of HMO's and see if they are currently on budget for their current project...
Would you swap £91m for £102m? Yes, of course you would!!! Well on Monday you had the opportunity to invest in a profitable diagnostics company called Novacyt whose valuation at the time was only £91m but who had £102m in its bank account (in Jan). Ok, so you couldn't buy the whole company at that value (even if you had a spare £91m!) but you could have taken a cheeky slice. The stock market presents all kinds of opportunities especially in terrible times like these. Watch our short 2 min video now which could be the start of your journey to making money on the stock market.
Listen to our HMO floorplan special to see how we are converting a 3 bed terraced property into a 6 bed all en-suite HMO (we were actually unlucky not to get planning for an 8 bed!). In the episode we discuss why we moved the kitchen to the middle floor instead of extending on the ground floor and why we decided to go against the norm and build a loft room instead of using the basement space as an extra room.
This week we take a look at our ongoing HMO project in Swinton. We discuss the location and why it appealed to us. We discuss the negotiation and how it ended up in a closed bid scenario. Find out how we were successful. We also discuss the interplay with our investors and how we got them on board with asking way over the asking price!
Is it dangerous to mix business with pleasure? well yes, lots of things can go wrong. You can lose all your money or have a nasty fallout! But your close friend or relative maybe a business match made in heaven for you. Have you got shared goals? Are they the missing piece of the puzzle? Who knows, the business venture could actually improve your relationship. That has certainly been the case of the people we have JV'd with.
What is a JV and when is a good time to enter into one? We explain the different types of JV's and when you may want to use them. We explain what you should be looking for in a JV partner and discuss whether you can find this somewhere else? We also discuss some key tips like knowing up front what all parties are looking for and having plans in place in case things go wrong. Oh and don't forget to write it all down in an agreement!
Following on from last year's bold predictions we predict what is going to happen to stock markets, bitcoin and Covid! Plus we say which area is going to start to see money pouring into it as the ESG fad starts to fade. And we have a special guest, it was Christmas Holidays after all....
Join Gary and Roni as we discuss our financial predictions for 2022. And yes you guessed it we are predicting another massive year for property prices - a further 10% growth! We also think rent will go up 7.5% plus and that lenders will become increasingly keen to lend meaning LTV's will go up. Yup that's right we are in a boom. We also think inflation will hit 10% roughly midway through the year before settling back down at about 5%. Despite this we think interest rates will rise but only by a small fraction and will end the year below 1%.
2021 was a mad year, the pandemic has continued to cause havoc across the world with the reaction to it having a huge impact on house prices, inflation, interest rates and everything else money related! We made some bold predictions last year including predicting that the property market would go up at least 5% - at the time everyone was saying there would be a crash! Find out how we got on in this episode
Here at Financial Freeman we have been warning about the dangers of inflation for some time and how you can't afford to just leave your money in the Bank indefinitely whilst it dwindles away. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have any cash reserves. In fact we actually think you should if you can have more than some financial advisers would suggest you have. The popular approach is to say you need a rainy day fund of 3-6 months' earnings but there are other reasons to hold cash. What about 'sunny days' such as weddings or a new kitchen. Should you keep this money in cash even if the expenditure is not due for a few years? Many good investors also liked to be 'in cash' if they think the market is looking 'frothy' as it is much easier to stomach a bit of loss due to inflation vs. wild market swings. Finally, you may want to take advantage of any market dips. All in all, you need to think about these issues and work out what is right for your financial situation.
This week we discuss why we raised our rents for the first time. It was a difficult decision because it would have been easy to do nothing. However the market had gone higher and we were undercharging. We discuss how much you should raise your rents by and actions you may wish to take to soften the blow. We also reveal how our tenants reacted. Spoiler alert: surprisingly well!
In this week's episode of the Financial Freeman podcast we explore the decision making process behind the purchases you make. In truth, most people don't really base such important decisions on anything but gut feel. We discuss some rules that could be put in place such as: 1) is there an alternative? 2) how many uses will you get of the product and 3) how much extra do you have to work to pay for the item? Time to get your spending house in order for Black Friday before you spend on items you cannot afford!
