Top 10 Mind-Blowing Money Stats (2026 Edition)

10 Mind-Blowing Money Stats of 2026 (0:00)

Brian: If you think personal finance is boring, think again.

Bo: Brian, I am so excited about today’s episode because the world of personal finance isn’t the most riveting thing in the world, but sometimes we hear a stat that absolutely blows our minds. And these stats are what we’re going to share today.

Brian: I’m Brian. He’s Bo. And this is the Money Guy Show, where two financial advisers go beyond the shocking stats to reveal a better way to do money. With that, let’s dive right in.

Bo: All right, Brian, before we jump in, there is a really interesting stat. Did you know that half of you listening right now are not subscribed? So, make sure you hit that like and subscribe button right now before we dive in.

Stat #10: The Median Age of First-Time Home Buyers Is Now 40 (0:47)

Brian: Okay, I’ll give you number 10. Now, this one I think is actually more disgusting than mind-blowing because check this out. The median age of first-time home buyers is now 40 years of age.

Bo: It should not be that way. That’s not what this system is supposed to look like. And this is an all-time high. For context, this is how high it is. In 2025, all-time high is 40 years old for first-time home buyers. In 2024, the age was 38. In 2020, just a few years ago, the age was 33. And in 2010, the average age of first-time home buyers was only 30 years old. What our folks are facing today on home ownership is very different than it was 15 years ago.

Brian: Well, let’s give the context. Why is it this way? I’m happy to report I think this number I’m going to show you, $429,000, is the median sale price of existing homes. There’s pressure for this to be down. I’ve even seen from another metric that this even went below $400,000 for the first time in the last few years. But there’s also the factor that current mortgage rates are 7.2% for a 30-year conventional loan. Guys, this means that prices have gone way up and interest rates are way up. This is causing a big problem.

Bo: And if you want to think about how significant this can be, let’s just think about in recent memory, we know mortgage rates were as low as 3%. So if you had a $400,000 home that you wanted to buy, let’s assume that you put 5% down. If you’re one of those people who bought it when mortgage rates were at 3%, your monthly payment is a little over $1,600 a month. Now, buying that exact same house with the exact same down payment at a 7.2% interest rate, your mortgage payment is just under $2,600 a month. That is a 62% increase when nothing changed except for the interest rate.

Brian: Now, look, if you’re doing the math on that, that’s a 62% increase. But it’s not just reserved for homeowners. If you look at national rents, they’ve also gone up around 31% over the same period of time. Ownership went up 62%, rent went up 31%. You can start to see why there is a difference here even between the ownership versus renting trade-off.

Bo: Absolutely. And so what’s the takeaway here? What should you take from this? Well, in our opinion, there’s a better way to buy a home. There’s a better way to do it. And even if you’re not someone who’s on the home ownership side of things, we believe that it is not required that you buy a home in order to build wealth. We’ve talked a ton in recent months about even renters out there who can build wealth without having home equity.

Brian: If you are going to go on the home ownership train, we want you to follow our 3/5/25 rule. You can on your first home purchase put down as little as 3%. Make sure you’re in that house for at least five years so you can cover all the transaction costs as well as smooth out that purchase price issue that we just talked about, and then keep your total monthly costs below 25% of your gross income.

Bo: If you’re someone who’s facing this decision trying to decide, should I buy or should I continue to rent, we did a great episode titled Should You Buy or Rent in 2026. Make sure you check that out and you may be shocked to find out it’s not the same conventional wisdom that it’s always been.

Brian: Now look, we’re doing 10 just jaw-dropping stats. I want to make sure: do not tune out and miss number one because if you’re in your 20s and 30s, we have a stat that if you don’t catch, your future self is going to cry sloppy tears of sadness instead of the happiness that all the Financial Mutants will have.

Stat #9: 30% of Income Going to Non-Mortgage Debt (4:25)

Bo: All right, Brian, let’s go to this next mind-blowing money stat number nine. People carrying non-mortgage debt report that 30% of their income is going to debt payments. That’s 30% of their income not including their mortgage. That’s mind-blowing.

