​Nashville leaps ahead of Seattle, Los Angeles — now a top-five real estate market 

New report: Southern cities lead the nation in hot real-estate prospects  

CheckoutthisstoryonTennessean.com: https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2018/10/10/nashvilles-real-estate-market-leaps-ahead-seattle-los-angeles/1581440002/https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2018/10/10/nashvilles-real-estate-market-leaps-ahead-seattle-los-angeles/1581440002/

The 10 best US cities for millennials to save money Shawn M. Carter | @shawncarterm 
 8:30 AM ET Wed, 12 Sept 2018
  It isn't always easy to save money, especially if you're a millennial. Young people must juggle stagnant or sinking wages with the higher costs of significant expenses like college tuition, student loans and housing prices.
If you're looking to set aside more money, according to a new study from Bankrate, there's one major factor that could determine how easy, or how hard, it is for you to save: your location. Based on its data, here are the top 10 U.S. metro areas where it's easiest to save money, and where your savings would go the furthest.

Kansas City (covers parts of Missouri and Kansas)Annual saving potential: $12,191
Six-month emergency fund: $19,443
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 63

Cincinnati (covers parts of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana)Annual saving potential: $11,231
Six-month emergency fund: $19,897
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 56

Memphis (cover parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas)Annual saving potential: $9,348
Six-month emergency fund: $16,638
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 56

Columbus, OhioAnnual saving potential: $10,431
Six-month emergency fund: $20,255
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 52

St. Louis (covers parts of Missouri and Illinois)Annual saving potential: $10,054
Six-month emergency fund: $19,570
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 51

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MarylandAnnual saving potential: $13,127
Six-month emergency fund: $25,584
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 51

Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaAnnual saving potential: $8,894
Six-month emergency fund: $18,485
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 48

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IndianaAnnual saving potential: $8,789
Six-month emergency fund: $18,561
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 47

Raleigh, North CarolinaAnnual saving potential: $10,675
Six-month emergency fund: $23,822
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 45

Oklahoma City, OklahomaAnnual saving potential: $7,787
Six-month emergency fund: $18,203
Percentage of savings goal achieved: 43
​
To determine where it's easiest to save, the researchers used a three-step approach. First, they figured out how much you'd need in an emergency fund that could cover six months of expenses, using the cost of necessities like mortgage payments, groceries and various insurances among other expenses.
Second, they took the average after-tax earnings of residents of each city and subtracted estimated annual essential expenses to get the "annual saving potential." So, your annual saving potential is your net annual income minus the annual expenses you can't live without.
Third, the researchers looked at how far your saving potential could get you to achieving your emergency fund goal. "The higher the percentage," says Bankrate, "the easier it is to save."


Personal finance expert David Bach's formula for becoming a millionaire  Some millennials are managing to put money away. A 2018 Bank of America survey found that one in six millennials now have $100,000 or more in savings. However, most young people have far less than that. The financial website GOBankingRates found that 67 percent of them have less than $1,000 in saved and 46 percent have nothing saved at all. Well over half would struggle to cover the cost of an emergency.
According to former CNBC host, best-selling and financial advisor Suze Orman, you should aim to have at least six, and ideally eight to 12, months of savings in an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses. Other experts recommend saving 25 percent of your overall gross pay in your 20s, having saved the equivalent of your annual salary by age 30 and having saved about twice your annual salary by age 35.
The first step to increase your savings is to set a savings goal, says Bankrate, "but be realistic. You're not going to hit, say, $25,000 in one year, or even two. It'll take years to reach your goal." So set up a manageable system to help get you there. "Dedicate 5 to 10 percent of each paycheck to a high-yielding savings account. Look to cut down on your biggest costs," and be aware of how you're spending your money.
Here are some more tips to help you get started.
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Don't miss: Here's how much you have to earn to be considered middle class
Video by: Mary Stevens


Shawn M. CarterWriter for CNBC Make It

Stock Market Vs. Real Estate: The Right Approach For Passive Income Investors
Dani Lynn Robison CommunityVoiceForbes Real Estate Council
Real Estate
​For new and hopeful passive investors, most of the accessible information on the topic of the stock market versus real estate presents widely varying opinions and tends to over complicate things by assuming you have a solid education in both fields. Rather than feeling informed, this type of guidance tends to leave you in a state of confusion. For newcomers to the debate of real estate or the stock market, I prefer to share an oversimplification of the subject to ensure you can capture the basics, providing enough information so you can start asking better questions as you embark on an investing path.
First, I am assuming that you want to grow your retirement funds in a safe investment that will produce decent returns. Second, I am assuming you are busy and don't have the time to gain the in-depth knowledge and experience needed to actively trade or invest in the stock market or real estate and are rather looking for simple solutions.
When it comes to your retirement and the stock market, the most common passive investments are mutual funds. If you’re fortunate enough to average a 10% return on your investments and then you factor in inflation and fees, your eventual return may be lower than anticipated.
In real estate, your passive opportunities are in private lending and rental properties. Private lending commonly involves lending funds to a real estate investor or business in exchange for a set return and length of time. (Full disclosure: I am co-partner of a turnkey investment company.) Turnkey rental properties allow the investor to be as hands-off as they like. This means a turnkey company purchases, rehabs, tenants and manages the property. To truly make this a passive investment, turnkey companies do all the work for you.

Here's what several key factors of a passive investment looks like in real estate and the stock market:
Control: With the stock market, you are at the mercy of the fund and management. With private lending, you control who you invest with, the rate of return, the length of time you want to invest and approval of the asset your money is secured by. With rental properties, you are in control of what you buy, the improvements that will increase rents and what costs are passed onto the tenants, such as landscaping and shared utility expenses.
Tangible asset: With the stock market, you lack anything tangible. With private lending and rental real estate, your funds are secured by a physical asset.
Cash flow: With the stock market, if we hit a down cycle, your profits are instantly lost. In real estate, in any economic downturn, private lenders have up to 50% equity already built in, and investors with rental properties keep netting their monthly cash flow from their tenants despite the dip.
Leverage: With the stock market, you invest your retirement savings or cash on hand. The same is true for private lending. You can leverage rental properties four-to-one, sometimes five-to-one, meaning your $50,000 investment can buy you $200,000-250,000 in real estate. In a rising market, this is a good thing and will maximize your cash on cash return.
Tax advantages: If you purchased $50,000 in stock that is now worth $200,000, you will pay taxes on that amount when you sell it. Rental properties provide opportunities for multiple tax advantages such as depreciation, deductions and a 1031 Exchange.
Appreciation: You don’t get to factor in added appreciation when investing in the stock market or private lending, but you do with a tangible asset like rental real estate. When you bring together the advantage of real estate being tangible, there’s really no comparison for the passive investor.
The math: Assuming a $50,000, 15-year investment in the passive opportunities we’ve discussed in this article:
• A mutual fund investment averaging 10% returns after fees ends up at a 7% net annualized return = Almost $138,000 after 15 years.
• Private lending investment with no fees averaging 12% net annualized return = Over $273,000 after 15 years.
• A turnkey rental property investment leveraging your $50,000 to buy $200,000 in real estate, averaging 6% in net annualized return after expenses and 3% annual appreciation of the asset = Over $431,000 after 15 years.
Whether you’re investing for your approaching retirement or beginning your passive income approach well ahead of time, passive investing is for anyone who seeks true financial peace of mind and passive income. If you had $10,000 month coming in passively, what would you be doing today? You don’t have to be an active real estate investor to achieve your goals — but you do need to find passive ways to direct some of your money into real estate.