BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Financial mistakes can have a HUGE impact on your future retirement savings - the opportunity costs can be enormous!In this episode, Scott and Mindy discuss some of the biggest mistakes you can make financially, and ways to avoid them so you can give yourself the highest potential for financial independence.Mindy and Scott move past previously discussed mistakes such as housing and transportation, and dive deep into relationship money mistakes, travel, spending, retirement planning and tax issues that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in your retirement accounts.Scott and Mindy shed light on some of the “low-hanging fruit” money missteps as well as touching on spending and lack-of-planning issues that can have an even larger impact on your financial future. This episode truly is for anyone who has money AND wants to have more.In This Episode We Cover: What house hacking is On buying a car Challenges that come up in relationships What to buy on engagement rings Concept to apply on weddings On having kids and pets The importance of being on the same team in your relationship Ways to save money on travel Travel hacking Tax Mistakes The right time to talk to a CPA Talking about retirement accounts Withdrawing money early inappropriately Not understanding fees Not taking the match Track and analyzing your spending Signs that you have miscellaneous spending problem On investing Links: The $51,000 mistake thousands of retirement savers have already made BiggerPockets Money Podcast 35: Hacking Your Life to Live for (Almost) Free with Craig Curelop BiggerPockets Money Podcast 87: How to Save Money for Your Down Payment with Scott & Mindy BiggerPockets Money Podcast 83: Buying Your First House with Scott & Mindy BiggerPockets Money Podcast 81: The Basics of Investing with Erin Lowry from Broke Millennial BiggerPockets Money Podcast 09: Financial Independence at Age 30 (by House Hacking + Side Hustles) with Drew from Guy On Fire BiggerPockets Money Podcast 20: The Simple Path to Wealth—Index Funds Explained with JL Collins BiggerPockets Money Podcast 86: Choosing the Right Investment Type for Your Goals with David Stein BiggerPockets Money Podcast 07: How Breakfast Food Motivated Financial Freedom with Mr. and Mrs. Waffles on Wednesday Make Your Own Free Mobile Expense Tracking App in 30 Minutes BiggerPockets Career Opportunities BiggerPockets YouTube Channel Connect with Scott and Mindy: Mindy's email Scott's email BiggerPockets Money's email Scott's Instagram Mindy's Instagram BiggerPockets Money's Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Personal finance is easy, right? You read a blog or listen to a podcast and just follow everything they did. Easy, Peasy, Lemon Squeezy.Except that’s not how the world works. What brought success to one person may bring misery - and ultimately failure - to someone else. Personal Finance is P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L!Of course that said, there are some general principles that apply to everyone:  Spend less than you earn Invest wisely Increase your income Track your spending Be money conscious Chris Mamula, Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa are the authors of ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence, a new book for ChooseFI Publishing. They join us today to share the basics of Financial Independence, and to remind us that Financial Freedom is available for everyone.Topics: What their book is all about The framework they applied to the concept of financial independence Deconstructing rules and create new mindset Things they questioned that started to fall apart How to frame the conversation to attract and get more people interested on financial independence The concept of spending less money  Principles on how to cut your expenses Learn the rules of money and math How to earn more income How they approach on investing The final step towards financial independence And SO much more! Links: Mr. Money Mustache Mad Fientist YNAB Mint Frugalwoods BiggerPockets Money Podcast 10: Designing a Frugal But Luxurious FI Life by Age 32 with Liz Thames BiggerPockets Money Podcast 86: Choosing the Right Investment Type for Your Goals with David Stein Budgets Are Sexy Twitter - Dad Jokes Scott's Instagram ChooseFI ChooseFI Podcast Eat The Financial Elephant Can I Retire Yet? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melanie Lockert joins us today to share her story of student loan debt and her subsequent inability to find a job when she graduated into one of the worst job markets America had ever seen, and her spiral into depression and shame over her debt.Melanie is not alone - as of 2018, more than 44.2 MILLION borrowers owe more than $1.5 TRILLION! (link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_debt)September is National Suicide Prevention month - and Melanie hosts a Suicide Prevention Blog Tour every year due to the sheer number of people who find her blog when they search "I want to kill myself because of debt".Melanie advocates sitting down and figuring out exactly how much your debt is costing you per day, which was both a big source of shame as well as a HUGE motivator for her to pay it off. She