BiggerPockets Money

Kevin Matthews II started paying attention to finance way back in 6th grade - because his parents said they wouldn’t buy him any more video games, he’d have to buy them himself.

Kevin’s parents telling him no propelled him into a lifelong planner - saving up for purchases rather than buying and figuring out how to pay it off later. And he parlayed his planning skills into a career as a financial advisor, eventually being named one of Investopedia’s Top 100 Advisors in 2017.

Kevin is passionate about teaching people - specifically millennials - how to manage their money. In fact, he’s SO passionate about teaching people how to alter their financial lives, he almost missed the birth of his first child in order to make a video about how $2,000 can turn your kids into millionaires! (Spoiler: He made it back to the room in time.)

Kevin wants you to know how to invest, how to manage your money so that you can further yourself down the path to Financial Independence. Kevin has an excellent video called Three ways to get started investing that discusses three ways we’ve never heard of!

Kevin credits consistency in investing with his client’s financial successes. He also believes that patience is the number one thing investors need - a point that’s been hit home so clearly in the past few months - and that a lack of patience is the biggest mistake investors are making today.

Kevin also shares tips for teaching your children about investing to get them used to seeing ups and downs, so they don’t lose their patience when they start investing with real dollars.

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Susan and Norm got married a little later in life. They started off basically flat, with debts equalling assets. Neither wanted to have the debt, and focused on paying it off and building an emergency fund.

Then they discovered that they could retire early if they put their minds to it. So they jumped in with both feet, paid off the mortgage, bought an investment condo, paid it off, and aggressively saved to buy the second condo.

From the time they met until the time they were ready to retire, starting with basically a $0 net worth, was 12 years. Starting at age 43.

The one constant in their journey is their partnership, their commitment to each other and the end goal, and their desire to “be in this together.” Susan and Norm have a very clear respect and love for each other, never keeping score, never trying to hide a mistake from the other, always recognizing that they’re building their life together.

When starting on the journey to Financial Independence, it can be difficult to say the course - especially when your journey starts later than most. Susan and Norm and an excellent example of what CAN happen when you make a goal and aggressively pursue success.

This episode is for anyone who is struggling in their journey to FI, have hit a setback they feel is insurmountable, or anyone who is just getting started on their journey a little later in life.

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Today, we welcome back the Budgetnista, Tiffany Aliche. When we spoke to her way back in episode 8, we heard her story of an investment gone wrong and how 2008 really threw a monkey wrench into her life plans. But instead of allowing that to deter her, Tiffany committed to teaching people how to budget.

Since we last spoke, she has expanded her original, uber-successful Live Richer Challenge (www.livericherchallenge.com) into a savings edition, a credit edition, a net worth edition, and a homebuying edition—all free and all designed to teach you the things you never learned about money and finance.

Tiffany is SO PASSIONATE about personal finance that she worked tirelessly for more than two years to get a bill passed in New Jersey, mandating financial literacy education for middle schoolers. (Want to duplicate her success in your state? Here’s a video that details how she did it: How to Get a Law Passed with Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight.

But she’s not done! Tiffany has combined her love of budgeting with her love of teaching children in her new book Happy Birthday Mali More, and on today’s episode, she shares her top tips for teaching your children the fundamentals of managing money properly.

If you have children, this episode can help you figure out the age-appropriate lessons you should be teaching them to help them grow into financially responsible adults.

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Whitney Hanson is one of six children. Growing up she watched her father start a business, watched it fail, and watched him turn destructive, eventually leaving her mother to raise six kids on her own - all while making $7.25 an hour.

Whitney has seen the ugly side of money - and what can happen when you have none - and decided she wanted no part of it. Money equals options, and she wanted as many options as she could get! 

She began to research how to build wealth, because she did not want to perpetuate the cycle of poverty. She knew she wanted to go to college, but also knew she’d have to find a way to pay for it. Rather than taking out tons of student loans, Whitney went through a 3-month cosmetology program starting the day after she graduated high school, and used the money she made as a nail technician to pay for college. 

Because she values financial stability over everything else, she bought a house when she turned 19 - and house hacked by renting two rooms to friends to help with the mortgage. 

Upon graduating college, she realized she had taken out $30,000 in student loans that now had to be paid back. Rather than allow it to rule her life, she cut out everything and worked a second job in order to knock out her debt - in 10 months!

Whitney knew she had figured out how to lead a healthy financial life - and was eager to help others solve their own financial struggles. She started a coaching program to help financially empower people, and help them navigate the beginning stages of their financial journey.

Whitney’s story is 100% repeatable for anyone listening. She came from nothing, and made it on her own.

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Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You To Be Rich is back again to chat with Scott & Mindy about money, unexpected events, and taking advantage of opportunities by being prepared. 

Ramit does not hold back with his advice that the Coronavirus should be a financial wakeup call to you. A crisis like this WILL happen again (maybe not viral) and NOW is the time to prepare yourself.

He’s increased his recommended Emergency Fund to one year of expenses. If you’re struggling right now, you should be making minimum payments because “money in your pocket now is worth more than money in your pocket later.” Start crafting your emergency plan even if you don’t think you’re going to need to use it. Panic is bad, but overreaction is good. Don’t worry about looking stupid. One of the reasons you save is to be prepared for the worst. So prepare. 