Brian: Now look at this stat because we actually lay this out on the screen. Yes, mortgage debt is the biggest one. And credit card debt, if you go to this list, you’re like, “Oh, it’s next to the bottom because other debts is $541. Then we have credit cards, they’re $273. It looks like it’s the lowest on the list.” But here’s the thing. I still want you to be aggressive with credit card debt because you’ll never get ahead if you’re paying 20 plus percent to a bank. How are you going to get ahead when you’re only making 8 to 11% with your investments? Pay off the credit card debt.

Bo: And what’s wild is that 47%, almost one out of two people of credit card holders, report that they have a credit card balance and they are carrying it month over month and the average size of that balance is almost $6,700. That’s $6,700 at punitive interest rates of greater than 20%. It is nearly impossible to build wealth if you’re digging that kind of hole.

Brian: So here’s the big takeaway you need to understand. Compounding interest can either be your friend or it can be your foe. So we want you to make sure you’re on the positive side of it. Make sure that you’re paying off all those high-interest credit card debts. Also, if you are in credit card debt, if you’re part of that close to 50% of the population that’s carrying a balance every month, I want you to make some temporary sacrifices. I don’t care if it means taking extra shifts, working a side job, or just relentlessly cutting your expenses. Do something to make a change. And remember that 2% cash back does not outweigh or trump a 20% interest rate. Don’t trick yourself into believing you’re making a sound financial decision when you’re not making a sound financial decision at all.

Brian: Yeah, credit card use is okay. Credit card debt, no way. If you’re one of these people that’s carrying a balance, maybe you’re just not a credit card person.

Stat #8: 31% of Car Trade-Ins Have Negative Equity (6:29)

Bo: All right, let’s look at mind-blowing stat number eight. 31% of trade-ins for new vehicles, so someone trading in to purchase a new vehicle, have negative equity. And that means that they actually owe more on the car that they’re trading in than the car is actually worth.

Brian: This stat, I want to give some context here. The average amount owed on underwater trade-ins in Q1 of 2026 was $7,183. But 26% of those trade-ins involved over $10,000 rolled into new loans. 9.3% exceeded $15,000. Do you catch this? There’s a lot of people out there who are driving around cars that they owe more than the car is actually worth.

Bo: And so you might be asking, okay, well, how does this happen? How do we get into this position? Well, I think one, a lot of people do low or maybe even zero down payments. Well, if you’re someone who puts zero money down on an automobile and you’re buying a new car, the moment you drive off the lot, you have now seen a rapid amount of depreciation because cars are depreciable assets. They lose value through time. So, if you have no skin in the game, no equity, you’re going to be underwater at the jump if you don’t put a down payment down.

Brian: And look at these interest rates: for new cars because they’re subsidized, 6.35%. Used cars, because they reflect more of what the real market is, 11.2%. And then imagine that here we are talking about higher interest rates, but then if you look at the loan terms for new cars, 69 months. For used cars, 68 months. This is ridiculous. Guys, remember our rules want you paying this off within 3 years. And there’s a reason why.

Bo: If you want to see how devastating these numbers can be, let’s assume that you’re going to buy a $35,000 car. Let’s assume that your interest rate is 9%. If you were to finance that over 24 months, 2 years, you’re going to pay total interest of a little over $3,300, and you’re going to end up, when you add the value of the car plus the interest, paying about 110% of the value of the vehicle. But if you stretch this all the way out and you go to 84 months, same vehicle, same interest rate, you’re going to pay over $12,300 of interest. That means for the same car that you could have bought and paid off in two years, you will have paid 135% of what that car is worth. That’s 35% lost to interest that is not adding any value to your life at all. Guys, don’t drive around in your wealth. I want you to build wealth through your Roth IRAs, your 401(k)s. Nobody cares what car you’re driving. Start acting accordingly.

