Set for Life: An All-Out Approach to Early Financial Freedom

by Scott Trench

Overview

Retire early from your nine-to-five and reach financial freedom with the actionable advice in this personal finance best-seller—now completely revised with new content from the author!

Building wealth is always possible, even while working full-time, earning a median income, and paying off debt. By layering philosophy with practical knowledge, Set for Life gives people in their twenties and thirties an action plan to conquer their financial goals early in life. With more than 140,000 copies sold, this anniversary edition gets a refresh with new content, updated numbers, and even more valuable tips and tricks learned over the last five years.

Scott Trench—real estate investor, co-host of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, and CEO of BiggerPockets—demonstrates how to accumulate a lifetime of wealth over a short period of time. Even starting with zero savings, you can go from a five-figure income to six figures, from an active job to passive income, then finally to the ultimate goal of financial independence. 

Set yourself up for life as early as possible, and enjoy life on your terms!

Inside this book, you’ll learn how to:

• Save more income (50+ percent of it) while still having fun
• Double or triple your income in 3–5 years
• Track your financial progress in order to achieve the greatest results
• Build frugal and efficient habits to make the most of your lifestyle
• Secure “real” assets and avoid ”false” ones that destroy wealth
• Use real estate and stock investing to generate passive income
• And much more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947200807
Publisher:	BiggerPockets Publishing
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Series:	Financial Freedom , #1
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	106,264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Scott Trench is CEO of BiggerPockets, co-host of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, a real estate investor, and a real estate broker. He is also the best-selling author of Set for Life and First-Time Home Buyer, which have sold more than 140,000 copies combined. Through a solid understanding of wealth management, calculated risks, and a lot of hard work, he created financial freedom for himself as well as a successful real estate business just three years after graduating college. Scott currently lives in Denver, Colorado and enjoys skiing, rugby, craft beers, and terrible punny jokes.

Table of Contents

Preface to the New Edition 12

Introduction to Financial Freedom 17

Who Are the Financially Free? 18

What is Financial Freedom? 19

Three Stages of Wealth Creation 26

Part I The First $25,000 is the Hardest 28

Chapter 1 Building the First $25,000 Through Frugality 31

Why Wealth Creation Begins with Frugality 32

The Psychology of Frugality 33

Get Rich by Doing It Yourself 40

Getting by on Less than "The Best" 43

Slowly and Steadily Chip Away 45

Conclusion 45

Chapter 2 How to Live an Efficient Lifestyle 47

An Overview of the Average American's Spending Habits 48

Fixed versus Variable Expenses 50

Tackling Major Life Expenditures in Order of Significance 52

Conclusion 68

Chapter 3 What to do with Money as You Save It 70

"Bad" Debt versus "Good" Debt 71

Credit 75

The First Three Milestones in the Journey to Financial Freedom 76

Conclusion 83

Part II From $25,000 to $100,000 through Housing and Income Generation 84

Chapter 4 Turning Your Largest Expense into an Income-Producing Asset 86

Average Joe's Housing Dilemma 87

Joe's Financial Model 87

Costs of House Hacking 93

Conclusion 96

Chapter 5 Your Home Is Not an Investment 97

Five Ways to Buy a First Property (and Their Financial Consequences) 98

Questions to Ask Before Buying a House Hack 109

Conclusion 113

Chapter 6 How to Make More Money 114

What Is the Point of Earning More Money? 116

How to Make Time to Pursue More income 117

The Problem with a Good Salaried Job 120

Changes Necessary to Increase One's income 123

Why Do So Few People Take Control of Their Income? 132

Conclusion 139

Chapter 7 Scaling a Scalable Career 141

Five Tactics That Will Help You Earn More Money in a Scalable Career 142

My Personal Journey with Luck 151

Part II Conclusion 153

Part III Moving from $100,000 in Net Worth to Financial Freedom 156

Chapter 8 An Exploration of Financial Freedom 158

How to Go About Pursuing Financial Freedom 165

The Components to the Financial independence Equation 166

Conclusion 182

Chapter 9 An Introduction to Investing for Early Financial Freedom 184

Inflation 186

The Seven Core Tenets of Investing 186

Five Concepts for the Savvy Investor 195

Alternative Investments 208

Conclusion 209

Chapter 10 Investing in the Stock Market 212

Do Not Attempt to Pick Individual Stocks 213

Index Funds Explained 217

How to Invest in an Index Fund 219

Conclusion 219

Chapter 11 Rental Property Investing 221

Five Reasons to Invest in Real Estate 222

Conclusion 229

Chapter 12 Tracking Your Progress 231

Tracking Your Money 232

The First Financial Metric: Net Worth 233

The Second Financial Metric: Spending 238

The Third Financial Metric: Income 241

The Fourth Financial Metric: Time 242

How to Analyze Your Findings 245

Final Thoughts on Tracking and Planning 247

Chapter 13 Habits and Their Impact on Financial Freedom 249

Conclusion 259

Conclusion 260

Appendix Retirement Accounts 264

Conclusion 272

Time Log 273

Acknowledgments 281

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Scott Trench's Books

“It’s not often a book is written that could completely change the mindset of a generation… but I believe Scott has written that book.”
—Brandon Turner, best-selling author of The Book on Rental Property Investing and How to Invest in Real Estate

"Having rented my whole life, I had no clue what the whole house-purchasing journey would entail... And it really is a journey. Thankfully, Trench and Jensen have laid every aspect out, meaning that readers will be better informed regarding anything to do with money or people."
—Rachel Dehning, Portland Book Review

“This book is the first, and maybe most important, investment you can make in buying your first home. There are a lot of moving parts when buying a house, and Scott and Mindy present each step with simple and precise language, seasoned with a dash of humor.”
—JL Collins, author of The Simple Path to Wealth

"Scott and Mindy have written an exceptionally clear guide that's both counterintuitive and practical. It will help you find the best home, make the best investment, and help you potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars. The ROI on this book is insane… I'm giving it to anyone who asks for advice on how to buy a first home."
—Grant Sabatier, Author of Financial Freedom and Creator of Millennial Money

"In First-Time Home Buyer, Scott and Mindy helped this long-time renter feel like buying a home doesn't have to be so daunting! You'll get answers to questions you didn't even know you should have."
—Erin Lowry, author of the Broke Millennial series

"It's a rare treat when a book helps you see the world more clearly, and First-Time Home Buyer does just that. Instead of platitudes surrounding home ownership like “it's the American Dream” or “it's your biggest investment,” Scott and Mindy give a real-world masterclass on what to truly consider when purchasing your first home. This should be required reading for anyone looking to purchase a home!”
—Brad Barrett, Co-host and co-founder of the ChooseFI Podcast

"If you're a first-time home buyer, do not, I repeat, do not buy a home without reading this book first. From detailed renting vs. buying math, to loan types, to home inspections, to advice about pitfalls you need to avoid, authors Scott and Mindy do a great job teaching you everything you need to know to become a financially responsible homeowner. Buy this book, you won't regret it."
—Kristy Shen, Co-author of Quit Like a Millionaire

From the Publisher