The Embassy Wealth Podcast

Preparing For Retirement with Abraham Grungold

Preparing for retirement doesn’t need to be scary.  After 36 years as a federal employee with multiple federal government agencies, Abraham Grungold retired with a hefty sum in his Thrift Savings Plan and a passion for helping other retiring federal employees. In this episode, Abe shares the key to a successful retirement and how one can continue their career while still receiving social security.  Receiving a 20+ page retirement package to complete sounds daunting, but with the right advice and guidance, you can confidently make plans that will have a positive impact on your future retirement. 

 

Hear Abraham discuss:

• The ideal time for a federal employee to retire to get the most out of retirement
• Working after retirement and how it can affect your social security (and some tips on how to make sure any income doesn’t negatively affect your retirement income)
• How you can retire happy - even if you aren’t a TSP multi-millionaire 

…and so much more! 

 

You can contact Abraham Grungold and read his blog posts here: https://grungold.com/

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Managing Your Home While Overseas with Stephanie Toler

Stephanie Toler is the CEO of Nest, a property management company servicing DC.  With over 1,400 homes under management and 40+ employees, Nest handles all of the headaches that come with property management – from tenant placement to maintenance requests to organizing property upgrades and other make-ready services.  Being a landlord isn’t easy anywhere, but D.C. can be especially complex due to its landlord-tenant laws and city regulations. Hear Stephanie’s advice for those who choose to self-manage in the city and how important it is to find the right property manager. 

 

Hear Stephanie discuss:

• Maintaining single family homes versus condos
• Getting your home ready to rent prior to going overseas
• Tips for those self-managing their rentals

 

…and so much more! 

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Writing & Publishing a Travel Guide with Tim Tranchilla

With a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction Writing from The New School in New York City and an interest in travel, Tim Tranchilla’s three year assignment in Tel Aviv inspired him to write his guidebook, the Bucket! Guide to the Holy Land: A DIY Travel Planner to Create a Bucket List-Filled Dream Trip to Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and the Egyptian Sinai.  Tim shares his journey of self-publishing and marketing his guidebook while living in a paperless, e-book world and the costs of being an independent author.  With several five star reviews, the Bucket! series is just getting started. 

 

Hear Tim discuss:

• How he made time to work on his guidebook while working full-time
• Whether you should self-publish or get a publisher
• Why publishing a physical travel guide was a bold choice in a sea of e-books
• The costs of publishing a book as an independent author

 

…and so much more! 

 

You can purchase your copy of Bucket! Guide to the Holy Land here: https://tinyurl.com/2tz8dkms

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

 

Part II: From Foreign Service Officer to Franchise Owner with Tanya Salseth

In this second part of a two part series, Tanya dives deeper into her decision to leave the Foreign Service and blaze her own path in the world of real estate.  After being a solo agent for several years, Tanya discusses her experience going from single agent to team leader of Stateside Residential, a real estate team serving the DC area, as well as her most recent journey into launching a property management franchise.  

 

Hear Tanya discuss:

• Considerations when deciding to leave the Foreign Service
• Following your inner compass when it comes to work 
• Pivoting from real estate investing to buying a business
• Why franchises can be an attractive way to become a business owner
• How to purchase a franchise, the process, and what to look for

 

…and so much more! 

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Part I: From Foreign Service Officer to Real Estate CEO with Tanya Salseth

Time to meet the host!  In this episode, Tanya Salseth shares how she went from working for the U.S. government to full-time real estate investor and agent serving the diplomatic community.  Investing in real estate isn’t always pretty and can be scary, but once you learn the market and how to make the numbers work, the money will start to work for you. Tanya now owns 20 doors across the DC area, is a team lead for a real estate group of five agents, and isn’t done yet.  Stay tuned for part II to see what Tanya has in store next!

 

Hear Tanya discuss:

• Buying her first property while overseas
• Leaving the Foreign Service
• Selling 6-7 homes from abroad
• The joys of being a self-managing landlord
• Renting vs buying in the DC area

…and so much more! 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom with Sam Dogen

Sam Dogen, author of the instant Wall Street Journal bestseller “Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom,” grew up thinking about money.  After spending his childhood as a Foreign Service kid at posts around Asia, he studied economics at William & Mary, and then took a job working at Goldman Sachs, where he dived head first into the world of finance.  In the midst of the 2009 global financial crisis, Sam started his blog “Financial Samurai,” which shared his personal wealth story and financial advice so others could achieve their own financial freedom.  After 2.5 years of blogging, Sam was able to leave his corporate job to be a full-time blogger. Financial Samurai now receives over one million visitors a month, and Sam has engineered a life where he works with who he wants to, where he wants to, when he wants to. “Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom” spells out his formulas for how to determine what to buy, how much to spend, and how to get the most out of your paycheck to build your path to financial freedom. 

 

Hear Sam discuss:

• Where one should invest their money
• How to maximize wealth building 
• Starting a blog that could eventually become your full-time job

 

…and so much more! 

 

You can purchase “Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom” on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/4xtv67k4

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

From Diplomat to Dedicated Politician with Patrick Branco

After 8 years and multiple tours in the Foreign Service, Patrick Branco left the Department to run for public office. He immediately entered the race for Hawaii State Representative for District 50 (Kailua & Kāne‘ohe Bay) and found himself campaigning during COVID-19, running vaccination centers, and knocking on nearly four thousand doors while wearing a lei and a mask to show the dedication he had to his community.  Hear Patrick’s story about his journey post-Foreign Service, including his recent run for U.S. Congress (Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district) and how he has used the skills he gained as a diplomat in his next chapter as a politician.

 

Hear Patrick discuss:

• Transitioning out of the Foreign Service into a new field
• The process of going from underdog to Hawaii State Representative for District 50
• Running a political campaign during COVID-19
• How he used skills from his time in the Foreign Service as an advantage in his political career

…and so much more! 

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Understanding Crypto & NFTs with Brandon Possin

Brandon Possin got his first taste of investing in tech at the tender age of 13, when he purchased stock in Apple with his lemonade stand money. His interest in financial technology deepened further after joining the Foreign Service, when he was posted to Pakistan. There, he found that e-commerce entrepreneurs were disadvantaged by their lack of access to platforms like PayPal, as the options available for transferring money and receiving payments were exorbitantly expensive. That experience led Brandon to working directly for a fintech company started by one of the co-founders of Ethereum, where he continued to research crypto and expand his knowledge on how this new digital medium of exchange is changing the world.

 

In this interview, Brandon discusses:

• What is crypto? What is an NFT?
• Three ways to purchase crypto
• How NFTs are digital representations of social currency
• How digital, decentralized mediums of exchange can level the playing field, unlock talent, and create new capital flows
• How to evaluate cryptocurrencies and some aspects to consider  

 

…and so much more! 

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

The Winding Road to Financial Stability with Greg Stoneberg

Greg Stoneberg began working for the U.S. government fresh out of college.  Nearly 18 years later, he and his wife Tracy find themselves on track to be TSP millionaires despite being a single income family for over a decade.  Although this may sound like the work of a one-off miracle, it is actually the result of budgeting, investing, and financial planning.  The journey to financial stability and personal wealth may look more like a roller coaster than a straight line, but as Greg learned, mistakes are allowed, and exploring multiple investment plans can be encouraged.

 

In this interview, Greg shares:

• How to create a budget that works for you and your family
• Weighing the risks vs. the gains
• The importance in finding a savings/investment plan that works for you

 

…and so much more! 

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Real Estate as a Career & Investing in an Inflationary Market with Tim Robinson

EFM Tim Robinson returns to share his insights on making the leap from real estate investor to full-time real estate salesperson and entrepreneur, as well as his perspective on investing in real estate and other asset classes in a market characterized by rising interest rates. 

 

Hear Tim discuss:

• The pros, cons, and costs of a career in real estate
• Working as a solo agent vs working on a team
• Why real estate investors shouldn’t necessarily get a real estate license
• Which personality types will enjoy sales & entrepreneurship (and which won’t)
• Why EFMs are in a great position to take on the risks of entrepreneurship
• Reasons for continuing to buy real estate despite lower returns
• Whether real estate deals still exist 

 

…and so much more! 

 

Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers