Getting out of debt can be very empowering, which is exactly how Azar and Jeffrey felt when they paid off $83,000 of debt in under 3 years! They thought it may be the best time to start investing in real estate, but with a surprise baby on the way, they need to be sure they’re prioritizing stability over growth. Since they’re in such a great position, they should be able to do both! Azar works as a school nurse bringing in a respectable salary, while Jeffrey gets disability payments. Both have p...
May 14, 2021•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 196
Student loans can often drag people into debt, especially when chasing more than one degree. But here’s an unusual story: Brenda Olmost, PhD student, nurse practitioner, and member of the FIRE community is graduating with NO debt. Amazing right? Brenda has worked her tail off over the past decade getting scholarships, living below her means, and working whenever she can so she graduates her program with no debt. Not only has Brenda done a fantastic job making extra income, she’s been investing o...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 195
It’s a common concern among many Americans on whether or not they can retire on a timeline they feel comfortable with. In this episode, we talk to Deb, who’s having some of those same concerns. She has over $100,000 in assets (not including the house) and wants to be sure that she can provide a great life for her children all while saving more and more for retirement. Deb has read so many money and financial independence forums about mid twenty year olds with six-figure incomes and five-figure s...
May 07, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 194
Part of the mission of the BiggerPockets Money Show is to share journeys from all walks of life. Our guests show that no matter where you’re at, you can reach financial freedom and enjoy your life on your terms. Today’s guest, T Christopher Colton, is a shining example of pulling yourself out of the depths and into the light. Chris never liked school, and was spanked all throughout elementary and middle school for failing to pay attention in class. He was told he needed to go to college, but did...
May 03, 2021•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 193
In many of our lives, we make a decent salary, we try to save and invest, but we still feel bogged down by debt. How is it possible to feel “broke” while making a great salary? That is the question that Tiara, today’s guest, is asking. Tiara works as a park ranger in Texas, but wants to take a break in the next few years to go on a big travelling holiday. This is a great idea! She’s worked very hard, managed to get some assets under her name, and needs a break. But before she can go out and expl...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 192
Many of us have had the benefit of growing up in households where our parents taught us about money, saving, and investing. Angela Rozmyn was raised in one of these households, and when she wanted something like a bunk bed, her parents got her to work so she could split the cost of it. Clearly this has helped her even to this day as she pursues financial independence and runs the Facebook Group “Women’s Personal Finance (Women On Fire)”. Before she was on her financially independent journey, she...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 191
Side businesses can be a fantastic way to boost your savings and investing rates, especially if you’re making a low salary! Rachael works in the insurance industry and is keen on getting a promotion soon, due to her recently acquired license. She loves her work and wants to stay with her company as long as she can, but she also wants to increase her income so she can save more for her retirement, her college funds, and pay off some student debt. Rachael has always been an artist and uses this ta...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 190
Getting a finance degree doesn’t make you a great investor or saver, that’s what Teri Slater, personal finance coach found to be true after completing her degree. From a relatively early stage, Teri had already racked up student loan debt, a car loan, and credit card debt. She pulled herself out of debt and felt accomplished, but after she got married and bought her first house, she found herself back in debt. About $200k in debt! Teri and her (then) husband had high incomes, a nice home, childr...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 189
Being strapped with student debt isn’t easy. It creates a whole new obstacle to hitting financial freedom, but it can be mitigated. So does it make sense to invest on the side and pay the regular monthly payments on student debt, or go all-in and pay off huge chunks of student debt at once? Today’s guest, Robyn, has this exact question (which many of you may have as well). Robyn lives in the Bay Area, one of the most notoriously expensive housing markets on the planet. That being said, she is pa...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 188
Tiffany Aliche is back for her third appearance on the BiggerPockets Money Show! We’ve talked to her about how to teach your children about money and climbing out from financial rock bottom, now we talk to her about making millions! If you haven’t heard from Tiffany before, we’ll catch you up on her backstory. Tiffany was doing well with money up until her mid-twenties, then she hit a few snags, and even got scammed out of $35,000 from who she calls “Jack the Thief”. She was living with her pare...
