Retire With Ashley

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: Why Most Americans Never Become Wealthy

In case you missed any episodes this week, here's what we covered.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast, I'm talking about why most Americans never reach financial independence and become wealthy.

Debt and spending decisions that start in early adulthood, and patterns of debt accumulation and never getting out of that hamster wheel is why most americans never reach financial independence or build enough wealth to get there.

A few weeks ago, I spoke to a class of high schoolers taking an elective on personal finance, and this is the alterative path I offered to them that will help make financial independence more likely.

Ok, first of all - as I said earlier this week: Follow the old nursery rhyme: 1st comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage. Don't deviate from this path. Get married, then have kids. And stay married.

Beyond that, here's the path for someone seeking financial independence that I laid out and would recommend to every single teenager contemplating life after high school and wanting to get started right:

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast, I'm talking about why most Americans never reach financial independence and become wealthy.

So far this week, I've talked about the typical path that many Americans take that set them up for failure when it comes to reaching financial independence:

• Taking on student loan debt (average repayment = $500+ a month for 10+ years)

• Buying a car (2nd highest expense for young people behind housing. Average monthly car payment for Gen Z today = $577). For many, it's not unusual to carry car payments of $1000 or more.

• Average credit card debt is $6700 at 23% interest - another few hundred a month in paying it off.

Then we come to the biggest expense - housing. The median monthly mortgage payment for U.S. homebuyers today is currently $2,259. That reflects today's higher interest rates and higher home prices. It's not surprising then that the average age of first-time homebuyer is 38. For many of you listening, you bought your first house when you were in your late 20s or early 30s. Today's first time homebuyers are now middle aged.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast, I'm talking about why most Americans never reach financial independence and become wealthy.

Most of you listening to this podcast are boomers and gen Xers. College debt wasn't the crisis back then it was today. In fact, for many of you listening, unless you went to law school, medical school, or got some advanced degree, there's a good chance you graduated college with little to no debt.

Unless you've been living under a rock, that's obviously not the case today. Average student loan debt is now $39,075. Repayment usually takes 10-20 years at $500+ per month.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast, I'm talking about why most Americans never reach financial independence and become wealthy.

Today, I'm talking about one of the main reasons why most Americans don't reach financial independence - poor spending decisions made early in life that put you in a debt cycle that most people just don't get out of.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast, I'm talking about why most Americans never reach financial independence and become wealthy.

Today, I'm talking about an inconvenient truth behind why so many Americans never reach financial independence.

Welcome to The Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, your daily guide to preparing for and living your best retirement. I'm your host Ashley Micciche, and this week, I'm sharing with you some shocking money statistics that when you put it all together, solve the puzzle why most Americans never become wealthy.

your best retirement. I'm your host Ashley Micciche, and in the week of Thanksgiving, I'm sharing just one episode with you so I can take time to peel potatoes and make sure our turkey brine is doing it's job.

I wish you many blessings this Thanksgiving, and I'm grateful for the time you choose to spend with me on this podcast. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your retirement planning journey, and I wish you and your loved ones a joy-filled Thanksgiving!

If you're new to the podcast - Hi there! I'm a financial advisor and co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors. For the last 18 years, I've helped my clients navigate the challenges and incredible opportunities of retirement….and this podcast is dedicated to helping you do the same!

With this week being thanksgiving, I want to share with you how gratefulness helps you make better money decisions, as well as 5 things I'm most thankful for in 2025.

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: Big Changes Coming For 401(k) Savers Over 50 In 2026

In case you missed any episodes this week, here's what we covered.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about the new rules for catch up contributions for higher earners over 50, going to effect in 2026: If you're participating in your 401k plan at work, if you're over 50, you're planning to maximize your contributions including the additional catch-up contribution, and you're going to make more than $145,000 in wages from your employer in 2025 - the rules for making catch up contributions are changing for you in 2026.

Today, I'm talking about your action plan for successfully implementing this rule change in 2026 in your own savings plan.