Our son was born happy and healthy Monday morning at 8:32AM. 6lbs 9oz. The experience here in Costa Rica was extraordinary. We can’t wait to tell you about it!
Homeless and Unemployed in Costa Rica (Giving Birth Abroad)
We made it! We hope you understand our absence lately, but we’ve been selling our things, moving, and preparing for our trip to Costa Rica.
We wanted to give you a quick tour of the neighborhood/hospital so you can get an idea of where we’re staying and where we’ll be giving birth. So far our experience has been much better than we could hope for!
Valuing Your Time (feat. Joshua Sheats, Jason Fieber, and Kraig Mathias)
Last year we made a video about how your free time cannot be valued the same as your hourly wage. This week we wanted to revisit that idea with the help of Joshua Sheats (Radical Personal Finance), Jason Fieber (Dividend Mantra), and Kraig Mathias (Create My Independence) as our special guests.
Links:
How Much is Your Free Time Worth – https://goo.gl/oZoPfG
Most Profitable DIY Skills for Beginners – https://goo.gl/B93xMC
The Convenience Paradox – https://goo.gl/TtV9BM
Joshua Sheats – https://radicalpersonalfinance.com/
Jason Fieber – https://dividendmantra.com/
Kraig Mathias – https://createmyindependence.com/
Most Profitable DIY Skills for Beginners
Which DIY skills are the easiest to learn? Which projects save you the most money? In this video we find the overlap between the highest paid trades and DIY projects that have the lowest barrier of entry.
Extreme Buzz Wire Game with STUN GUN!
What would you do if someone gave you a broken stun gun? I decided to make an extreme DIY buzz wire game. I knew no one would touch it if the only option was the full 4 million volts, so I broke it into 3 stages.
Level 1 feels more like a vibration than a shock. Level 2 is a little uncomfortable. Level 3 is all the power this thing has! So far no one has finished it!
Ben’s YouTube Channel – https://goo.gl/HDK1gA
PLEASE READ: Do not try this at home. Also, I’m sure people are going to comment about letting the kids use it…Those were the parents who were standing right there and by that point the battery was so low it felt less powerful than a static shock. Still dangerous but it was their choice 🙂
Nitro Engine Powered PENCIL Sharpener!
My friend Bryan found a nitro engine RC car in the garbage. The piston was seized and the carburetor was dirty. I spent some time getting it up and running, but it was still missing the remote control, battery, driveshaft, and other parts.
I decided to turn it into a gas powered pencil sharper instead! I was fully expecting it to fall apart at such high RPMs, but it’s actually held up great. Stupid invention? Yes, but it was fun to build 🙂
It’s quite possibly the highest performance pencil sharpener on the planet.
Asking Mike for PERMISSION to Buy Things?
I’ve been asked the question: “do I need to ask Mike for permission to make purchases?” In this video I discuss whether it’s important to talk to your spouse about every single purchase they make. Ultimately, we might have uncovered a much bigger idea to discuss another day.
Radical Personal Finance interview – https://goo.gl/G7E0D6
DIY Wood Steering/Suspension Support for VW Bug
We’re gathering and organizing all of our stuff to start selling before our big adventure, so I didn’t have time for a full project. However, I did help my friend Chase clean up his VW Bug project.
Without the body, the suspension of the VW Super Beetle just kind of hangs there making it look like it’s in rough shape. I figured if we could make a steering linkage support system out of wood, not only would it look better but it would also be easier for the potential buyer to load it on a trailer.
We only had an hour and a half to build this so I forgot to film a few steps. Hopefully if you’re restoring a bug yourself you can get the gist of what we did.
Should You Invest in Your Crappy 401(k) Plan?
We don’t have very much experience with 401k’s, but Lauren’s work just set one up. I was amazed how horrible our options were. Most funds had a front end load of 5% and the manager wanted 1% of our wealth per year for his “advice.”
Unfortunately, despite the lack of options 401(k)’s are usually worth it. Between a company match and tax advantages you’ll probably recover a lot of those fees. It’s just a shame we have to pick the lesser of two evils.
Links:
Should You Avoid Your Company’s 401k (Jim Collins) – https://goo.gl/SOiCRI
How to Campaign for a Better Plan – https://goo.gl/JnJZF7
Funds Can’t Beat the Market – https://goo.gl/QdplTr
Jack Bogle on Fees – https://goo.gl/FVz03k
A Patreon Campaign that (Hopefully) Doesn’t Suck
Well, we finally did it… You know how we feel about asking for donations, so hopefully we’ve put something together that you think is worth contributing to. Let us know if anything isn’t working and/or if something doesn’t make sense!
Link to the Patreon!
https://patreon.com/mikeandlauren
3 Videos for new “Inner Circle” Members:
-We’re Paying $75,000 For What?!
-Our Thoughts Watching HGTV for One Week
-Why We Think You Signed Up…An Inside Look
Sign up here! https://goo.gl/wMJpLx