Pre-2008 you could put your money in the bank and it was worth more in real terms at the end of the year than it was when you put it in. Since 2008, your money is going down in value, most recently at the rate of 4% a year. This is very worrying if you are a saver. We discuss the relationship between interest rates and inflation and why interest rates should be a lot higher now! Now is the time to act before it is too late, start investing!
In this week's episode of the Financial Freeman podcast we will tell the story of how a crypto meme coin based on the Netflix show Squid Game suddenly went from being worth almost 3,000 dollars a coin to almost zero in just 5 minutes. We explain the story through the eyes of an experienced cypto investor, Luke Hartford who invested 300 USD into the coin which became worth almost 1 million USD. We discuss some of the warning lights of such coins such as not being able to sell the coins you have, a dodgy looking website and a twitter profile which doesn't allow replies. Eve if something is not a scam it could still have little value so watch out, only risk what you can afford to lose and do some research!
This week we discuss the most important aspect that will determine your financial future - your money mindset! Create a can do, optimistic mindset and your mind will open up all kinds of opportunities for you. You need to figure out a why as your journey is unlikely to be easy. Do not compare yourselves to others as this will only drag you down - work on yourself instead! And perhaps most importantly, be grateful - appreciating what we have got can do wonders for the mind and may stop us craving more and more in the search for happiness.
This week Tesla reached a 1 trillion dollar valuation! their share price keeps getting higher and higher! We explain how they got to this stage and more importantly whether they will continue to be a hot stock or whether they the share price is overvalued and due a correction. We discuss their technology and the other areas of revenue they are looking to explore. We also discuss how influential Elon Musk is and why you should not underestimate him. But can they really capture the market share that their valuation justifies? Or will they run in to supply issues and face increasing competition from experienced competitors. Place your bets now....
We explore why gold and bitcoin are seen as attractive investments compared to 'fiat' currency. We discuss why bitcoin is labelled as gold 2.0 and whether it can maintain its position as gold's sexier younger sister. Our conclusion may surprise you - buy both as they are likely to go up at different times. Also, rebalance the books once in a while so that you sell one when it is looking frothy and buy the other when it is looking undervalued.
We discuss whether gold is a good investment. Has gold gone up over time? Is it not easier to invest in shares? Should you just keep money in the Bank? Gold is golden because it maintains its value unlike the pound or dollar. However, don't try and trade it and don't lose it!
In this week's episode of the Financial Freeman podcast, we reveal how the Government manipulates the Consumer Price Index (CPI) so that official inflation figures remain low. We discuss why it is wrong not to include property related expenses in the CPI and explain why inflation would be a lot higher if they did. The Government also substitute more expensive items in the basket with cheaper items and add items into the list when they have already come down in price. There is also inappropriate weighting to gradually more expensive items such as healthcare. Finally the Government mark down the cost of old technology instead of replacing it with new and improved technology. We then remind you why all this matters and what you can do about it, that's right...invest in assets!
Find out why actual inflation is much higher than the Government is telling you it is. Look around and lots of items are a lot more expensive than they were even in a year ago including food, copper, houses, bathrooms and dogs! Despite this the Consumer Price Index measures inflation at about 2%. We discuss why the Government want to keep inflation lower and what would happen if they told the truth. We explain how inflation is linked to social security and tax credits and any rise in inflation would cost the Government millions. Further the interest on the Governments debt would spiral out of control. Borrowing would also become much more expensive and if borrowing slows down there will be major economic ripples across the country.
In this week's vital episode we reveal how property beats inflation if you use leverage. We discuss why rents and more importantly property prices go up with inflation and as if by magic, the value of your debt goes down.
In this week's episode, we tell the story of Jack who inherited £1m when his parents sadly died in a car crash. Find out what happened when Jack took his grandfather's advice and decided to leave his money in the Bank because he thought it was safe there.