also shares her journey out of debt - and out of depression through therapy.Melanie also shares resources for people feeling overwhelmed. Find counseling options at www.openpathcollective.org, talk to someone through text by texting HOME to 741741, which is the Crisis Text line or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.In This Episode We Cover: Melanie's journey with money Experiencing mental health issues because of debt Start blogging and wrote break-up letters to debt How she paid off her debt Her main side hustle How much it costs her to pay her student loan debts The reason why debt is depressing The biggest mistake people are making Her advice to anyone who has the same path with her Five stages of grief that are similar to paying off debt On living in denial Steps to prepare your mindset and addressing the underlying issues  Therapy hack What keep her motivated Talking about the first person who reach out to her How she personally managed to pay off her student loans On making more money What her life look like after she paid off her student loan debt And SO much more! Links from the Show Craigslist TaskRabbit FinCon Mint Open Path Collective Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741 Suicidal Hotline - 1-800-273-8255 Suicide Prevention National Foundation for Credit Counseling Annual Credit Report Side Hustle Nation BiggerPockets Money Podcast 90: From Unplanned Pregnancy to Financially Free with Melissa from Traveling Wallet BiggerPockets Money Podcast 28: How Anyone Can Easily Make Extra Money Using Side Hustles with Nick Loper BiggerPockets Money Podcast 50: Rebuilding Your Financial Life After Bankruptcy with Patrice Washington BiggerPockets Money Podcast 35: Hacking Your Life to Live for (Almost) Free with Craig Curelop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mindy sits down with Billy Hensley from The National Endowment for Financial Education to talk about Financial Education in America, and how NEFE is working to improve student and adult access to this oh-so-important information.They discuss state-mandated financial education courses and the success rates for students in these states. Billy also shares his take on the mandates, and how YOU can get involved if your state does not yet have this requirement.Billy also details how parents can get involved and bring this education into their children’s schools, where this is so desperately needed.This shortened episode of BiggerPockets Money is especially important for parents who are trying to teach their children how to handle money.In This Episode We Cover:  The right time to start teaching kids about money  The importance of understanding the needs versus wants at the very early age   How to introduce financial education into elementary and middle school childrens' curriculum  On financial education mandates  How do we get mandates to all 50 states  Misconception about financial education  And SO much more! Links: FinCon Mandates Matter When it Comes to Borrowing for College National Endowment for Financial Education Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Melissa found out she was pregnant, she was a sophomore in college. Her counselor gave her a pretty alarming statistic: a frighteningly small number of women who get pregnant in college actually end up graduating. Melissa threw herself into her studies, and prepared as much as she could for the birth of her son. And while her plans may have been changed by this unexpected addition, she pushed on and beat the odds - in more ways than one!Not only did Melissa graduate on time, she graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering while working an internship in California and attending school in Michigan.Melissa’s story shows that bumps in the road of life do not have to define your path and that financial independence is STILL achievable even if life throws you a curveball.In This Episode We Cover: Melissa's money journey Three situations that set up her money mindset What her life looks like during her college years What her school program looks like during her college years How she handles the situation when she got pregnant during her college years On childcare Her goal after college All about her medical debt The reason why she opens up her 401k What her lifestyle looks like and the sacrifice she made to make things possible On paying off her debt How does her situation changed after she got married The moment she discovered the FIRE movement And SO much more! Links: BiggerPockets Money Podcast 79: Financial Freedom Through Decades of Hard Work and Hustle with Carol Scott BiggerPockets Money Podcast 82: Early Money Lessons Create Healthy Money Experiences with Aditi Shekar BiggerPockets Money Podcast 35: Hacking Your Life to Live for (Almost) Free with Craig Curelop BiggerPockets Money Podcast 26: Graduating College on Track for Financial Independence with Cody Berman BiggerPockets Money Podcast 22: How to Pay Off 6-Figure Student Loans While Pursuing Financial Independence with Travis Hornsby Student Loan Planner SoFi Mr. Money Mustache Mindy's email Connect with Melissa: Traveling Wallet Melissa's Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Berger grew up literally with Rich Dad, Poor