How to Stash That Cash-with Chris Kawaja-EP64

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer speaks with investment guru and author, Chris Kawaja. Chris shares his ideas about how to create a better financial strategy, how to think about where you should invest, and how to identify opportunities that will help you create wealth.  Episode Highlights:  Chris Kawaja was born into an entrepreneurial family. When he was seventeen, he left home to attend Stanford where he studied economics and psychology. He worked on Wall Street and attended Harvard Business School. He has a broad base investing experience. He was trained under legendary investor Ray Dalio, at Bridgewater, out of business school. The most important lesson he learned from Ray was how hard it is to be honest with yourself and honest with other people. Chris advises that we should not overreact today. We make investment mistakes when we’re emotional. Do less and think more. Take the time to reflect during this time.  Investing doesn't always reward us in the same way as other activities. The time you most want to buy is when things are falling to the floor. Chris is in favor of having independent streams of income. For his real estate investing, Chris gets his income from different geographies. He also invests in different industries. There's a balance between getting better at what you're doing and also diversifying. As you think about where to invest, it’s important to know yourself. Ask yourself what kind of investment is going to be a great fit for you. Make sure your first deal is idiot-proof. Chris describes the two models he used for leveraging land at the beginning of his career.  Chris provides an overview to The Ultimate Liquidity Portfolio, which he created when he saw friends and family experiencing hardships during economic shifts. High-yield savings accounts tend to lose money after taxes and inflation. Stocks are the other extreme. Using the ULP, you invest 88% in intermediate-term treasuries and 12% in the total stock market index. This is a portfolio that preserves money better than stocks, better than cash, over numerous periods. This strategy isn't for retirement investments. It's effective for your middle bucket of cash. As you think about the rest of 2020, have a plan and stick with it. Now is the time to be turning over a bunch of rocks. You will learn in the process. When there is a change like this, write down the changes you're seeing in the world. These are signals for what's changing in the world that will give you a broad intuition. Chris posts on his blog every few weeks on investing and real estate. His most popular product is his weekly newsletter. Chris reminds us that real estate will always be a great business.  Keep going back to the intersection of the things that interest you and the things you can make money at. Chris shares what he’ll be doing next.  Jeff and Chris discuss the risks involved in multi-family units in the current market. 3 Key Points: This is a great time to reflect, learn, and seek out new opportunities. When considering investments, know yourself. Pick the kind of investment you like. There are many opportunities and it’s always a great time to be in real estate.  Resources Mentioned: LCA Marketing Center: LCAmarketingcenter.com Lab Coat Agents: LabCoatAgents.com Chris Kawaja LinkedIn How to Stash That Cash (book) How to Stash That Cash website Ray Dalio  Upwarding blog Connect with Lab Coat Agents: Lab Coat Agents on Facebook Lab Coat Agents on Twitter Lab Coat Agents on Instagram Lab Coat Agents Facebook Group