BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Are you beating the average American in personal finances? Today, we’re sharing the average net worth by age to see where exactly you stack up. Whether you’re in your twenties, thirties, forties, or fifties, we have the data showing whether you’re behind (or ahead of) the norm. What do you do if you feel like you’re falling behind? Don’t worry; we’re also giving tips on how every age bracket can improve its net worth. Don’t know how to calculate your net worth? It’s easy, and you can do it in minutes after (or even during) this episode. Once you know your net worth, it’s time to decide your next move. Do you need to make more money so you can invest faster? Are you close enough to FIRE that you can let your foot off the gas a bit? Should you buy that new boat? No! Don’t ever buy a boat. We’re also sharing our own net worth journeys and the money moves we made that skyrocketed our wealth to millionaire status. You can’t go back in time and copy everything we did, but you CAN copy some of our same strategies to boost your net worth!

There’s a “middle-class trap” that can keep anyone from FIRE—yes, even high-income earners. Today’s guest has a sizable nest egg that should allow her to retire early, but there are a few roadblocks in her way! At forty-seven, Allie has already built a net worth of $3,800,000. She would like to retire, and most people would assume she has enough to retire, but there are two problems. First, she lives in Orange County, California, one of the most expensive areas in the U.S., and has no plans to leave. The other issue? She has no cash! All of her money is tied up in home equity and retirement accounts. To retire, Allie has a BIG bet to make—one that could have a multi-million-dollar impact on her portfolio! Using Scott’s “Keep or Sell Your Home” worksheet, we’ll look at whether it would make more sense for Allie to keep or sell her Laguna Beach property. Will turning this home into a rental property give her the cash flow she needs, or is selling it and investing in the stock market the better long-term play? Tune in as we attempt to thread the needle and provide Allie with the best roadmap for a long, early retirement!

Is frugality overrated? Is hustle culture a waste of time? Do we over-save for retirement? You don’t have to look very far to find a hot take online, but is there some truth to these opinions? Today, we’ll wade through bad financial advice, bust common money myths, and (hopefully) find some personal finance tips we agree with! Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast! Personal finance is personal for a reason. Spending, saving, and investing vary from one person to the next based on their habits, risk tolerance, and season of life. But how much advice is just flat-out wrong? In this episode, Mindy and Amanda Wolfe are breaking down some of the internet’s wildest views on money. First, we’ll share some of the biggest lies we were told about money when we started our financial independence journeys—like “the stock market is too risky” and “you should work until age sixty-five.” Then, we’ll dive into seven controversial opinions and whether there’s any validity to them. Should FIRE-focused folks ever take work sabbaticals? Is a one or two-month emergency fund enough in 2024? Is being a lifelong renter ever a savvy move? Which takes do we oppose, and which advice is actually worth following? Stay tuned to find out!

If you follow the almost unbelievable path of today’s guest, you, too, could achieve financial independence in your thirties. Would we recommend mimicking his strategy step-by-step? No! Because if you get it wrong, you could be further from FIRE than when you started. Only the most prudent, risk-tolerant, and financially savvy among us could do what Andrew Schrader did.  After racking up six figures in car loans and student debt, Andrew knew something needed to change quickly. Thanks to his financial discipline, he paid his debts down fast, but what would he now do with the money he was sending toward debt every month? After a coworker threatened to quit on the spot without a care in the world (the coworker was FI), Andrew knew exactly what his next goal was. So, he set out to do the impossible: Stretch his dollar as frugally as possible, spending in a year what many Americans live off of for a month and taking calculated bets that he knew the risks of. His unbelievable journey to FI will have you squirming in your chair (like Mindy did!) as you hear what incredible lengths you can go to reach your financial goals WAY faster than most Americans.

Would you move abroad to reach FI faster? That wasn’t Brooklin Nash’s original goal when he left the US and began freelancing from afar. But now, years later, he realizes how much of a leg up he has financially by going all-in on “geo arbitrage.” He’s saving a boatload in Guatemala, paying less to live the life he loves, and enjoying a tiny tax bill. Now in his mid-thirties, he’s already Coast FIRE and works when and where he wants. But Brooklin’s money story didn’t start so stable. Being raised in a home with “risky” finances, to say the least (pyramid schemes, gambling, etc.), left him scarred and constantly worrying about keeping enough money in the bank. Thankfully, he changed his ways and realized that making money, rather than just saving every cent, was crucial to becoming financially free. He’s paid off a significant sum in student loans and did it all while making a very meager income. Then, he scaled from freelancing abroad to building an entire business, making a phenomenal income while living in a low-cost-of-living area. He’s living his dream life outside the US, making more money than Americans at home. Imagine what THAT can do for your FIRE number!

