Today’s episode features Tyson Koska from OnTrajectory.

Tyson joined the Army when he didn’t have enough money to go to the college he wanted.

Later, he would end up with an English and Philosophy degree which didn’t land him a job.

He fell back on an old skill of programming and up-skilled his way into eventually making six figures.

Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about Tyson’s amazing turnaround.

Episode Summary

Tyson’s background

From a young age, he had jobs and tried to make his own money
His goal has always been to be independent
When it was time to go to college his parents offered to help
But for them to do so he would have to live at home
Instead, he decided to join the Army and became a helicopter pilot
Tyson admitted he made a lot of missteps when he first started working
He blew all his money and racked up credit cards

Reinventing and Up-Skilling

He left the military in 1992
In the end, he would end up in that little local college after all
Tyson decided to study English and philosophy
Those majors didn’t provide any job prospects
Tyson fell back on his old skill of programming that he learned at age 13
This spun into a job and a pipeline for up-skilling
Over that stint, he would climb from $30k income to over $100k
His income was increasing but so was his spending
Tyson says that was largely due to marrying the wrong person
Then we discussed what really flipped the switch for him
He recalls a friend who wanted to open a McDonald’s
His friend said he needed $100k to do so
That sounded like a ridiculous amount of money to him but inspired him

Creating OnTrajectory

Another big turning point was when his second kid was on the way
There was so much unknown and he couldn’t find a tool to help him plan for them
This need led him to build OnTrajectory
Now he sees both individuals and advisory firms using the tool
It’s also available for a free 30-day trial with no credit card needed to sign up
Then Tyson walks us through all the incredible detail you can get from the app
There are walkthroughs on YouTube as well as several guides
It’s a really cool tool that allows you to insert tons of complicated life events into your projections

Key Takeaways

Mistakes Happen: Tyson calls out several missteps but he learns from them instead of dwelling on them
Life is Complicated: OnTrajectory was born out of this idea to model all the crazy life events we can run into

Call to Action

Head on over to OnTrajectory to start your 30-day free trial and see what your plan looks like with all those important life moments.

Join the Community

We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!

Sign up for our exclusive newsletter
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com

If you like what you hear, please leave a rating/review!

The FI show on iTunes

The FI show on Android

Check out our Sponsors

Empower is a mobile app that makes managing your money the easiest thing you do all day. How? Automated saving. Painless budgeting and spend tracking. Human coaches ready to share personalized recommendations on how to pay down debt, uncover extra savings, and tackle any other finance question on your mind. Proactive tips and up-to-the-minute alerts to help you make better financial choices in real-time.

Make sure to use offer code FISHOW when you sign up to earn a $5 bonus when you reach your savings goal!

To be eligible to receive the $5 bonus, (a) you must enter offer code FISHOW at signup, (b) you must be an active Empower subscriber, (c) you must open your Empower AutoSave account no later than 4/30/20, and (d) your Empower AutoSave account must have reached a balance milestone of $100 or more 30 days after opening the account. The bonus will be paid into your Empower AutoSave account on or around the 4th of the month following the achievement of the balance milestone. Must be a new Empower customer to qualify.

T’s Information

His Website: OnTrajectory.com

Via E-Mail: ty@ontrajectory.com or questions@ontrajectory.com

Learn More About Your Hosts

Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)

Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

The Lord Is My Shepherd (Reality Carpinteria)