How to Be Wealthy in Your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s

Wealth isn’t just about money - it’s about time, freedom, and fulfillment. We walk you through what it really means to be wealthy in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Learn how to build wealth, master your mindset, and create a life where you get to do what you want, when you want, with who you want. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jump start your journey with our FREE financial resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach your goals faster with our products⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Take the relationship to the next level: become a client⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube for early access and go beyond the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with us on social media for more content⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NordVPN.com/MONEYGUY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.

• 0:31Speaker 01

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• 0:59Brian Preston?

  What does it really mean to be wealthy in 2025? The answer may actually surprise you.

• 1:04Speaker 03

  Brian, I am so excited about this because we know that everyone's financial journey looks a little bit different. And depending on where you are in your journey and your goals, your targets and your milestones, they might all look a little bit different too.

• 1:19Brian Preston?

  So today, we're going to look at each decade of your financial life and go over what you should focus on, the checkpoints to keep you on track, and the financial markers you can use to make sure you're right on track. Let's jump right in.

• 1:38Speaker 03

  So let's talk about how to be wealthy in your twenties, because this is the very beginning of the journey. You are coming out of the starting blocks and in this age, at this phase, it's really about getting the behavior right.

• 1:51Brian Preston?

  Guys, if I could get you excited about any decade, this is the opportunity, when you're a billionaire of time, to leverage and maximize every opportunity you can, because it's kind of hard to screw it up if you do this right.

• 2:06Speaker 03

  So when we think about what wealthy looks like in the twenties, there is a wonderful quote by Benjamin Franklin, I think that lays this out really well. Benjamin Franklin said, "Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure when he's really selling himself to it." Brian, how many folks, early on in their journey, have we seen fall into this exact trap?

• 2:27Brian Preston?

  Well, I mean, we go through A lot, most of us, our first 20 years, we feel like we're under the thumb of somebody else, whether it's your parents or something. So when you get out on your first time on your own, you want to unleash, you want to reward, you want to pay yourself back for all that discipline or whatever you perceive that you've been under. Guys, I want you to know this quote when I read it, many a man thinks he's buying pleasure. How many of us, whether it's going and buying the new car, right after we get out, get running up a consumer credit card debt because they were offering those all through college, only to find out later, when you get a little more, an ounce of wisdom, that you have now locked yourself, you sold yourself, your labor, your time,

• 3:10Brian Preston?

  all because of these things that mean absolutely nothing to you. That's heavy.

• 3:14Speaker 03

  That's exactly right. And so, true wealth in your twenties, it looks like living within your means. People that are actually wealthy, they recognize that using debt or borrowing money to buy items or experiences isn't actually freedom, it's entrapment. And, and don't miss here, so we have nothing wrong with you buying things that you can afford or having experiences than you can afford, but it's about doing the ones that you can afford. It's about living below your means, not at your means or even beyond your means.

• 3:47Brian Preston?

  Yeah, create that margin in your life, but I'm not saying be a miser. I do want you to look back when you're in your 40s and 50s and say, man, I, life well-lived in my twenties, but we're talking about bedazzle your basic life. You can do really incredible things that will create great blossoming memories without running up a bunch of debt.

• 4:04Speaker 03

  Another thing that being wealthy in your twenties looks like is it looks like getting out of debt, or at least getting out of most of your debt, because we understand that there are a lot of debts, maybe student loans from your education, or maybe when you got your first car, you had to take on an auto loan. Some of those are necessities, but there are other types of debts, the credit card debts, the consumer debts, the store debts, those types of debts in your twenties. If you want to be truly wealthy, you have to get those off of your balance sheet, because if you're paying interest, if you're throwing money away on past purchases, you are literally robbing From your future self's ability to build wealth.

• 4:42Brian Preston?

  Well, debt is that, that, that it's an allusion to you because it looks like it's solving all of your problems that you have in your twenties is that it helps you pay for things when you're not making a lot of money. But guys, I'm here to tell you, if you don't get the behavior right, the discipline, it will be a bridge to nowhere. You are borrowing from your future self. So that's why when we talk about 238 with cars, when we talk about all the, the avoiding credit card debt, if you can't pay it off monthly, we're trying to teach you that credit card and all that high interest debt is chainsaw dangerous. So you gotta protect yourself from what you just don't know in your twenties.

• 5:17Speaker 03

  And what's wonderful is if you can leave your twenties, or you can get to the end of your twenties with no debt, or only having low interest debt, you're going to be on fantastic financial footing to start beginning to build wealth in your thirties. And one of the things, this is a great thing that Warren Buffett said, he says, "The best way to build wealth is to invest in yourself." So when we think about folks in their twenties that are actually wealthy, that are actually doing the right things, they're recognizing that one of the best things they can do is improve themselves, improve their skillset, improve their knowledge, improve the way that they make decisions. And it doesn't have to be something that goes out and racks up a bunch of debt. It doesn't have to be

• 5:58Speaker 03

  getting an advanced degree. I mean, it can be, but it's more about improving the decisions that you're making and making your future self make better decisions than your current self.

• 6:07Brian Preston?

  Well, it's back to the, once again, the superpower of your twenties is you are a billionaire of time. Imagine if you take the power of compounding growth, but you can boost what you earn, your, you know, your disposable income available to you by a hundred dollars a month, a thousand dollars a month. These things, the exponential differences will make in your life. So that's why if you can focus on, you know, what degree do you get, you know, is there extra certifications you can do? Is there some type of networking that's going to help you either sell more products, or either get to know the right people that will put you in the right places? Get out there and learn. And even something as simple as watching the Money Guy show. So you leverage and maximize Understanding a personal finance and this tool of money.

• 6:53Brian Preston?

  All these things are going to help you and help you build wealth better than your peers. And it's going to let you, your, your future self will have less and less regrets because you maximize this very important moment.

• 7:03Speaker 03

  Yeah. And as you are investing in yourself, one of the things it allows you to begin to do is it allows you begin to have a plan in place. It's so amazing, Brian. We talked to people in their mid to late twenties and we're like, hey, what's your plan? They're, oh, I don't, I don't have a plan. I'm just kind of flying by the seat of my pants. I'm just trying to make the ends meet. If you really want to be wealthy in your twenties, you want to have a plan. You want to have goals that you've set. Okay. I want to be able to save at this rate. I want to be able to knock out this debt. I want to be able to have this net worth. I want to be able to make sure that I'm not just in a job, I'm actually in a career. And if you can begin to do those sorts of things, you're going to set yourself up for success. And what's great is in your twenties, it doesn't have to be super, super difficult.

• 7:48Brian Preston?

  No, I like you. You just mentioned have a career. I also like the idea of, yes, you, you start disciplining. You live on less than you make. It's one thing to build up your cash to where you, you cover your highest deductible. You cover your emergency reserves, but also put that money to work. Your army of dollar bills is that much more powerful. You go look at our wealth multipliers in your twenties. So have a plan for what you're doing with every dollar that comes into your army of dollar bills.

• 8:11Speaker 03

  Yeah. With Steve Berkholder that says that if you're saving, you're succeeding. If you are living on less than you make, if you're putting some money aside for the future, you're doing the thing that you ought to be doing. And we already said this, in your twenties, saving does not have to be difficult because it only takes a little bit. It takes a very small amount. If you could just go look at your paycheck right now, whether you get paid weekly or monthly or bi-weekly. You just look at how much you're getting paid. I want you to just take that number, whatever, hit your checking account and multiply it by 5%. It's a great starting spot. Just say, okay, if I can just save that 5% and put it aside and not spend it, not consume it. And I can actually take it and save it and then invest it and put it to work for me.

• 8:55Speaker 03

  I then get to take advantage of, I get to capitalize on the wealth. Multiplier, which shows how powerful my dollars can be.

• 9:03Brian Preston?