Mom. While his mother almost lost her house after his parents divorced, his father was filthy rich, picking him up in a Rolls Royce for weekend visits. Throughout high school and college, he spent every dime he made, and graduated with around $55,000 in debt - and a wife.Upon graduating law school, he felt that “If I don’t save something, it would be a missed opportunity - even if it was $100 a month.” Keeping up with the (lawyer) Joneses took him in a big way - fancy car, fancy watch - and it wasn’t until he started listening to Dave Ramsey and hearing all those people scream “I’M DEBT FREE!!!” that it clicked. He didn’t want the fancy things anymore, he wanted to be debt free. He started saving in his retirement accounts, while simultaneously paying down debt because “it would be insanity to forgo contributions to your 401(k) so you could pay off your 6% student loan debt or credit card debt you can transfer to a 0% card. Even if you don’t have a match, you only have that one year to contribute. When the year is gone, that opportunity is gone.”Rob discovered that small changes in his daily habits didn’t have a very big impact in his daily life, but these small changes had a HUGE impact in his net worth. As he turned down opportunities to spend money, he saw his net worth skyrocket, until his money was making more money than he was!Rob has taken everything he learned on his own journey, and put these tips into a book aimed not at Early Retirement, but Financial Independence - encouraging everyone to attain the freedom to pursue their best life.In This Episode We Cover: Rob's journey with money Lived rich dad poor dad life Saved money for retirement How his lifestyle and position changed transitioning from a law firm job to a government job Psychological component of a side hustle Leaving the big law firm changed his mindset about money Making $100 in 6 months to $30k in 18 months doing blogs How he treated his salary money and side hustle money differently The moment he paid down his debts The reason why he decided to sell the business What prompted him to write the book called, "Retire Before Mom and Dad" What his book all about And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Forums FinCon PT Money Frugalwoods BiggerPockets Money Podcast 10: Designing a Frugal But Luxurious FI Life by Age 32 with Liz Thames Mindy's email Scott's email  Connect with Rob Retire Before Mom and Dad Rob's Twitter The Dough Roller Money Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashley Likely grew up with parents who provided everything she needed, but not necessarily everything she wanted. They were able to pay for her housing in College, but not for much else. So (spoiler alert) she graduated college with $77,000 of student loan debt.A conversation with a ‘preachy’ coworker showed her the light of paying down debt, saving aggressively and starting to invest. They started encouraging each other at work, learning about investments, contributing to 401(k)s, listening to podcasts and doing research. Ashley stumbled across a blog post written by Scott Trench where he shared “Reducing your debt is similar to increasing your income.” She had $56,000 in student loan debt at the time she read this article and says “Scott’s post changed my life.”She thought, if I could eliminate the student loan, what could that do for me mentally and financially? As a speech language pathologist, she has the opportunity for overtime, which she took every chance she got. Her naturally frugal ways kept her from going into further debt with car loans, vacations and all the trappings of “adulthood” by simply avoiding them. Avoiding these debt traps allowed her to bust out her debt and prepare for her future as a real estate mogul!In This Episode We Cover: Ashley's money journey Worked side jobs and open up credit card to get an employee discount Total debt she had from credit card and student loan after college What she did after college Used her income tax return to paid out her credit card debt and bought a house On her journey to financial freedom Aggressively attacked student loan debt in 2017 What prompted her to paid down her student loan debt Got interested in real estate How he got downpayment for her investment property On househacking And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Podcast 268: Acquiring 20 Long-Distance Rental Homes (on a Military Salary!) with Rich Carey Broke Millennial BiggerPockets Money Podcast 05: Jump Starting Your Early FI Plans by Live-in Flipping with Mindy Jensen Ashley's Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode 83, Scott and Mindy discussed how to buy your first property. And they were peppered with questions about the buying process after it came out, but the top question they got was “How do you save for your downpayment?”In today’s episode, Scott and Mindy dive deep into the process that happens BEFORE you start looking for a property. Things like getting your credit score as high as possible, getting your taxes in order, and the TRUE cost of closing.They also explore PMI - when it makes sense to pay it down and when it’s OK to continue to pay. They even share a story from a listener who was able to buy out his $100 a month PMI payment for $1500.If