FI With 5 Kids and Debt-Free in Just Over a Decade!

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Does FIRE seem impossible while raising a family? We’re about to prove that you CAN have it all. Emily and Joel are financially independent while raising five kids and still have the money to travel the world, take plenty of vacations, and sleep in without worrying about a job. They reached FI in just over a decade and did it without EVER having a high income. How’d they do it? One “financial superpower” allowed them to do what most people won’t.

Emily and Joel started with $150,000 in student loan debt. Their accounts dwindled at the end of every month, so they began to pay off their loans with the “debt snowball” method. Fast forward a few years, and they were debt-free, but now they had a new challenge: building their net worth!

Today, they’re sharing the incredible journey they took to go from personal finance zeros to heroes, the “why” behind achieving FI at such young ages, and how they did it all (including keeping expenses SUPER low) while raising not one, not two, but FIVE children. Think FI isn’t possible for you? Think again—copy Emily and Joel’s plan!

In This Episode We Cover

How to pay off debt FAST with the “debt snowball” method

Minimizing your expenses and how spending less gets you to FIRE way faster

Why you DON’T need to cut out travel/vacations on your path to financial freedom

The “financial superpower” you must cultivate if you want to retire early

What 100% of Emily and Joel’s portfolio is in and the simple path to building wealth

Starting side hustles that pay for your life and why working while FI is NOT a bad thing

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Mindy on BiggerPockets

Scott on BiggerPockets

Kyle on BiggerPockets

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(00:00) Intro

(01:07) Six-Figure Debt and Dave Ramsey

(05:58) "Snowballing” $150K in Debt

(08:27) $1,000,000 FI Number

(14:06) Financial Superpowers

(15:27) The “Why” Behind FI

(18:37) Serious Side Hustles

(29:29) Did They Retire?

(34:11) Connect with Emily and Joel

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-566

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