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Join Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench (from BiggerPocketsMoney.com) weekly for the BiggerPockets Money Podcast. Each week, financial experts Mindy and Scott interview unique and powerful thought leaders about how to earn more, keep more, spend smarter, and reach financial independence.
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Growing up, Bola Sokunbi had some serious financial influence from her parents. Her father would tell her “Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish” while her mom showed her the importance of being an independent woman who could financially stand on her own. They both influenced her to become the financial author, mentor, and teacher she is today with Clever Girl Finance.
Bola split her youth between Europe and Africa, and when given the chance to go to college back in Europe, her mom cashed out her retirement savings to give her daughter the gift of education. Bola worked through college and graduated with zero debt! She then went on to live in New York City, making $54,000 a year at her first job, which to her, was like getting a million dollars!
As she saved up to buy her first home and later started investing in more growing assets, she saw her friends who made 3x her salary, spend all their money on designer handbags, expensive dinners, and luxury apartments. She knew she didn’t want to be surrounded by financially irresponsible people, so she distanced herself from those friends, and began her journey to FI.
Now, Bola has a business pulling in six figures every month! She teaches women how they can start investing, have financial confidence, and live life on their terms.
In This Episode We Cover
The importance of education, even in today’s world
The great sacrifices Bola’s parents made for her to be successful
Starting side income streams so you can invest and save more
Selling the investments you don’t feel comfortable with, and why everyone doesn’t need to be a landlord
Saving a massive financial runway before quitting your full-time job
Starting Clever Girl Finance and her new book The Side Hustle Guide
And So Much More!
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: it’s never too early to start your journey to financial independence. Today we talk to Mackenzie, a 23-year-old college graduate, working a government job and paying for only minor expenses. She has a serious emergency fund she’s managed to save up and has questions on house hacking, setting up retirement accounts, and the fastest way to get to FI.
When you start your financial journey at such a young age, you have many different opportunities. Even just maxing out your Roth every year may be enough to make you a tax-free millionaire, but what about more aggressive strategies like owning rental properties or even shooting for a far higher-paying job? These are all questions that Mackenzie wants answers to, so we have Scott and Mindy here to help!
In This Episode We Cover
Living at home when you’re young to save money on rent and food
Graduating debt-free so you can come out of college ready to build wealth
TSP accounts, Roth accounts, and the 457 plan
House hacking as a way to fund future investments
Looking for other jobs or side income that can help you increase your investing rate
And So Much More!
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Part of the reason we started the BiggerPockets Money Show was to share financial stories from all different backgrounds, giving you, the listener, confidence to reach your financial goals regardless of the stage you’re at in life. There’s no better story or person to personify this than Dr. Lakisha Simmons.
Lakisha grew up in Indianapolis, born to teenage parents who didn’t have much. She spent the majority of her youth living at different family members’ houses, shopping bargains, and being content with having enough to get by. She started working at 14 years old and has fond memories of taking her paychecks to the bank so she could deposit them in her own checking account.
When Lakisha hit some road bumps in her personal life, she put her children first and sold her home, started renting, and dove heavily into FI. She managed to hit a 60% savings rate as a single mother, thanks to her helpful side-income streams. Now, after almost 3 decades of working, she’s ready to retire, spending time with her children and teaching other women how they can do the same.
In This Episode We Cover
How growing up in poverty can lead to living frugally in the future
Whether or not student loans are worth it for the paycheck
Looking at ALL your bills and only paying for things that bring you value
Renting vs. owning a home, and how it affects your bottom line
Taking advantage of 457(b) plans for government employees
And So Much More!
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For most people, there tends to be a specific point in your life when you think, “I want to travel” or “I want to spend time pursuing my passions”. For today’s guest Ainsley, this happened about two years ago.
She has spent the last decade or so being a stay-at-home mom, but is looking to up her household income by getting a job that will provide an extra $36,000 a year to the family budget. Her main question: what should this extra income be used for?
Mindy and Scott come up with a step-by-step approach to hit financial freedom, even if you don’t have a large amount of cash or investments. Lucky for Ainsley, her home in the Pacific Northwest appreciated close to $150,000 in just the past year alone! Plus, she also has retirement accounts that she and her husband actively contribute to.
While they’re doing many things right, they could improve on some simple things like boosting their emergency fund, starting an HSA, contributing to a Roth IRA, and getting their income up as much as possible. This is a great episode for those who don’t want to get into real estate, and instead would rather have passive investments growing on the side!
In This Episode We Cover
Mindy and Scott’s 7-step plan to hit financial freedom
The importance of keeping a healthy emergency fund (and where to store it)
The pros and cons of taking out a HELOC on your primary residence
Always getting the 401(k) match whenever presented with one
ESPPs (employee stock purchase plans) and how to take advantage of them
Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and other tax-deferred accounts
Investing in a regular brokerage account once you have maxed out retirement
And So Much More!
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There are lots of twists and turns throughout every investor's journey, but maybe not as many as Zeona McIntyre’s. Growing up with the words of Suze Orman in her ear, Zeona knew that there were a few things she had to do, like max out her Roth IRA every year. It wasn’t until Zeona was talking to a friend who told her about Airbnb arbitrage that she realized a future in real estate investing may be the most successful.