Apr 12, 2021•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 187
Today we talk to Sammie, a physician assistant out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sammie makes a great income, around $140,000 a year, but is strapped with a very big $160,000 student loan debt. The good news? She’s eligible for public service loan forgiveness within only a few years, all she needs to do is continue paying her loan payments while keeping her job, and the debt will be wiped away! This is fantastic for Sammie, because she wants to start investing more into assets so she can hit fi...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 186
Barbara Friedburg wasn’t always the savvy investor and saver that many people know her as, but her background helped get her there. Born to parents of the great depression, Barbara had the traits of frugality and modesty instilled into her from a young age. Money was an open subject of discussion in Barbara’s household, unlike most households today. Her parents taught her to value money, not waste it, and be smart when you spend. Barbara’s innate financial intelligence was clearly shown when she...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 185
Saving up for financial independence can take some time, but if you’re earning a high salary, keeping your exSaving up for financial independence can take some time, but if you’re earning a high salary, keeping your expenses low, and heavily investing, FI can come quicker than you think. Today, we talk to Kristine, an estimator in the mechanical engineering and plumbing industry. Kristine and her fiancé make a sizable amount of money. Even better, they spend very little for their income bracket ...
Apr 02, 2021•50 min•Ep. 184
Those who are part of the FI or FIRE movement know how important it is to set yourself up on the right path in your youth. For parents, how do you get your kids excited about pursuing financial freedom? How do you talk to your kids about taxes, retirement accounts, saving, investing, and real estate without them falling asleep? This was Rob Phelan’s question when he started working to build the Choose FI Foundation. The foundation’s goal is simple: help kids achieve financial literacy before the...
Mar 29, 2021•59 min•Ep. 183
Mindy and Scott don’t often get stumped on the Money Show, but it happens once in a great while. What do you do when you have a multi-million dollar net worth, appreciating properties, a maxed out 401(k), and a solid safety reserve? That’s exactly the question that today’s guest, Mike, has. Mike has worked in the music industry for years, moving all around the US to do his job. As technology has evolved, Mike is predicting an end to his specific role over the next decade, and is wondering what h...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 182
You may hear of 20 year olds with $1,000,000 in real estate, or a novice flipper doing 50 flips a year, or even a wholesaler who made six figures on one deal. What about the everyday investor who slowly grinds and acquires a steady stream of passive income all while building hundreds of thousands in equity overtime? Those are the real people in real estate, and that is a success story worth sharing. Julie, software engineer and former BiggerPockets employee bought her first house after realizing...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 181
What do you do once you’ve hit millionaire status? You have rental properties, brokerage accounts, and a good amount of cash on hand, so what’s next? This is the question that today’s guest, Brian Blask, has. Brian has done everything right so far: he doesn’t spend frivolously, he invests heavily, he isn’t overleveraged in his rental properties, and he has a high income. Often when you reach such a high point of financial intelligence, you want to make bigger investments for bigger returns. Bria...
Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 180
Being in the military opens you up to an array of benefits for a financially abundant life. You have access to VA loans, a tax-free housing allowance, and a pension (if you stick around long enough). That’s why it’s of the utmost importance to start saving and investing while you’re young and in the military. But, that wasn’t exactly what David Pere (From Military to Millionaire) did when he was first enlisted. David grew up with frugal parents, who never splurged on much. So when he joined the ...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 179
Last time we talked to Sarah, AKA Budget Girl, she was on Episode 6 of the Money Show. If you haven’t listened to that episode, here’s a quick recap. Sarah was $33,000 in debt from student loans, but she was able to pay it off while making less than $30,000 year! For most people, this would have taken decades to pay off, but Sarah was able to crush her debt in only a few years! Now it’s time to check in on Sarah, and see what she’s been doing since clearing herself from debt. Currently, Sarah ha...
Mar 12, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 178
It’s hard being a first time home buyer, especially if you don’t have any experience with real estate, property values, or market appreciation. You may be wondering how you’ll be able to buy a home that will help increase your net worth, or at least, not shrink it. Scott and Mindy are on today to tell you how to make the best first time home buying decision possible. We’ll go through the most common myths that first time home buyers tend to get caught up in. Myths such as: Buy as much home as yo...
