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Early retirement is possible for almost anyone, no matter where you start or how much you make. If you can sacrifice and save more than you spend, there’s a good chance you could retire years or even decades earlier than the rest. In fact,you can retire early on a median income salary without any retirement savings to start with…but you’ll need to do one crucial thing. As you’ll see from today’s guests, David and Danielle, one smart purchase may have set them up for life! We’re back with another Finance Friday, where we talk to David and Danielle, two median-income earners trying to figure out the right path to early retirement. After Danielle’s sales-based burnout, the couple has been surviving with just one income, cutting it close every month. But, with a return to work on the calendar for Danielle, the chances of financial freedom are looking bright. But where do they go from here? With David and Danielle’s real estate dreams, Scott and Mindy come up with a handful of ways that this couple could use their primary residence to bolster their chances of early retirement and allow them to save a significant amount of money every month. So if you feel like you’re starting over on the path to FIRE and don’t know which move is right, this is an episode for you! In This Episode We Cover How to use your home to retire early and start investing Grocery shopping, food bills, and how to stop eating your money every month Legal fees and accounting for lawyer bills during an ongoing dispute House hacking and living for free while renting out spare space Assumable loans and upgrading your property when you have LOTS of equity And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment House Hacking: A Beginners Guide to Living for Free Grocery Shopping Got a Hold on Your Wallet? Check Out These Episodes: Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half The Most Efficient Path to Financial Freedom Food Spending Eating Away at Your FI Plans? Here’s How to Eat for Cheap Slash Your Food Budget by $150+ Per Week with EASY, Healthy, and Tasty Meals Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-413 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email us: advertise@biggerpockets.com

While the job of a full-time content creator might seem glamorous from the outside looking in, make no mistake—there’s plenty of work involved, and it’s not always easy to get your business off the ground. Our next guest spent years building up her content creation platform while continuing to work her nine-to-five tech job before she made her first six figures! Welcome back to another episode of the BiggerPockets Money podcast! Today, Scott and Amanda are joined by Gabrielle Judge, a content creator and emerging thought leader for the Gen Z workforce. Gabrielle is helping to usher in the next phase of work-life balance with “quiet quitting”—an oft-misunderstood concept that has less to do with being lazy and much more to do with assessing your return on investment (ROI) at work and creating space for your other goals and passions. Whether you’re interested in content creation or tired of working for “the man,” you won’t want to miss out on all that Gabrielle has to share. She offers a handful of top tips on how to cultivate a side hustle so that it one day becomes a full-time job—including credit card stacking to access a large line of credit for new business ventures, becoming a hard money lender, and using Chat GPT to help you leave your current job and land your next one faster! In This Episode We Cover The real meaning of “quiet quitting” and how to set boundaries at work Growing a side hustle and turning it into your full-time job Viewing yourself as a business and evaluating your ROI at work Credit card stacking to access a large, unsecured line of credit How to become a bank for someone else through hard money lending Leveraging Chat GPT to streamline the job application process and get a bigger paycheck And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Amanda's Instagram Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! The Real Estate Rookie Podcast Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets She Wolf of Wall Street Website 10 Tips For Leaving Your 9-5 and Adjusting to Life as an Entrepreneur How to Start a Profitable Side Hustle Start Credit Card Stacking with Fund&Grow Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-411 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Let us know!

A debt-free homeowner with an emergency fund and a keen eye for personal finance? A few years ago, Jazmyn Gray wouldn’t have dreamed that’s how her life turned out. From a young age, Jazmyn was thrown into drug addiction, homelessness, a life of crime, and later, prison time. She was a teenage mother whose silver lining was running a successful business until she was robbed, abused, and pushed into relapsing. But that’s not Jazmyn’s whole story. Through some entrepreneurial pursuits behind bars and putting her finances first, Jazmyn has had an almost unbelievable path to recovery. Even after her time in prison, Jazmyn was forced to pay restitution and other debts she had piled up before her incarceration. However, through a chance meeting with none other than our own Scott Trench, Jazmyn was given the master plan she needed to rebuild her financial position, even when the odds were stacked against her. Now, in a completely different position than she was in just a few years ago, Jazmyn is ready to tell her whole story, not only to provide hope to those that need it but give actionable steps to improving your financial life. You’ll hear how she built a six-figure business within a few months, how she recently bought a house with a record low interest rate, the debt snowball method she used to become debt-free faster than most Americans, and how she’s using her rough road to help others build their own wealth. In This Episode We Cover Hitting financial rock bottom and starting your journey when you have nothing Building a six-figure business and what caused Jazmyn to give up hers Homelessness, drug addiction, and fighting to survive as a teenager The “debt snowball” method Jazmyn used to pay off her debt in record time Buying your first home and how to do so only a few years after being dead broke Jazmyn’s easily-repeatable advice for ANYONE starting their financial journey And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! The Real Estate Rookie Podcast Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment From Extreme Poverty to DIY Wealth and 2 Full-Time Incomes 12 Things to Give Up to Become Debt-Free This Year Get Involved with CrossPurpose Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-410 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Let us know!

As a first-time home buyer, you may be struggling to make a move. And who can blame you? In 2023, with high mortgage rates and stiff competition, more and more would-be home buyers are staying put as renters—but this could be a big mistake. Even Jay Papasan, executive at Keller Williams and bestselling author, wishes he made his first home purchase faster. It wasn’t until Jay was thirty that he finally pulled the trigger on purchasing a property. He had just moved to Austin, Texas, and bought the worst property in the best neighborhood he could find. Now, a good twenty years later, this property alone has made Jay close to a million dollars, and he thinks today’s homebuyers could be in the same position. So, how do you build wealth when buying your first property? In this episode, Jay walks through what first-time home buyers should be looking for when scouting out houses, the telltale signs of a great (and not-so-great) real estate agent, simple improvements you can make to increase property value dramatically, and what to do with today’s high mortgage rates. Jay also includes a little-known way to lower your mortgage rate on your next home, so you can pay less and profit more when you move out! In This Episode We Cover Why you should NEVER sell your first home (and what you should do instead) How to lower your mortgage rate WITHOUT increasing your cost to close Signs of a great agent and the MOST important trait they must have Easy improvements that will shoot up your home’s value Tracking your net worth and why you MUST know your personal profit and loss Housing horror stories and whether or not your agent needs to tell you about the ghost haunting your kitchen And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! The Real Estate Rookie Podcast Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment Grab the First-Time Home Buyer Book Bundle and Use Code “BPKELLER” at Checkout Putting Yourself in the Best Financial Position as a First Time Home Buyer Big Goals? Here’s How to Get Your Spouse or Partner on Board Becoming a Millionaire Real Estate Investor How to Manage Your Time Like a Millionaire Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-409 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Let us know!

Early retirement is the holy grail of financial freedom. With a large enough nest egg, you no longer have to work, giving you the time to spend with your family and friends or do whatever you want. The problem? Hitting financial independence is much easier than most FIRE-chasers think, and achieving their biggest goal comes with unintended consequences. The fact of the matter is, retiring early is a hard choice, and it’s NOT as simple as walking away from your job. Today, we talk to Phil, who’s bringing in a large salary and doing a job he loves but wants to take more time off work to be around his growing family. Phil has reached financial freedom. He has plenty of money in his retirement accounts, a short-term rental property portfolio paying him a median-income salary, and lots of cash on hand in case he runs out. He’s also got a job that makes him a stellar salary and has the flexibility to allow him to increase or decrease his shifts as he sees fit. Phil has done it. He’s found financial freedom and built a fortress of assets to hold up his lifestyle for the rest of his life.But, the idea of walking away from work is stopping him from taking the time off that he needs. With such high pay and work that gives him meaning, how can Phil slowly start stepping away from work without sacrificing his identityor ability to help others? This is a struggle for many who have hit financial independence, and you, too, may face the same dilemma in the not-so-distant future! In This Episode We Cover Building multiple income streams so you can reach financial freedom faster Giving up the high-pay of a skilled job to spend more time with your family When to pay off your properties and whether living mortgage-free is worth it Transitioning out of a career and why stepping away from work is more complicated than it seems Building your ideal post-FI life (even if that means working!) The “middle-class trap” and why over-investing in retirement could be a mistake And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! The Real Estate Rookie Podcast Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment Mr. Money Mustache on Life After FI: The Truth About Retiring Early How to Avoid the “Middle Class Trap” When Building Wealth The “Deathbed Toolkit” That Makes Building Wealth Much More Enjoyable w/Doc G Grab Your Copy of “Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-408 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Let us know!