Before there were many short-term rental laws, people would Airbnb out of their own rented apartment, often without the landlord’s permission. Before you go off on Zeona in the comments, know that she does not do this anymore, and a few of her landlords were surprisingly okay with the plan. Since then, she has purchased 11 doors that she rents out, both to short and long-term tenants.
You’ll hear how Zeona used private funding, an unfortunately-fortune life insurance payment, and many other creative methods to get her to financial independence in just 2 years!
In This Episode We Cover
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We all know someone who hustles. Maybe it’s your sibling or your friend, or maybe you’re the hustler in your group. Those who hustle to make more money seem to always find new ways to bring in more cash, and that’s exactly what today’s guest, Alicia, is doing. Alicia jokes that she has 2-4 jobs, because in the day she’s working 65 hours a week at a media company, but is also a “saloon girl” and professional singer on the side. How many moms do you know that can ride a mechanical bull? Well, Alicia can!
Alicia recently purchased a rental property in Detroit that is giving her a 20% return! This is far higher than most real estate investors anticipate, and for her, it’s a blessing on her path to hitting passive FI. She was able to buy this rental in cash with a 401(k) loan, but with some taxes looming on the horizon, Alicia is asking whether or not paying off the debt or buying another property is the best move to hit her financial freedom goals.
In This Episode We Cover
Links from the Show
Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow204
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What’s your excuse for not hitting financial freedom? Maybe you work at a low paying job, maybe you only have one income for your household, or maybe you’re caring for a few kids, limiting the income you can save and invest. Prepare to have your excuses obliterated, because today we’re talking to Rob and Sam, who raised their 14 children on one income alone. And we aren’t talking about a $500k per year income, we’re talking about a median income!
Rob and Sam always wanted a big family, and luckily, they were raised in frugal households, allowing them to save every penny, shop the deals, and have a budget. While Sam was at home raising the children, Rob was out working and slowly paying off their house early, without Sam’s knowledge. One day, Rob told Sam that the house was paid off, which came as a huge surprise to her!
He had also been maxing out their Roth IRAs, his 401(k), and their HSAs. Rob was doing all this while comfortably raising 14 children. How is that even possible? Well, you can learn all about their tips, tricks, and budgeting tactics by buying their new book: A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More: Advice from a Debt-Free Family of 16!
In This Episode We Cover
Links from the Show
Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow203
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Most 21-year-olds aren’t thinking about Roth IRAs, early retirement, house hacking, or graduating college debt-free. But today’s guest, Anthony, is! Anthony is currently a student in community college, preparing to transfer to a four-year college next year. He has a paid-off car, no credit card debt, and makes around $2,000 a month, with $800 or so as extra income each month.
Anthony is wondering where the best place to put his extra income is. Should he invest in his Roth or should he save up money for college costs? Alternatively, he could house hack which could cash flow him through college and allow him to leave with a degree and a profitable rental property.
Scott and Mindy walk through the multiple different options Anthony has and push him to see what he can achieve within the next few years to put him on a path towards financial independence!
In This Episode We Cover
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How do you think about debt? Most of us would shudder to think of having high-interest consumer debt in our lives, and for good reason. Consumer debt can lead to a detrimental financial future and tons of wasted money on interest. But what about good debt? Debt to buy rental properties or help an aspiring business. How do you feel about that debt?
Today we’re joined by FI chaser, and friend of Mindy, Jake Simon. Jake was raised in a frugal household. He learned to spend less than he made, shop the bargains, work hard, and NOT go into debt. Jake had been investing money every month in his 401(k), and after that, began putting the extra money he had into a bank account. After listening to The Mad Fientist (he’s been on our show before too), Jake knew that there was a much better place his money could be stored.
With the relocation of his job every few years, Jake became more and more interested in real estate, prompting him to start doing live-in-flips! After maxing out retirement accounts, selling his flips for heavy profits, and still having a large savings rate every month, he decided to conquer his fear of debt, and use debt to buy rental properties!
In This Episode We Cover
Links from the Show
Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow201
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We love when guests come back on the show, especially when that guest is Kyle Mast. You may have heard him back on episodes 41 & 84, but now he’s here to celebrate our 200th episode with us! Scott and Mindy have come up with their own questions to ask Kyle ranging from retirement accounts, to asset allocation, to the future of cryptocurrency, and more.
If you’re worried about retirement, Kyle has you covered. We go over some great topics like whether you should choose a traditional 401(k) or a Roth 401(k). From there, we talk about whether a pre-tax account or a post-tax account makes the most sense, based on your income, tax bracket, job security, and more. We’ll also touch on HSA (health savings accounts) which are a fan favorite as well as a tried-and-true winner for almost anyone who qualifies for one.
Post-retirement is another topic that rarely gets discussed on the show (since we’re all so focused on getting wealthy, not deploying that wealth). If you’re worried about hitting required minimum distributions soon, you may have the ability to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run with some tips from Kyle. We’ll also talk about diversifying your accounts now so you can be nicely positioned upon retirement.
Lastly, we talk about inflation, rising house prices, tech stocks, and (Mindy’s favorite, of course) cryptocurrency. All of these are incredibly relevant right now and it’s great to hear from someone as neutral as Kyle on the pros and cons of each.
In This Episode We Cover
Links from the Show
Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow200
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