  Yeah, this is the thing. I think we take a lot of flack for, for people because we say, we want you to be saving and investing 25% of your money. In your twenties, that's completely aspirational. The reality is if you go look at some of the resources we have on our website that have done the math, 10% can do tremendous things. 15% if you count your employer match on top of that is going to change your future life. But the biggest thing, and Bo, you said it best, if you can just do something, so that 5%, that is going to move mountains for your future self. So don't sleep on the fact, go to moneyguy.com/resources. Look at our wealth multipliers, play around, play around with our calculators and all the things. You will leave and you'll think about money differently. You'll spend differently, you'll save differently, you'll invest.

• 9:48Brian Preston?

  And I'm telling you, your future self will be the beneficiary.

• 9:51Speaker 03

  All right. So what does wealthy look like in your twenties? Well, wealthy looks like if by the end of your twenties, you can say these affirmative statements. Okay, I've got no consumer debt. Check. Okay, I've got a fully funded emergency reserve, which means I'm past step four of the financial order of operations. Check. And I've begun building and investing so that my total liquid portfolio is at least equal to one times my annual gross income. If you can say that by the end of your twenties, you are setting yourself up for a beautiful next decade in your thirties.

• 10:24Brian Preston?

  Yeah. And when we talk about investable assets, we're talking about, hey, that 401k with that free match from your employer. We're talking about that Roth IRA. We're talking about all those investment accounts that will be your army of dollar bills that make it where you don't have to continue to work with your back, your brain, or your hands forever.

• 10:40Speaker 03

  All right. So let's talk about Brian now, the thirties. How to be wealthy in the thirties. For most folks, this is where the messy middle begins to grab you. You have a thousand different obligations pulling you in a thousand different directions. There are a thousand different ways that you can use your money. And there are a thousand different things competing for your priorities. So that's why in the thirties, in the twenties, you had to learn behavior. In the thirties, you have to master behavior because you have all of the These different things pulling you in all of these different directions. Warren Buffett said it best. He said, if you don't find a way specifically in your 30s, specifically in the messy middle to make money while you sleep, then you're going to work until you die.

• 11:25Brian Preston?

  And this is the thing, when we were talking about the 20s earlier, I was like, it's hard to screw this up because you're a billionaire of time. But here's the good news. Most people unfortunately don't hear that. They don't get motivated in their 20s or they they're just limited on resources. So it never happens, but it happens for most Americans in their late 30s.

• 11:44Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 11:44Brian Preston?

  I'm here to tell you, if you can discover this in your early 30s, guys, you still have a tremendous wealth multiplier. We're talking about for a 30 year old, every dollar that comes in the army of dollar bills has a 23 times multiple opportunity. Don't sleep on this is because this is what's going to make your life easier. So you're not having to work for the man or work where you trade your time. We want you to have options for the future.

• 12:11Speaker 03

  Okay. So when we think about in the 30s, what wealthy looks like, well, it actually looks like actually investing in your 20s, we said it was aspirational. You just got to start somewhere, start with that 5% of your take home pay. Start with a hundred dollars a month, start doing something. But by the time you get to your 30s, it's a little more prescriptive. In your 30s, we want you actually saving and investing 25% of your gross income. And we want you to have this mindset that, okay, the thing I'm going to focus on is how much I'm saving and putting it to work. And I'm going to save and I'm going to put it to work and I'm going to wait. And Charlie Munger says that the big money is not in the buying and the selling. It's not in the trading, but when it comes to building wealth as an investor,

• 12:56Speaker 03

  the big money is actually in the waiting.

• 12:58Brian Preston?

  Yeah, I would add, if I could give Charlie one little ashtray, I'd say, and being consistent.

• 13:04Speaker 03

  Love it.

• 13:04Brian Preston?

  Because guys, think about this, this is the part where so many of you will get inspired to watch our content and you might fund your Roth one year. And that Roth, if you especially if you use one of our wealth multipliers, it's going to grow into something spectacular, but if you can just. Keep waiting, not letting the market emotions, whether the market's getting beat up, or whether you know there's volatility, or there's crazy political stuff going on, or geopolitical things, you're going to be cool as a cucumber. You're just going to keep investing, you're going to keep waiting, and you're going to be consistent with your behavior, and you're going to, I'm telling you, magical things will happen to you in the long term.

• 13:42Speaker 03

  And it feels like, early on, when you just started, it feels like it's inching along. It's inching along, inching along, inching along, until you look back and you say, "Holy cow, I cannot believe how much ground I've covered." If you don't believe us, think about this. Let's say that you have an income of $50,000 a year, and you're in your 30s, and we've already said, hey, when you're in your 30s, you need to be saving 25% of your gross income. So if I have a 25% savings rate, that means that I'm going to be saving $12,500 every year. That's how much I should be adding to my army of dollar bills. Well, do you recognize that in your 30s, if you can just build up your portfolio value slowly and consistently over time, to where, once it is worth $156,000,

• 14:27Speaker 03

  if you can just earn an 8% rate of return at any given year, that $156,000 will have grown by $12,500. You've literally built a pot of money, built an army of dollar bills, that can add more to it on an annual basis than your savings. Your money is actually saving harder than you do. This is what a lot of people see as they work through the messy middle of their 30s.

• 14:56Brian Preston?

  That's exactly right. That's, that was the thing I was going to draw attention to, is that this happens typically, you've been doing this enough that you catch traction in your 30s, that not only is your good discipline in your savings behavior and investments working for you, but now your army of dollars are really getting to the point that they're, they're doubling your efforts. And guys, that's the part that's amazing, but it's not just the investing, it's also, because let me go and tell you, a lot of you will get, like I said, motivated, inspired by this, but you're going to set it and forget it. On what you made when you were 25 or 28 years old, but then now you're 35 years old and you got six promotions and you're making it completely different way, but yet

• 15:39Brian Preston?

  your consumption is completely different. Your saving and investing never changed, even though your income went way up, but your consumption has gotten way out ahead of your skis. And that's why there's a great quote from Morgan Housel.

• 15:53Speaker 03

  He says, when most people say they want to be a millionaire, what they might actually mean is that I would like to spend a million dollars. And unfortunately, that is literally the exact opposite of being a millionaire. Spending a million dollars and having a million dollars are polar opposites. So when you think about what wealth looks like in your 30s, it's about saving and investing and controlling the consumption behavior and controlling the mindset of how you think about money.

• 16:27Brian Preston?

  I do think it's so interesting. I love Morgan's quote there is because I know in my own journey, there was something razzle dazzle or blingier about your 20s. You're looking at watch brands, you're looking at people's cars, but there is something as you actually start discovering and building your own wealth, your desires and the way you look at stuff is different. And that's why when I always talk about when we're talking about the idea of mastering the behaviors and mindset, I want you to know for wealthy people, this is why Morgan was hitting on this is that typical millionaires don't think about this from a consumption. They think about the fact that owning assets that work for you, that's that quiet stealthy part of your net worth statement, the wealth part

• 17:10Brian Preston?

  that's working for you behind the scenes. It's not very bodacious or loud with what it does versus when your 20s and even other parts of your life, stuff that looks rich, you know, it's different. It just doesn't, I'm just telling you, trust me on this, it's better to be rich than to look rich. And we've done so much content on how people who started off being so blingy and showing off, but as they get richer and richer, the poorer they look. And you can tell the needle of what they In their own brains perceive as you know, just trophies of building wealth and success. It's going to change on you. So don't fall into the consumption trap. Think about how can you can build that stealth wealth on the net worth statement that much.

• 17:54Speaker 03

  Yeah, there's there. You already said it, Brian. There's this entire mindset shift in your 30s. Wealthy people think differently. Wealthy people understand that it's not just about how much money you bank. Although making more money is most often a good thing. It's about how much you get to keep, how much you turn that income into real wealth. Wealthy people recognize the importance of value. They may spend a little bit more money for higher quality goods. But they're not wasting it on show. They're not wasting it on flash. Wealthy people in their 30s, they recognize lifestyle creep and they understand that lifestyle creep doesn't have to be a bad thing.

• 18:35Speaker 03

  It can be a natural process on our financial journey so long as we keep it in check. And wealthy people value having liquidity, having cash, making sure that they keep their risks covered. In your 30s, your mindset ought to be shifting to where the way that you first thought about money when you were 20s, or maybe when you even before you got on your own is different than the way you now think about it as you've begun to build your own wealth.

• 19:02Brian Preston?

  So let's kind of go through this checklist, just like we did earlier in your 30s. By the end of your 30s, we want you to have a savings rate and savings and investment rate of 25% of your gross income. We want you to be thinking about using cash for large purchases.

• 19:18Speaker 03

  You don't have to use debt anymore.

• 19:19Brian Preston?

  In the beginning, you know, in your 20s, you might have needed to use 238 to pay for your first car. So from that to get you from point A to point B to get to your J O B. So you could trade your labor for wages that turn into that margin that turns into investments. But by the time you're in your, by the end of your 30s, we want you paying cash for those things. We want you to own your life. And then I hope as you close out your 30s, that you'll have a portfolio of investable assets. You can include your 401k, your Roth IRAs, all your after tax accounts. That's three times your annual income. That's a good goal.

• 19:54Speaker 03

  I love it. All right, Brian, let's talk about now. Okay.

• 19:56Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.

• 20:26Speaker 04

  Low energy, unfocused, foggy? You might be dehydrated. Gatorade Zero powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body. With a clinically proven electrolyte blend and no artificial colors or flavors. Great tasting hydration, no matter where you're going. Shop now online or at retailers nationwide. Gatorade hydrates better than water. Is it in you? Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration. Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist.

• 20:55Speaker 03

  What does it look like? Or how does one be wealthy in their 40s? So we talked about 20s was mastering behavior. And then we said that 30s was sort of this mindset shift. Well, 40s is often this fork in the road moment. You're either catching up and figuring out where you're behind, or this is the part where you get to take your foot off the gas. But you're beginning to recognize in the 30s was a mindset shift around money. Well, in your 40s, there's a mindset shift around life. You begin to think about things a little bit differently. You recognize that people often define being rich as having money.

• 21:35Speaker 03

  But those that are truly wealthy, and this is according to Margaret Bonanno, being wealthy is actually about having time.

• 21:44Brian Preston?

  Oh, man. You know, you're talking to somebody who's in their 50s now, and I gotta tell you.

• 21:48Speaker 03

  You made it through this decade of the 40s.

• 21:50Brian Preston?

  This is, this is the thing. Coming out the other side of it, I'm telling you guys, in your 40s, you're going to become so sentimental and you're going to realize that, that Margaret was on to something. I think when you're younger and you're trying to conquer the world, you're thinking, man, wouldn't it be nice when I owned the Rolex? It'd be nice when I drive that fancy car, but no, what you're going to think about when you get in your 40s is, man, how do I actually wake up in the morning and I get to do things on my terms? How do I have the flexibility? How do I own my time? This does not need to be something you just start thinking about in your 40s, but it's going to become something that, like we said, fork in the road moment. If you started early enough, these are celebration moments. You're like, holy cow, all that hard work of investing in the army of dollar bills has paid off.

• 22:36Brian Preston?

  However, if you deferred and you procrastinated, it's going to be a wake up call like no other wake up call. You're like, I gotta get to work. And the good news is we're going to keep creating content that reaches you no matter where you are in that journey.

• 22:49Speaker 03

  And what's great is in your 40s, you may not be at the place where you're going to own your time just yet, but you're beginning to recognize that you do want to own your time and why you want to own your time and what you want to feel your time is. You're going to start recognizing that, yes, money is a tool and it's something that allows me to accomplish my goals, but I also have other goals. A lot of folks in your 40s, this is a form of time where now you're even beginning to interact with your loved ones in such a way where there are implications to the way that you communicate and the way you model money and finances and decision making to your children.

• 23:29Speaker 03

  It was Bruce Lee that said, instead of buying your children all the things you never had, you should teach them all the things that you were never taught. It took you learning through your 20s and 30s and 40s to figure out what money was and how it worked. Well, imagine if you can distill those decades of education you received and pass that on to your child before they start out on their journey.

• 23:54Brian Preston?

  Well, I always think about, you know, we've done the, we've seen the data in our investors, you know, of our millionaire survey, we've seen it in the millionaire next door and others, where 75 to 80% of millionaires are typically first generation. Guys, for that stat to even exist, that means that wealth gets crushed in second and third generation. Don't sleep on that. Instead of you like, Bruce Lee had been to the top of the mountain and figured out, once he was starting to, to, to make money. Was, man, I need to probably, so I don't fall into, my kids don't fall in the trap of consumption and all the things that the typical American falls in. How do I pay this forward?

• 24:33Brian Preston?

  So educate your children. It doesn't have to be that way. I mean, you get your kids, you can, just like, I remember the first time I got my daughter. Saving and investing was when she was 15 years old, started doing the, the first jobs in the neighborhood babysitting. And then she started working at Chick-fil-A later after that. And I was able to prime the pump, a new dollar for dollar matching to fund custodial Roth IRAs and other things. And I'm still bearing the fruit, the dividends from that education that she got in when she was in her, you know, 15 years of age. And now fast forward seven years later. Those assets are real. And that's what I'm telling you guys.

• 25:08Speaker 03

  And that behavior is real.

• 25:09Brian Preston?

  So I'm hoping that second generation for my family doesn't fall into the traps to create that stat that 80% of millionaires are first generation. I want my daughter to be the exception to that 50 to 70% that fall off in second, third generation. I want that to be done.

• 25:26Speaker 03

  Again, we're, we're talking about how in the 40s, it's about this mindset around how do I own my time and what do I use my time doing? And what are the things that really matter to me? And one of those things might be educating your children. And then what you recognize is you begin to move through this stage. And as you begin to recognize that having wealth behind you unlocks some new things. You get to recognize that wealth is not just about having a lot of money. It's about having a lot of options. And so at this stage of your 40s, if you've been doing the things that you're supposed to have been doing, you've been building wealth the way that you should be building wealth. By the time you get to the end of this decade,

• 26:06Speaker 03

  you are able to begin thinking about funding some of those abundance goals, some of those things outside of just strictly financial independence.

• 26:14Brian Preston?

  Yeah. I mean, this is the, the biggest value as you get sentimental in life is you realize when Chris Rock was talking about having options. He's talking about doing what you want, when you want and how you want. And guys, that is the biggest set of freedom goals you can have because I think so often when you're in the beginning of your journey, you're thinking about stuff. And I'm telling you, that is not what you want as you get older. Your life, stuff is soulless, it's empty. It's going to be living your best life, doing what you want, when you want, that's going to really give you value. So you need to act accordingly.

• 26:48Speaker 03

  All right. So by the end of your 40s, what should you be able to say? Well, by the end of your 40s, perhaps you can check the box and say, hey, you know what? Early retirement is on the table for me. I'm not someone who has to work all the way until age 65. Maybe I have a path and a plan in place where I could leave the workforce early if I choose. Or perhaps at this stage, by the 40s, I'm able to start thinking about some of those abundance goals. Maybe it's saving for my kid's college. Maybe it's buying that second property. Maybe it's upgrading the house, upgrading the car. I am at a stage and station where I can begin thinking about those abundance goals. And I can check on some mile markers. Okay, I can say that right now at 49, as I'm leaving this decade,

• 27:30Speaker 03

  if I want to be sort of the regular wealth accumulator and I'm planning for a normal retirement at age 65, and I believe I'm going to have a 4% withdrawal rate and I want to replace 80% of my pre-retirement income, my mile marker by the end of the 40s should be about 6.4 times my annual income. Or if I want to take this even a step further and I want to cross into the wealthy threshold, I might want my total portfolio value, my liquid net worth, to be 12 times my annual income to substantiate early retirement, maybe around age 55, still with an 80% income replacement. If I can say those things in the affirmative in my 40s, I am well on my way to being wealthy.

• 28:13Brian Preston?

  Yeah, I mean, I think you notice a lot of commonality in those goals for your 40s is really kind of being a choose your own adventure. If you do this right, you're going to have lots of options to kind of really. Be in charge of where every dollar goes versus having to take your time and trade that valuable time that you're sentimental about for more labor, more wages, and trying to catch up. I want you to live your best life.

• 28:38Speaker 03

  All right, Brian, let's shift gears now. Let's talk about how to be wealthy in the 50s. Because in your 50s, you know, we talk about in the 30s, life begins coming at you fast. Well, in your 50s, the next phase begins coming at you fast and retirement is upcoming and empty nesting is upcoming. And there's a lot of stuff that's changing. So it's a pivotal decade to make sure that you have dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's.

• 29:05Brian Preston?

  Well, let's talk about this. I mean, in your 20s and 30s, I think you are in warrior mode. You're trying to conquer the world. It's in your 40s, you get somewhat sentimental. You start realizing, hey, maybe there's more to life than just conquering and building only. And then it's in your 50s, I'm just here to tell you mortality definitely enters the equation where you start realizing, oh, my gosh, a lot of time has gone by. It seems like it went a lot faster than I thought. But the good news is you're still young enough. You can enjoy it. But it does lead to this, this, this great German proverb that says, when wealth is lost, nothing is lost. Because let's face it, we don't get to take any of this with us. But when health is lost, everything is lost. And guys, that's why you probably noticed. I see in the comments, people noticed that I've lost weight and other things is

• 29:49Brian Preston?

  that y'all know I've lost my father when he was 55 years old. I'm soon, I'm in my early 50s right now. I'm having a blast. And I want to make sure that I'm able to make as many memories as possible, continue to create content with you guys for as long as possible. And I realize that just like I've had to practice discipline and deferred gratification with my financial decisions, guys, don't sleep on that health is wealth also.

• 30:14Speaker 03

  Because there's no point in having all this money and exercising all this deferred gratification and having all this discipline only to get to the stage and the station of life where you can finally begin enjoying some of the fruits of your labor. And you neglected the one thing that matters in order for you to be able to take advantage of it. So you want to make sure that as you're in this stage, as you're 50, You're making decisions now, just like your 20-year-old self was making decisions for your future 50-year-old self. You want your 50-year-old self to still be making decisions for your future 70-year-old self. And if you can begin to do that and begin to frame it that way, you're going to find a lot more enjoyment and a lot more fulfillment in

• 30:55Speaker 03

  the years that you have ahead of you. And another thing that we recognize, and again, it's not so much this idea of sentimentality like it was in your 40s, but it's more this reality that when you think about money, Henry Ford said, money doesn't change men. It doesn't change who you are. It merely unmask you. It begins to reveal the true things about you. And we talk all the time that when it comes to wealth building, the sort of these three distinct phases. We like the make wealth phase where you're in the early stages, beginning to build it. And then you move into kind of the maintain phase where you want to make sure that you are maintaining your wealth. But there is a third stage that we hope most people aspire to. And that's where you get to that stage where

• 31:40Speaker 03

  you actually get to begin multiplying your wealth.

• 31:43Brian Preston?

  Yeah, this is the stage where, look, I look at wealth as an amplifier. It's exactly what Henry Ford was talking about, is those who are selfish and greedy and doing things poorly when they're broke are probably going to act the same way and be those unfortunate wealthy people. We're trying to help you get outside of that and be the best version of yourself with this amplifier of what money does for you. And when we talk about multiplying your wealth, we want you to be generous. We want you to be focusing on what's legacy, what are your passions? You know, make sure you're not skipping out on estate planning, but also making sure that you're very generous, not only with your time, but also with your resources, because that stuff matters. If you want to know what creates a life well-lived,

• 32:27Brian Preston?

  it's not only how big is your net worth statement, but it's also what's the impact of those that are in your life and surrounding you. I think you're going to find out that a lot of times, yes, money can help, but a lot of times who you are as a person is going to be amplified and shown by what your actions and your behaviors are too.

• 32:44Speaker 03

  Well, because. True wealth, actually being wealthy, is the freedom to focus on those exact things. What are the things that actually matter to you? What are the things you want your money to be able to allow you to do? How do you put yourself in a position where you get to do what you want, when you want, how you want, with who you want, the way you want, for the reasons that you want? That's what true wealth is. And it's beginning to understand that. I think your 50s is where you begin to get a lot of clarity around those.

• 33:19Brian Preston?

  Yeah, and then we put one, I think this is a good exclamation point to kind of close out your 50s. It's also a great time to be completely debt free. You know, you guys know in my own journey, I was pretty debt free on, you know, car loans and all that stuff, but paying off that low interest mortgage, you know, it kind of came to the point where even it didn't matter if I had a low interest rate, it was just at the point now where I want to own my life without obligations. So being debt free, and we've often talked about this, post 45, your wealth multiplier is not what it was. And that's why there's a time and a place. When you're younger, yeah, get out there and let's make sure that we are working on make the wealth phase. But then in your, you know, 40s, you're going to be in the maintain. There's nothing wrong with in this multiply wealth.

• 34:04Brian Preston?

  Let's pay off the debt. Let's be generous. Let's let the money be an amplifier of who we are as individuals.

• 34:11Speaker 03

  So what does it look like by the end of your 50s? If you're doing this right, you've likely got a paid off home, or you at least have the ability to pay off all of your debt. You've begun thinking through the multiply wealth behaviors, how you're going to use your dollars to not just affect your life, but also the lives of others around you. And you've recognized some fun portfolio markers. If you're just sort of thinking about a standard, regular retirement, you'd likely want to have a liquid portfolio value equal to about 13.7 times your annual income. Or if you're thinking about leaving the workforce at the end of your 50s, you might want to target a portfolio value somewhere around 22.9 times your annual income in order to have an 80% income replacement ratio.

• 34:55Brian Preston?

  I think anybody who's watching this content, but man, this is interesting, especially if you're brand new to us because you're like, what a crazy intersection here is these guys were obviously pretty nerdy with the math. They just gave me a multiple down to a decimal point. So that's kind of a nerdy endeavor to be willing to do that. But then I kept hearing throughout this, a lot of sentimental as well as stuff that was beyond the numbers. I mean, there was a lot of behaviors. There was a lot of sentimental stuff. It was about health. Guys, that's on purpose. And you know, I know you're probably on this journey with us. Not only are you thinking about the finances of it and the numbers and how you're going to make things work in your own personal finance plan, but you're also thinking about, hey, what am I not doing? Or what do I not know? Because I have blind spots because I've never done this

• 35:39Brian Preston?

  before. I'm part of that 80% of millionaires that are first generation. What do I not know? What am I not thinking about? You don't have to do this alone. We just like we were creative with how we've done this entire presentation to you to have both the numbers as well as the behaviors. We do that for our clients as well. And that's why if you've come and you've taken advantage of all of our free resources for the decades, we've been creating content by going to money guy.com slash resources. If you've now bear the fruit, the dividends, and you've built this multiple seven figure portfolio or soon to be multiple seven figure portfolio, consider going to money guy.com and look at the become a client because that is the abundance cycle fulfilled. We love creating content. We really do have the hearts of educators, but I love it

• 36:24Brian Preston?

  when we get to connect with our audience and actually see them become fruitful clients that get to live their best life for decades to come. I mean, what's funny is, but we had a client come visit us who've been with us since 2009.

• 36:38Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 36:39Brian Preston?

  And we were going through all the life journeys that they've had and we've had because they know our lives as well. That's fruitful. That's fun. And we invite you to take that journey with us. I'm your host, Brian Preston, Mr. Bo Hanson, Money Guy team.

• 36:53Speaker 03

  Out. The Money Guy Show is hosted by Brian Preston and Bo Hanson. Brian and Bo are partners with Abound Wealth Management. Abound Wealth Management is a registered investment advisory firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance and compliance with the securities laws and regulations. Abound Wealth Management does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through The Money Guy Show. The information provided is for informational purposes only, may not be suitable for all investors, and does not constitute financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. All investments involve an degree of risk, including the risk of loss.

• 37:26Speaker 05

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