Fall- my favorite time of year. Curious where I’ve been? Here’s my update, with thoughts you may find useful on creating rental income and financing your child’s college. Speaking of college- here is a picture of me and my son Zander at the big high school graduation party. Hallelujah!

What’s Mikelann the money coach been up to?

Creating rental income: This summer I finished building a second home—on my property–  and then rented it out! I wanted to diversify my investment and retirement portfolio. We all have to put together our financial lives in different ways so we know we will be able to “retire” someday and have what we need.  For me, to get where I wanted to go, adding rental income became a key piece. Now, both my houses are on twenty year payoffs, so I know when I will be mortgage free. Will creating rental income work for everyone? Of course not. But part of money coaching helps us see what we need to live a good life. From this we see what we need to earn. And then you take it out even further- you see what lifestyle you want to have in the future, and how to make it happen. Personally, I think of it like “designing” a life with various puzzle pieces that form the picture we like. And it’s been a heck of a learning process…

How I financed my kid’s college: Last month I sent my son off to college. This has been my proudest achievement for many reasons. On the money side, I will share this- the month he was born, we began saving $100 a month into a 529 plan. That’s it. Fast forward to today and we have his tuition, housing, and meal plan fully funded for over the next two years at Western Washington University ($39,000). To this we added a $5,000 GET account from his grandmother. He will have scholarship money that is the equivalent of one year’s costs. We are cash flowing the rest. Starting last month, we stopped funding the 529 and now my ex-husband and I each put $225 into a dedicated savings account. Each month. We estimate this will cover our son’s fourth year. Every family is different. I simply share it to give you one way to think about college funding.

Whew!!! No wonder I haven’t sent a newsletter out in a while! I’ve been a bit busy. Oh- and I added another financial certification- now I am an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC ®) The certification is for professionals who guide clients through a holistic counseling framework of life-cycle financial education–  Say what??? Meaning- helping people realize their money goals and achieve lasting financial well-being.

Does it change what I do? No. As a money coach I work with amazing people who want to heal and transform their relationship to money.  But it was a lot of study and I’m proud of it. We all have to stay on top of our professional game.