Think it might be too late for you to enjoy the spoils of real estate investing? Well, you’d be wrong! Regardless of age, background, or financial circumstances, it’s never too late to switch careers and become a real estate investor. Just ask…

The road to early retirement isn’t easy. Once you become dead-set on finding financial freedom, your entire world turns upside down. For many of us, this means spending as little as possible, ditching takeout, saying goodbye to expensive events, and becoming a frugal hermit in our own financially-focused worlds. But, this can lead to serious burnout since a life without fun is a hard life to live. Today, we talk to Sam, who’s feeling his own type of frugal fatigue. Sam was blindsided by a sudden divorce, separating him from his daughter and prompting him to restart his career. He went the unconventional route, getting his pilot’s license and slowly building up his income. But, switching from stay-at-home dad to breadwinner in an instant left a mental mark on Sam. As a result, he’s kept an extremely lean budget, even as his income has grown into six figures. He’s doing a phenomenal job on the path to early retirement, but with time freedom in sight, Sam is still struggling to live life in the present moment instead of always focusing on the future. In this Finance Friday episode, Mindy and Scott walk through paying off unconventional student debt, building a financial runway, the difference between being frugal and cheap, and whether house hacking vs. renting is the right move in this housing market. They’ll also chat over employee stock purchase programs and investing for early retirement, all while making dozens of pilot puns along the way! In This Episode We Cover Investing for early retirement and what to focus on to hit financial freedom Being frugal vs. cheap and whether your FIRE obsession is making life harder Student loan debt and when selling investments makes sense House hacking and using extra space in your home to make more money Building your “financial runway” and when it’s time to reallocate your investment portfolio Employee stock purchase programs and the GUARANTEED profit you’ll make And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! Subscribe to The “On The Market” YouTube Channel Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment Scott Trench’s Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Perfect, 1-Page Investment Plan Why You Don’t Need to Sacrifice Everything to Hit Financial Freedom How to Get to Early Retirement Even Faster Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-406 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Let us know!

Healthy meals that taste great AND save you money? Surely, you can’t have all three! Today’s guest would beg to differ. After deciding roughly six years ago to embrace a healthy lifestyle, she made it her personal mission to find clean recipes that were equally affordable and flavorful. Today, she saves roughly $150 – $200 on her grocery bill each week! Welcome to a special bonus episode of the BiggerPockets Money podcast. Today, our hosts Mindy and Scott pick the brain of Jenn Lueke, a food blogger who teaches people how to curb their monthly food spend and prepare healthy, craveable dishes that keep food exciting. Have you always wanted to improve your diet without breaking the bank or spending countless hours in the kitchen? Do you wish that healthy choices tasted a little better? Tune in as Jenn talks about how she plans and preps all of her meals ahead of time, sticks to a tight grocery budget even amidst inflation or an economic downturn, and keeps all of her food organized in a one-bedroom apartment. You’ll even learn about her top budget-saving foods, go-to one-pan recipes, and favorite places to shop! In This Episode We Cover How to save on your grocery bill ($150 or more!) each week The best ways to optimize food storage with limited space Finding easy, cheap, and healthy recipes that become household staples How to plan and prep meals for HUGE time savings When to buy organic produce instead of conventional Shopping seasonally to take advantage of lower prices (and fresher produce!) And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! Subscribe to The “On The Market” YouTube Channel Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Let us know!

The formula to build wealth isn’t complicated. Most American millionaires have figured it out, and you might have as well. It’s safe to say that almost every wealthy American has followed these three steps that lead to a life of riches. If you follow…