🟢 Waterfall Treehouses

Presented by:

By Ted Williams

Hello Thursday. After hundreds of you recommended it, I got my 3 kids Greenlight debit cards for Christmas. I spent the extra $9.99 per card to put funny photos on the front.

On Christmas afternoon, I’m going to assign chores, teach them about interest, and let them each buy 2 stocks.

I’m also going to allow the older 2 kids to bike to Rhino Market SouthPark on Saturday mornings and use their card to buy breakfast.

As a dad, I’m trying hard to follow the advice — “parents too often overprotect in the physical world and underprotect in the digital world.”

💼 Hot Job: Community Affairs Lead at Scout Motors ($140K – $170K). Serve as their primary liaison with community leaders. Plaza Midwood HQ.

🏫 Price check: $26,550. Cost of kindergarten at Providence Day, the No. 1 most expensive. Latin is close behind at $26,250.

👨 Shout-out: Seth Stidham, co-owner of Suffolk Punch Brewing, for opening their 3rd location in Birkdale. Order the $8 Pulp Prescription Hazy IPA and chill on the rooftop patio.

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

S&P 500

6,721

+14.53%

Nasdaq

22,693

+17.70%

BOOTSTRAPPED

Couple buys old summer camp for $650K, invests "7-figures" in luxury treehouses

Tajar Treehouse at Tuxedo Falls with a hammock in upper loft

Pioneers: Lark and Tom Elliot, former Charlotte bankers in their early 60s, purchased a 50-acre property near Hendersonville, NC to create Tuxedo Falls.

"Retirement isn’t for everyone," Tom told me. "We’ll either keep it as a high cash flow lifestyle business or explore opportunities with luxury hospitality groups that have already reached out."

Investment: $650K for the property. Over a million more to build private access, infrastructure, treehouses, safari tents, and an event lodge.

Tuxedo Falls features waterfalls, 2 trout-filled streams, miles of hiking trails, and a ridgetop lodge with 360° mountain views.

Lodging: Choose from 2 custom-built treehouses or 4 luxury tree tents. Cost is $315 per night.

Economics: "We've been cash flow positive on operating expenses since opening," said Tom.

Given demand, they're moving to a 2-night minimum, expanding group offerings (think fly fishing and yoga), and offering wedding retreat packages.

Investor advice: "Buy the location first. There is no substitute for truly one-of-a-kind features like our waterfalls. It creates pricing power.”

Vision: Lark and Tom describe Tuxedo Falls as a boutique wilderness retreat.

“We built the place we wanted to disappear to ourselves. Turns out, a lot of other people want the same escape.”

PRESENTED BY MOOD HOUSE

Mood House surpasses 2,000-member milestone — but you don't need to be a member to book

Mood House Oakhurst giving off Palm Springs vibes

Awards: Congrats to Mood House for making it on Yelp's 2025 Top Local Businesses List 🏆!! Only 3 North Carolina businesses made the list.

Voted "No. 1 Best Massage" in Charlotte in back-to-back years.
Surpassed 2,000 massage members ($92/mo) across their Dilworth and Oakhurst locations — but you don’t need to be a member to book.

Gift idea: Use code “TINY20” at checkout for 20% off services or gift cards (code valid for next 24 hours). It’s def our city’s best massage!

OPENING HYPE

$500K Emmy Lou's opens tomorrow in Dilworth

Located in the former MERE'S space next to Toast in Dilworth

Concept: The cozy wine bar and bottle shop seats around 30, including a 7-seat bar. It’s got the intimacy of Sala and the chill approach of The Bohemian.

20 different wines by the glass (starting at $13) as well as local canned beer from NoDa, Pisgah, and Foothills.
Appetizers include $14+ Meat & Cheese Board, $18 Wagyu Carpaccio, $16 Shrimp Cocktail, and $14 Baked Feta.
I'm bullish on their $14 Elena Ruz sandwich (baguette, roasted turkey, fig jam, cream cheese).

Legit owners: Andres Kaifer (37) and Alex Bridges (33) of Customshop fame.

“We set out to create a space that removes the pressure and makes wine feel approachable and fun," said Alex.

Date night: Go to Emmy Lou's first, then share a steak at New York Butcher Shoppe or crush sushi at Ru Sans. Both super casual. Both an easy 200-yard walk away.

TINY MONEY JOB BOARD

Who’s hiring in Charlotte? 5 Trending jobs

Director, Brand Marketing at Barings ($105K – $150K). Lead strategic media buying and creative production.
Communications Manager at PetScreening. Hybrid. Closed $80M Series B funding. 401(k) with 3% match.
Operations Manager at Crown Town Landscapes ($80K – $120K). Help scale the company from $3M to $10M.
Manager of Social Media at NiceDay. Boutique ad agency in South End. Manage team. Co-owner Blandine Mathieu.
Analytics & Insights Manager at Regions Bank ($153K – $191K). Lead data collection for strategic decision-making.

Hiring? Post a job

Hunting? View all 101 open jobs on the Tiny Money Job Board 💰

MONEY TALKS

38-year-old VP making $315K explains "golden handcuffs" given $600K in home equity

Napa on Providence, his wife’s No. 1 bar with wine on tap

Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.

Living situation: "Bought in 2015 at 4%. Home value has doubled. So for us to move, we'd need a home in the $1.3M range to make it an upgrade, and that means our housing cost would at least double."

Job: "VP at a tech consulting firm. $204K base plus 50% bonus (with accelerators for achievement over 100% of goal). Total around $315K."

Side hustle: "$10K income from a blog I started in the late '90s when I was 12 years old. Blogs are so 2010. Earnings peaked at $50K in 2009, but have declined since then with SEO changes."

Investment strategy: "Max out 401k with company match, keep $50K cash as an emergency fund, and put all other excess cash into a brokerage account."

Splurge: "Family SUV. It's something we use every day. I get that vehicles are terrible investments, but why achieve any success if you can't enjoy the fruits of your labor?"

Net worth: "$1.3M. Almost half of that, around $600K, is home equity. We got lucky. Rest is in 401k, IRA, brokerage, emergency fund, and 529s."

Savings goal: "Boat and mountain cabin. I want to be completely debt-free before pursuing these."

Rich in Charlotte: "$5M net worth. There are people in Charlotte that look wealthy, but are highly leveraged with debt."

Full story: VP making $315K shares salary journey that started with $30K inside sales job

MONEY SNACKS

5 other financial headlines I’m snacking on

Panthers tickets for Sunday's big game against the Bucs spike to at least $91. Some tickets are going for $1K. Suites around $17K.
Ad agency for sale asking $2.1M. Revenue over $2M. Cash flow $564K. 25 years in operation. Roughly 70% recurring revenue.
Coastal contemporary home hits the market in Kiawah for $6.25M. Overlooks the first hole of the Ocean Course. New build.
Influencer Caitlin Covington lets Robb Report into her drool-worthy Winston-Salem estate. 1.3M followers on Instagram.
Established Top Rail Fence franchise for sale asking $465K. Revenue $2.1M. Cash flow $585K. 3 employees.

HOUSEKEEPING

37-year-old couple sells 2,300 packages of $14 Half-Baked Cheese Biscuits in just a few months

Andrew Verhagen slinging holiday cookies at Kudzu

Now open: Husband-and-wife team Andrew and Shelley Verhagen opened Kudzu Bakery & Market in Dilworth 3 months ago.

The brand has a cult-like following from its OG Pawleys Island store.
So far, they've sold 2,300 packs of cheddar biscuits at $14, 1,400 cinnamon rolls at $5, and 1,200 pounds of cookies at $11/lb.

Career pivot: Previously, Andrew was a franchise development exec at Blaze Pizza and Bojangles.

"I enjoy finally being in the game vs. being a spectator," Andrew told me. "Bakeries are a quiet giant, you don't need to be gimmicky to win.”

Happy Holidays! I’ll be teeing it up on the golf course in High Point, NC, and Vero Beach, FL over the next few weeks. And spending time with family 🙂

– Ted