BiggerPockets Money Podcast

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...

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, a...

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! T...

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...

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...

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 Ch...

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...

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 sharin...

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...

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 f...

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 ch...

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 com...

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 o...

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 h...

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 re...

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 t...

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. Bre...

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...

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...

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...

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’r...

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 s...

Most people are told the same thing growing up, “go to college and take out a loan, get a car and take out a loan, live in a nice apartment even if it’s expensive”. This is exactly what Josh and Ali, AKA “The FI Couple”, did in their 20s. They racked up over $100,000 in student loans, had two car payments, and lived in an apartment outside of their means. Josh grew up without much money, causing h...

Having too much money in investment accounts seems like a good problem to have, but it’s a problem nonetheless. Today we talk to firefighter Nathan and teacher Kristen about their income, expenditures, and investments. Nathan and Kristen own their home and multiple rental properties as well. Collectively they bring in a respectable income, but are being stretched thin due to time restraints. From...

While living abroad, it can be very difficult to invest in assets in your home country, especially if you’re an American. Daniel J. Mills found this out early in his professional career. As a English teacher living in Japan, he had to jump through a sizable amount of hoops to find a way to invest in American stocks, index funds, and later real estate all while overseas.  Growing up in southern Cal...