Could a few years of aggressive saving put you in the fast lane for financial independence? Is the grind even worth it? Today’s guest was well on his way to a comfy retirement but had never thought about retiring early. Then he discovered the FIRE movement, and with just four years of all-out hustle, he was able to retire at fifty! Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast! In 2020, Eric Reinholdt experienced a financial “awakening” that set him on a death march to FI and early retirement. For four years, he minimized his spending, maximized his savings, and threw every extra dollar at his investments. Today, he’s “chubby FI,” has a paid-off house, and is recently “retired”— working just ten hours per week on his own business while preparing to travel the world in 2025! But was the glamorous destination worth the grueling journey? Should Eric have started earlier or slowed down to reach his FI number? Tune in to hear about the major lifestyle changes he and his wife made to accelerate retirement, the different levers he pulled to grow his nest egg, and the steps you might need to take if you want to replicate his success!

Is paying off debt or investing (and potentially using more debt) the best way to reach FIRE? The average American has $104,215 in mortgages, student loans, credit cards, and other debt. Where do YOU stand? If the end goal is FIRE, you need a game plan for your debt, in which case this episode is for you! Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast! Not all debt is bad. When used responsibly, it can be a powerful tool that allows you to buy appreciating assets and hedge against inflation. Today, guest co-hosts Kyle Mast and Amanda Wolfe join our panel to share their thoughts on debt. We’ll share how much debt we each have (ranging from zero to millions), how our philosophies on debt have evolved, and how debt can ultimately help you reach FIRE. But that’s not all. We’ll also discuss the types of bad debt that could derail your FIRE journey and the investments you don’t want to be stuck with during an economic downturn. We’ll even get into the most important financial protection against debt risk—savings and reserves—and why these funds should grow proportionally to your debt!

Yes, it’s possible to retire early, even if you’re just now diving into the FIRE movement. Early retirement could be within reach whether you’re in your twenties, thirties, forties, or fifties. Imagine having complete freedom in a decade or less: no office politics, no boss, and, best of all, no spreadsheets! That’s the life Arik Peterson built when he retired early at forty-four, leaving behind a demanding career in corporate investing. After reading Mr. Money Mustache’s unmatched FIRE blog, Arik drastically changed his saving and investing habits, increasing his savings rate to seventy percent and redirecting his money into simple, steady investments many overlook. Today, his life looks vastly different—he spends his days fishing, biking, creating art, and working on DIY projects instead of staring at a computer screen, crunching numbers. In this episode, Arik shares his complete strategy for reaching financial independence, why he’s skeptical of the 4% rule, his current investment choices, and how an unexpected layoff turned into his golden opportunity. Ready to ditch corporate America? Follow Arik’s plan!

Should you move to reach FIRE? And if so, where to? In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain and revealing the best places to retire in the US in 2024. Living in one of these states could help fast-track financial freedom, and moving there for retirement could help your nest egg go further and improve your quality of life! Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast! Alex Gailey, a lead data reporter at Bankrate, has ranked all fifty states for retirement based on five weighted “buckets” made up of dozens of crucial data points. Today, she joins the show to share her findings with us. Whether you’re looking to put down roots in a low-cost-of-living area or find a location that delivers your ideal retirement lifestyle, this list of states is a useful launching point for one of the most important life decisions you’ll ever make! In this episode, you’ll learn how changing your address could accelerate your financial independence timeline and allow you to retire early. Alex will break down the five factors people value most in retirement—affordability, well-being, cost and quality of healthcare, weather, and crime. Stay tuned to find out which states came out on top and which states you might want to avoid. The results even surprised us!

Are you saving TOO much for retirement (or early retirement)? Could you retire years sooner than you think? Will retirement expenses be even less than what you spend now, allowing you to reach FIRE faster with a smaller nest egg? Today, we’re getting into that exact question as Finance Friday guest Ethan asks how he can ensure he’s on the right track for early retirement by age fifty-five. And if you’re like Ethan, you could retire RIGHT NOW…but should you? Ethan is spending a LOT of money every month. He’s got two kids in private school, extracurricular sports fees, pricey car payments, and a mortgage. The good news? He’s raking in cash at his high-paying tech job! His current expenses cost him nearly $20,000 per month, but this number could be cut in half (if not more) once his kids leave the house. This means that his FIRE number might be a fraction of what he thinks it has to be to retire early. Speaking of early retirement, is it wise to leave such a high-paying career to sit on the beach all day? Ethan has the skills and the energy to make a sizable income, so what should he do instead of full-time work once he reaches early retirement? Should he transition to part-time consulting, focus more on rental property investing, or buy a business?