you’re looking to buy a house, but not sure where to start, this episode will definitely put you on the right path.In This Episode We Cover: Things to do before buying a house Getting your taxes in order Disadvantages of self-employment Mindy's story of buying her current house Avoid making big purchases until after you close on your loan completely Understanding closing cost All about down payments Do you get your earnest money back if you don't buy the house On finding a good agent What Private Mortgage Insurance is On finding a good inspector How to save up for the downpayment And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Forums BiggerPockets Money Podcast 83: Buying Your First House with Scott & Mindy BiggerPockets Money Podcast 35: Hacking Your Life to Live for (Almost) Free with Craig Curelop BiggerPockets Money Podcast 10: Designing a Frugal But Luxurious FI Life by Age 32 with Liz Thames Scott's Email Mindy's Email Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Stein reached out to us after Erin Lowry’s Episode 81, where we talked about the basics of investing. He really liked that episode, and wanted to dive a little further into the different TYPES of investments you can choose from.In this episode, we explore asset classes we haven’t really discussed before: Closed End Mutual Funds, REITs, Mortgage REITs, and the different types of stock you can buy. (Yes, there is more than one!) We even touch on Gold and Cryptocurrency! Investing isn’t limited to stocks, bonds and real estate, and David introduces these ideas so you can start investigating the asset classes that appeal to you and works best for your financial goals.David also shares his Investing Principles and his top tip is so simple, yet such an EXCELLENT piece of advice: Be able to describe in detail what you are investing in. If you can’t, you’re not ready to invest in that just yet.If you’re looking for different asset classes, better returns or even just to diversify your portfolio, this episode is a must-listen!In This Episode We Cover: David's money journey Launched businesses at the very young age Studied and liked the aspect of finance His approached to money throughout his career What prompts him the decision to retire On the "Money For The Rest of Us" The investment principles that he teach On the trading Disadvantages of buying individual stocks The difference between investment, speculation and gambling Individual stocks versus index funds Any circumstances that would make people buy an individual stock The reason why he start the podcast Closed-End Mutual Funds Bonds On real estate investment trust How he select reits Private reits versus public reits On preferred stock Buying preferred stock versus common stock What a mortgage reit is On bitcoin What makes bitcoin speculation rather than a gamble And SO much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Wade knew nothing about money growing up. Any money he made at his mall jobs was instantly blown on mall food and silly teenage expenses.His father passed away when he was 4, leaving him an inheritance of $100,000 when he turned 18. Jacob quickly spent it on a truck, customized to the hilt. He soon had nothing to show for it, and at his lowest point, had to move in with his girlfriend’s mother, because he had no money to pay rent.Enter Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. Jacob devoured this book and of course, lightbulb!Jacob did what most new-to-FI people do, he cut out everything! He started tracking his spending and preaching to everyone who would listen. Finally fed up with his constant preaching, his wife said “I don’t want to hear about this anymore - go start a website!” And I Heart Budgets was born, where Jacob could preach to his heart’s content.Jacob and his family are now on a year long road trip around America, a mini-retirement to spend time with their young children before school starts, taking advantage of their financial position.Later in the episode, Jacob drops a knowledge bomb on Mindy & Scott, sharing the existence of the “Spousal IRA,” a way for non-working spouses to contribute to an IRA.Thinking you made such a big mess of your finances that you won’t ever recover? Jacob’s story shows that it’s never too late to start, and that poor financial choices don’t have to define you.In This Episode We Cover: Jacob's money story Inherited $100k at age 18 and blew it very quickly The moment he realised to get serious about money On tracking his spending His lifestyle before and after he read Dave Ramsey's book The power of getting on a budget How he perform against his plan after tracking his spending On his first three months of budgeting How to set goals that you can actually achieve What they did after wedding and honeymoon What their lifestyle looks like living in Washington On purchasing their house Talking about their payment and savings after buying their house On being a tax professional The power of DIY How he learn DIY Made a choice to quit his job, buy an rv and hit the road What a spousal IRA is Their formal budget and money dates The importance of having a wife that is in the same page as yours Reshaping mindset and habits And SO much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices