324: Finance Friday: Why Even Millionaires Still Have to Budget

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

What is a millionaire? By definition, someone who has a million dollars or more in net worth. But what do you think of when we say “millionaire”? Are you picturing sports cars, expensive vacations, big houses? The reality is that most millionaires are people just like you and me, living in regular homes, still attending their jobs, and trying their hardest to budget. Being a millionaire doesn’t mean you’ve “made it,” but it does mean you’re on the fast track to building wealth.

Gracie is a millionaire, but she doesn’t feel like it. When she discovered financial freedom, she set an impressive goal to hit millionaire status by the time she and her husband hit their mid-30s. They worked hard, were diligent savers, and ended up hitting that goal right on time, but it came with a lot less flexibility than they had hoped. While Gracie was able to quit her job, her husband wasn’t able to, and even as he brings in a great salary, the family still is close to breaking even every month on their budget.

But Gracie isn’t doing anything wrong. She’s got a tame budget, regularly reviews her spending, and knows that something has to change if she wants to reach the life of financial freedom she had been promised. So what should she do, change her assets, completely revamp her budget, or move to a lower cost of living area to increase her monthly cash flow? Scott and Mindy give Gracie some good advice that will most likely apply to you, even if you’re not a millionaire yet.

In This Episode We Cover

Coast FI and using it as an alternative to traditional financial independence

Budgeting, expense tracking, and knowing where your monthly income is going

Pivoting to part-time when trying to slowly leave a job you don’t love

Increasing your “financial flexibility” without sacrificing a ton of time

Budgeting red flags and where most families fail in saving money

Whether or not being heavy in retirement funds is a wise move in early retirement

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group

BiggerPockets Forums

Finance Review Guest Onboarding

Scott's Instagram

Mindy's Twitter

Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place

Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show

Podcast Talent Search!

Subscribe to The “On The Market” YouTube Channel

Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets

Coast FI: The Calculated Way to Retire Early WITHOUT Giving Up What You Love w/Jessica from The Fioneers

Check Out Mindy’s 2022 Live Spending Tracker and Budget

3 Degrees, Debt Free, and “Coasting” to Financial Independence

Finance Friday: How to Get to Early Retirement Even Faster

Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Check out our sponsor page!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices