In this episode, Wayne talks to Susan Geist, PMP, who grew up in a lower-class family in rural Appalachia and began investing in real estate in 2008. Eventually, she achieved a portfolio that now generates over 5-figures in passive income each month. Using strategic investment deductions, she reduced her annual federal tax bill from $137k to $6k while increasing her W-2 and investment income. Her current multi-million-dollar real estate portfolio consists of both long- and short-term rentals, in addition to limited partnerships in apartments, car washes, self-storage, hotels, and mobile home parks nationwide.   Through her company Rising Femme Wealth, LLC, Susan provides financial education workshops and investment coaching to empower other women with the strategies and confidence to grow their wealth, reduce their tax bills, and achieve financial independence.     Topics on Today’s Episode: Susan introduces herself and provides a disclaimer. Susan is not a lawyer, CPA, or certified financial advisor, and does not offer legal or tax advice. The information she shares is only for educational purposes, and everyone should do their own due diligence.  How Susan went from a humble beginning in rural Appalachia to building a current portfolio that generates over 5 figures monthly passive income. She found inspiration to grow wealth and promote financial independence, through her mother’s experience. Susan also provides some details about her personal portfolio.  What is tax optimization and why you should do it? The 2 biggest wealth killers are taxes and inflation.  Tax laws were fundamentally put in place to shape the economy; tax shelters were put in place to promote housing and job creation. The government rewards investment into these sectors and not utilizing the tax deductions legally available to you is stealing from yourself and your family.  Most CPAs are not trained in real estate investment so they can only offer limited advice, it is up to each individual investor to become educated in real estate specific tax shelters. Knowledge is power over your personal tax situation.  “Tax buckets” and Depreciation. The IRS splits your income into 3 distinct buckets: active, portfolio, and passive. Gains and losses in each bucket are separated and typically cannot be combined.  Active income: W2 income, running a business or an LLC, or if you have Real Estate Professional status. Short-term rentals are considered an active business if self-managed, as is active house flipping as your primary job. Active income incurs income taxes as well as 15.3% self-employment tax.  If your AGI is below $100,000 per year, you can take up to $25k in passive real estate losses-One of the few places passive and active income might interact.  Portfolio income: Stock and bond sales, dividends, interest from accounts or owner financing interest, and sales of non-business assets such as a non-rental home. These are taxed as capital gains or losses.  Passive income: Rental income whether s...