If you’re financially stable and strong, Ramit also has some tips for taking advantage of this crazy time we’re living in. Have you ever wanted to start your own business? While it can seem counterintuitive to start a business in these uncertain times, it’s actually a fantastic time to start. Your target audience is WAITING for you to fill the need they are having RIGHT NOW. 

Even better? Ramit and Mindy discuss Mindy’s pain points regarding homeschooling - and Ramit comes up with 3 6-figure business ideas on the spot!

Scott & Mindy also discuss Dollar Cost Averaging, finding a new job now, and paying down debt.

Looking for more options in the coming months? This episode can’t be missed.

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Financial Education is so important - but so many people are graduating high school without the basic skills to make informed decisions.

Today, Scott & Mindy sit down to share some of the big money moves you should make - as well as some of the big money mistakes you should avoid.

These are the tips you didn't learn in high school. From choosing a major wisely (or even deciding if college is truly the right choice for you) to paying for college, to truly understanding just how much it will cost you to pay back your student loans, the decisions you're making now, entering college, are going to affect your financial future for years to come.

They also discuss relationships, and how those can also have a huge impact on your finances.

Other big decisions you need to consider include how and when to get a first credit card - and how to use it properly to improve and increase your credit score.

Scott & Mindy also dive into just exactly what a credit score is - and how its far-reaching influence can affect your job and housing.

Scott also shares his unique views on wants and needs - and how to minimize the costs of the needs so you can afford a few wants.

This episode is a great intro to financial education for young adults who are eager to make excellent financial decisions and put themselves on the path to freedom.

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In today’s episode, we speak with Fritz Gilbert from The Retirement Manifesto and go through his checklist to ensure a smooth transition into your new life.

Fritz speaks from experience and wrote the checklist during his own transition, starting five years out.

Oh yes, FIVE YEARS. If you want a smooth transition, you’ll need to plan ahead.

Scott and Mindy go through the checklist with Fritz, starting at five years before your retirement date. (They even touch on what to do BEFORE five years out.) Fritz’s list is extremely thorough and includes things you’ve most likely NOT even thought about.

From paying down debt to checking in with a financial planner to transferring all that personal stuff you currently have on your work computer or in your work email, we cover the obvious. But more importantly, we also touch on the “Oh man, I totally forgot to do that” stuff, which can be the difference between a seamless transition and one filled with “I wish I had done things differently.”

Fritz is such an expert in retirement planning that he wrote a new book about it: Keys to a Successful Retirement: Staying Happy, Active and Productive in Your Retired Years.

In this book, Fritz shares 24 keys to a great retirement—once you’ve made sure the transition goes well.

If you are on the path to retirement, this episode is NOT to be missed!

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Gerry Born is a teacher who is married to a teacher. He started his financial independence journey when he was 33—with a wife, $45,000 in college debt, and a job in Saudi Arabia teaching English as a second language (ESL).

He knocked out his debt in two years, then threw everything he could into savings. The ESL job provided everything but internet and phone, so he really didn’t need to spend much money if he didn’t want to.

After 9/11, they moved back to the United States and got jobs teaching—and you know what kind of salaries teachers make!

Unhappy with that particular school, they moved on to a different one and discovered the magic of the 457 plan. A 457 plan is an additional retirement savings vehicle available to teachers and some public employees. It has the same contribution limits as a 401(k) but can be immediately accessed penalty-free as soon as you separate service from your employer.

Gerry uses this to fund his life while reducing his taxable income to as close to zero as possible.

If you’re starting late—or if you’re a teacher or public employee—this episode provides tips for funding retirement that will blow your mind!

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Joining us today is Avery Heilbron, a listener on his way to financial independence through real estate investing. But Avery isn’t going all out and buying up every property as fast as he can. He’s making calculated purchases that allow him to live for free - and also cashflow while he’s there even though he lives in a high cost of living area. Once he moves out, that cashflow increases even more!

Avery is also thinking ahead, and mitigating his risk of non-payment of rent by using the Section 8 rental assistance program to help guarantee rent payments. 

Oh, and Avery is 25. 

He went to college on a soccer scholarship, worked through school, studied hard and graduated with ZERO student loans and a great job.

Do you have high school or college students in your life? This episode can help give them direction and encouragement that a little careful thought can have a HUGE impact on your future financial situation.

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Scott and Mindy have focused on Coronavirus for the last few episodes - talking to experts about how the virus has affected the stock market, the 4% rule, and even early retirees.

They’ve interviewed Financial Planners to get tips for using the current market conditions to their advantage, as well as chatted with a mortgage broker to determine the best time to refinance. 

In this episode, Scott and Mindy talk about lifestyle creep - and how they have both been affected over the last couple of years. They revisit the basics of Financial Independence, spending less than you earn, increasing your income, investing wisely, creating multiple sources of income, and living your best life once money has been taken care of.

Using their lockdown spending as a guide, Scott and Mindy go through the steps they’ve taken and the changes they’ve made to their expenses - including what they will add back once the world reopens and what expenses they don’t miss.

This episode will help you get back to your Financial Independence basics, too.

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