Biggerpockets Money Podcast

Blake Nielson is a college professor whose wife stays home to raise their four children. Despite having only one income - and six mouths to feed - they have paid off their home and are on the path to early financial freedom. Blake currently loves his job and has no plans to stop working - but still wants the freedom that financial independence gives. So how did he do it? He started off debt free from college, a HUGE leg up in life in general. Blake details just how he accomplished this feat, from college selection to funds available, scholarships and even working during the school year and especially during the summers between. Blake even shares a Solid Gold tip for finding out about scholarships that aren’t well publicized! Blake also strategically chose where he lived during his college years. He specifically chose a rental that was priced significantly lower than the “college” rentals in town - but still close enough to walk to school. There is no secret to Blake’s success. He put in the work at an early a

Belinda Rosenblum is a CPA, a certified coach and her clients include Harvard Business School, Harvard University and the SEC. She’s worked for Arthur Andersen and L3 Enterprises. She’s got money all figured out, right? Well, she does now… On today’s episode, Belinda shares her biggest money mistake - ignoring a giant pile of mail as she cared for her recovering father. Once she cleared that up, she focused on her own finances, growing her net worth to more than $1 million by the time she was 33. She quickly realized that her trajectory was NOT taking her where she wanted to go. So she pivoted. She took a new job with a huge bump in pay and rode out their boom and subsequent layoffs, taking a package to leave and using that opportunity to travel to India, a life-changing experience. When she came back, she realized she didn’t need all the things, didn’t need the stress that came with the big corporate job, and struck out on her own, filling a need she saw in her own friends - financial education. Belinda parl

Life Insurance is the most exciting topic on the planet! Just kidding. But just because it isn’t a super exciting topic doesn’t mean you don’t need to know about it. Today, Joe Saul-Sehy, host of the Stacking Benjamins podcast, joins Scott and Mindy to talk about Life Insurance. Joe comes from a background as a financial planner and was licensed to sell every type of insurance product available. Joe is here today because he understands how life insurance works - how it's priced, how you can use it, the pros and cons of the product - but he has no skin in the game whether you buy life insurance or not. He's the perfect person to explain this product from a factual standpoint and let you make the decision of what type - if any - is best for you, based on facts, not commissions. Joe walks us through the basics and shares how life insurance actually covers you - from term, to whole, to universal life. There's no bad product, only different ways of paying out. If you're struggling with how to figure out what life

Farnoosh Torabi grew up talking about money. Her parents are from the Middle East, and in her culture, they “never miss a moment to talk about money.” As the go-to girl for finance advice among her friends, imagine her surprise when she sat down and looked at her financial situation to discover tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt! Farnoosh realized that paying for everything with a card, then paying the minimum balances didn’t lead to debt free life. Not wanting to continue a life of debt - mainly so she wouldn’t have to tell her mom - she hustled during school. Taking class notes and selling them on her school’s notes system, babysitting, bird sitting, anything that would generate income so she could throw money at her debt and pay it off. Graduation took her to New York City and a stroke of luck found her a shared apartment with a married couple for $500 a month. Definitely less than she could find on her own. She started off making very little, and strategically increased her income to offset

Felicity’s story to financial independence is going to be similar to listeners of The BiggerPockets Money Podcast. She got a good paying job, spent less than she earned, intelligently invested in Index Funds and is now financially independent at the age of 30. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. Except, it’s NOT that easy, actually. She lives in America, and for much of that time, she lived in a very high cost of living city, Boston. Felicity rented a 250 sq ft apartment with her husband, Fergus, while he was in graduate school - because he didn’t want to live above his means, and he was making less money than she was at the time. In fact, Fergus is leery of the 4% rule, and would be much more comfortable if they were only pulling 2%-2.5% of their retirement funds every year. Their story illustrates the point Mindy makes so frequently in this podcast, “personal finance is personal.” Their story also illustrates the path one must take to get to financial independence. Spend less than you earn. Intelligently invest. St