UNDERSTANDING INFLATION IS VITAL TO YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES. In this week's episode of the Financial Freeman Podcast we explain that inflation will continue to rise because the Government need it to! The Government's debt is so huge now that inflation is the only trick they have left to reduce it. They can't raise interest rates because this will kill the economy and tax increases won't help too much (unless they go to levels that will lead to riots). And what's more the Government continue to 'print' money as if they are addicted to it. Supply and demand issues will also impact inflation especially in the short term but ultimately Government policy is far more important and they will get what they want!
There are lots of amazing and unknown reasons to get a credit card. Stay tuned to find out our top reasons. Also discover that marriage is a bit like a mortgage and you need to get to know your partner well by getting a credit card in the first place. But be careful there are lots of rules and you need to keep them otherwise your credit report will be destroyed.
In this episode we explore what financial freedom is and our experiences of leaving the corporate world to set off on our own. We explain how financial freedom is not retirement but potentially the start of a very exciting journey. We then discuss whether financial freedom is right for everyone including those who don't like taking risks or who are not self-starters.
Followers of Financial Freeman will know that we accurately predicted a boom in the Property Market. Find out how we are doing in our other predictions about investments, the stock market, gold, technology and the virus! And stay tuned for 2 new predictions about bitcoin and Tesla.
We look at the 5 biggest fears that put people off investing in property and discuss ways round them.
They are:
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House price crashes
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Overpaying for a property
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Everything going wrong in a property e.g. boiler
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Tenants not paying
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The complicated process
After listening to this episode you will realise that these fears are overplayed and can be overcome allowing you to start a successful property investment journey.
In this week's episode of the Financial Freeman podcast we explore why now is a good time to start investing. The main reason is down to the compound effect. By reinvesting the money you make from investing you can build up a significant investment pot compared to any funds that are left earning no interest in a Bank. Over the long term the numbers can be startling - after 40 years Mr Saver would have £65,000 whereas Mr Investor would have £430,000. Spend it wisely. There are other reasons to start now including tax and building up expertise. Oh and it can be fun.
Join Gary and Roni as they explore the world of cyptocurrency for the first time and ask the question on everyone's list: is dogecoin going to the moon or is it a hustle? We explore what cryptocurrency is and what makes bitcoin stand out compared to dogecoin. We look at why people might invest in something that is arguably worthless, in particular meme culture and the power of social media in advancing dogecoin as an investment. On the flip side we examine the risks of it all crashing down possibly as a result of one Elon Musk tweet.
Join Gary and Roni Freeman as they discuss the booming property market and how so many so called experts failed to see it coming. When the pandemic hit, there were lot of predictions that the house prices would fall 10-15% when actually prices have risen more than 10%! Fortunately, there is hope, Financial Freeman predicted that house prices would increase and did deals when the market presented opportunities. Hopefully you will be in a position to strike when the next opportunity presents itself...
Join Gary and Roni as they discuss everything that went wrong with their first buy to let property purchase. A builder who wouldn't commit his quote to writing, an overspend, a comparable that turned out not to be a comparable, and tenants who wouldn't pay! Still, everything has worked out well in the end and Gary and Roni have learnt a lot from the experience and are grateful that they have an asset making them money. Learn from their mistakes and a have a laugh in the process.
5 Reasons to leave your Job!!! Join Roni and Gary Freeman as they discuss why having a job may not make you that happy and can lead to stress. There is also a limit on pay, lack of control and little to show at the end of it all. Some people move jobs but it may be time to consider living a more financially free life where you are not reliant on your job. Plus there is news story of the week about a stressed and under pressure lawyer!
Join Gary and Roni as they discuss ways to raise big sums for your investment pot. Gary talks about releasing equity from your house and how you might be able to go from paying a standard variable rate to a fixed rate mortgage, take out a huge extra amount and not pay any more interest. Gary and Roni also explore the risk of taking out a mortgage but how the extra loan money could make you more money in the long run. Roni talks about how you can ask your relatives or friends for money but they might not say yes! And there's our news story of the week - wages are at a 20 year high, but then so are copper prices, meaning...inflation!
Join Gary and Roni Freeman as they start to explain what financial freedom is and how to achieve it. Gary and Roni discuss how you need to work out your expenditure then take action to save money so that you can earn more money in the future as the first steps in gaining financial freedom.