Mar 08, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 177
Most listeners of the show will know that a cash cushion is always great to have and should be mandatory for almost everyone. Having a cash reserve of 6-12 months can help you cover unexpected expenses or life events like a sudden medical bill or losing your job. That being said, sometimes you can have a cash cushion that’s too big for your lifestyle. Today we talk to Steve, who has been paying off his mortgage quickly with the help of his wife. They both have respectable salaries, retirement ac...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 176
Last time we talked to Purple from A Purple Life, she told us about her plan to retire at the end of 2020. If you haven’t listened to that interview, you can listen to it here to get the full scoop on Purple’s journey from a $5,000 net worth to hundreds of thousands within only a few years. Like many financially savvy early retirees, Purple put a lot of time into planning, saving, and investing her capital in order to retire in her early 30s. Well, she did it! As of October 2020, Purple is finan...
Mar 01, 2021•57 min•Ep. 175
Real estate investors are known to have their hands in 20 different pots, this is doubly true for Marine and real estate investor Fabio. Fabio is a Captain in the Marine Corps and has been in service for the past 21 years. He has at least five years left before he wants to retire, but is poised to hit his “freedom number” (or what others call their financial independence number) soon. Fabio has rental properties throughout the country: a duplex in San Diego, a house in Arizona, a BRRRR currently...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 174
Welcome to episode 173.5! Yesterday you heard from Brent, a former registered nurse who paid off over $100,000 in debt and started a mobile pizza truck! Brent’s original interview was recorded back in January or 2020 and was scheduled to be released right around the time that the pandemic hit and shutdowns began. Since it was released yesterday we thought it’d be a great idea to have him back to talk about all his progress since then! Since we last spoke to Brent, he’s added a whole other food t...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 173
What does the average person do in their 20s? For most people, it means going into student debt, getting a car loan, getting a mortgage, and treating yourself. These are the “average financial decisions” that put many Americans into debt and stuck at jobs they only dream of leaving. That’s how Brent aka TheFoodTruckCEO felt when he and his wife realized they had over $100,000 in consumer debt. Brent and his wife didn’t make any crazy decisions, he merely did what society said is the right thing ...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 173
Jeff, like many listeners, feels as if there is enough money coming in every month, but somehow it’s slipping out, not allowing him and his wife to hit financial independence. A big reason this could be happening is simple: not enough income and expense tracking. This is why Mindy and Scott are always so adamant about having a budget (and sticking to it). Jeff owns his home, and it has appreciated a favorable amount since he bought it; he also owns a duplex in his home state of California, and a...
Feb 19, 2021•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 172
Most people would consider $80,000 a year a respectable salary, but what if you were making that much during college? That’s what today’s guest, Brandon Richard Austin, made in his sophomore year. As a journalism major, he started doing freelance writing work, and a client of his ended up offering him a remote position on the team. So there Brandon was, making $80,000 a year, working 12 hour days, all while juggling school at the same time. Thankfully, Brandon wasn’t a big spender. He didn’t go ...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 171
Erik and his wife have three big debts to tackle: their mortgage on their primary residence, their mortgage on their rental property, and a HELOC (home equity line of credit) taken out as the down payment for their rental property. So, which debt should they tackle first? As two school teachers in New Jersey, Erik and his Wife made smart moves earlier this year by closing on a rental property, in order to have another stream of income coming in. They already have well paying jobs, pension plans,...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 170
It’s not always comfortable talking about money, especially with close friends, family members, partners, or even bosses. How did salary, savings, and investing become such a taboo subject to talk about? With us today is Erin Lowry aka Broke Millennial, you may recognize her voice from episode 24 and 81 of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast. Erin paints a picture that many of us can relate to: you’re at a birthday dinner and you order a small side and a water while the rest of your party orders $60...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 169
A big piece of advice given by many wealthy people and real estate professionals is to simply “get started when you’re young”. This is exactly what our guest has done today. Clayton, a renewable energy worker, travels around the midwest for work, living out of an RV with his partner. His company grants him a company car, a company phone, a food stipend, a handsome 401(k) match, and a comfortable salary. Clayton has taken advantage of these big perks by maxing out his Roth, buying a rental proper...
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 168