Doug Nordman wanted to teach his daughter about money. But he knew that to get it right, he’d have to start when she was very very small. So he did. First, he taught her how to count, then he taught her how to add, then he showed her what she could do with money by using cash in transactions. As Carol got older, she was able to handle the cash herself, learning how to make change, count change, etc. Carol started “earning” her own money, through allowance and jobs - which could only be done after her (non-paid) chores were complete. Doug’s common-sense approach to teaching his daughter about money is actually quite brilliant. She starts learning about money - and making money mistakes - when the stakes are low. Your 8-year-old making a $20 mistake is far better than your 20 year old making a $10,000 mistake because he or she never learned how to manage money. Carol joins her dad to talk about how these teachings affected her life - and how she is planning on teaching her own daughter about money and finances.

Seth Williams invests in real estate in a way you may have never heard of before. He buys and sells land. And no, he’s not a developer. He literally buys a piece of blank dirt, and then sells it—frequently within days of buying it—for fairly high margins. And he does this without taking out loans for the purchase. How? He’s paying hundreds of dollars for this land, as opposed to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a piece of land with a house on top of it. He turns around and sells it quickly, frequently realizing a 300% profit—or more! Even better? Deals are EVERYWHERE! Land is literally everywhere, and deals can be found very easily. (We discuss several ways to find absentee vacant landowners, many of whom just want to be rid of the property!) Seth shares what to look out for in a deal so you minimize your chances of getting burned and what makes a deal great. He shares different ways to find these deals and even gives guidance for doing your homework so you know exactly what you’re buying. If you’d like t

Chris Browning had dreams of creating movies for Pixar - until he started art classes in college and realized that wasn’t his calling. He was also taking a personal finance class and thoroughly enjoyed it, so he changed his major to finance and never looked back. Chris should have perfect finances, right? Well… Chris found himself in debt after graduating in 2009 and working as a bank teller, trying to impress his girlfriend (now wife). He took control of his finances, telling his girlfriend that they needed to reign in their spending so he could pay off debt. But once his debt was gone, he started saving in earnest for an engagement ring, spent everything he had on that, and found himself in debt again when they started planning their wedding. Life happened, debt continued to stack up until they realized they were $27,000 in debt, with salaries just over that amount - all while living in Southern California. Living paycheck-to-paycheck makes it hard to throw extra money at your debt. Chris and his wife revie

Doc G wanted to be a doctor since he was eight years old. He went to medical school, started his career and quickly realized he actually didn’t like all the parts about being a doc - and didn’t know how to leave the profession. Something he’d wanted for 20 years suddenly wasn’t so awesome anymore. Cue The White Coat Investor. He’d written a book and asked Doc G to read it and review it for his medical blog - and suddenly Doc G saw a way out! This way out didn’t have the expected results, however. Instead of jubilation, Doc G was thrown into a spiral of anxiety and depression. Something he’d wanted his whole life, this thing he’d identified with so strongly for so long, and the thought of walking away from such an enormous part of his life was terrifying because now he had a way to do it and it was suddenly real. Having always saved at least 50% of his income, Doc G went to his accountant - who was unfamiliar with early retirement and sort of threw out a number he needed to save to retire. His financial adviso

Marquez Griffin graduated from high school but did not feel that college was his path. His uncle worked in a sheet metal shop, and was able to get him a job there. He quickly learned that taking a bit of action with regards to his sheet metal training would catapult him higher in his earnings, so he enrolled in trade school and alternated between work and school to learn the trade faster. His earnings rose as he completed coursework, but Marquez found himself unexcited about his path and started looking for more. Moving in with a friend and his dad turned out to be a real-life Rich Dad event, with his friend’s father introducing him to the concept of saving and investing. Marquez started listening to audio books and podcasts while working in the shop, looking for information about a better life. This self education led him to Scott’s book Set for Life, and then to BiggerPockets where he discovered that House Hacking, real estate investing and that he could marry real estate with a career and go from salaried

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

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

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 h

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

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 s

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

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 ret

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 sta

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. In This Episode We Cover: How he purchased a property that was originally listed for $800k in Janu

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 Independenc