Brian: That’s why the key takeaway here is there’s nothing wrong with a good reliable used car. I like new cars when you can afford it, sure. But in the beginning of your journey to building wealth, drive around something that just gets you from point A to point B reliably.

Bo: And that’s going to be a used car. And whether you’re buying new or used, make sure you follow the 20/3/8 rule. That’s 20% down on the purchase of the automobile. Don’t finance it for any more than 3 years or 36 months. And make sure that the total of all of your auto payments does not exceed 8% of your monthly gross income. If you can follow the 20/3/8 rule, you will prevent yourself from driving around your wealth.

Brian: Yeah. And I think it’s important to drive those cars. The typical American is flipping these cars every few years. I would love for you to be a person that drives your cars 7 to 11 years. Maintain your vehicle so you get all that time. And then remember, being rich is so much better than looking rich. Nobody cares what car you’re driving around in, but your future self will sure care when you build that wealth.

Stat #7: Americans Are Saving Just 3% (10:15)

Bo: All right, Brian, we’re talking about mind-blowing money stats. And frankly, a lot of these mind-blowing stats are on the negative side. That’s why they’re blowing our mind. And maybe none more so than this mind-blowing stat number seven.

Brian: Americans right now, according to the FRED database, have an average personal savings rate of 3%. You’re like, “No way. How’s that possible? How in the world did we get here?” Look at this chart right here. From 1959 really until the early 80s, we are clearly above the 10% savings rate mark. And then something happened in the 80s where we went down below 10%. And then it wasn’t really until we got into the 2000s that we made a consistent habit of being below 5%. And yes, we did have a moment in time where we were all trapped in our houses during the pandemic and couldn’t spend that. You saw a huge spike up of the savings rates because we had all the money coming out from the government coming to us. We couldn’t spend it. As soon as we had the opportunity to go out there and unload it, look at the savings rate. We’re at an all-time low at 3%. Guys, that is not a recipe for a healthy country to be saving for the future.

Bo: The conventional wisdom used to be save 10% and people weren’t even doing that after the 80s. And so, what should you be doing? Where should you be? We want you to be saving 25% of your gross income. Because if you can save 25% of your gross income for the future, you’re going to set yourself up to give you tons of future flexibility and tons of future options to live the life that you want to live on your terms. If you want to see just what that can do for you, go to moneyguy.com/resources and download our resource, How Much Should You Save? And it will show you based on your age what your savings rate should be to be able to reach financial independence at your desired target.

Brian: Well, look, if I just shared with you 3% and then next slide I’m telling you 25%, you’re like, “What? You guys are disconnected from reality.” Look, the reality of the situation is if you’re somebody who sees this content when you’re 20 years of age, 6% is going to get it done if you’re on a traditional retirement. We understand though that the typical American doesn’t even start saving for the future and investing for the future until they’re in their 30s. Now, you’re starting to see when you use this chart that that’s the intersection point when somebody figures this out in their 30s and they want to retire at 65. You’re more than likely going to need to start saving and investing 25% for the future. Go out there and check out this resource. Don’t let it just be a rule of thumb for you.

Bo: Go to our website and actually know what number works for you. Then remember, it’s about progress, not perfection. Even if you can’t save 25% today, you can save something. And your goal should be to start somewhere and then just improve through time. Maybe it’s another percent next year, another percent next year. Maybe as you have bonuses or pay raises coming in, you follow the 60/40 rule where 60% of that increase goes towards your saving and investing and 40% goes toward your lifestyle. And if you can automate this, automate the saving, automate the increases, automate the dollars working for you, you will make it really, really hard to screw up. But you have to start somewhere. So get started today.

Stat #6: 24% of Student Loan Borrowers Don’t Think They’ll Ever Pay It Off (13:33)

Brian: Number six: 24% of adults responsible for student debt don’t anticipate they’ll ever fully pay off these loans. How is that possible?

Bo: This one’s so sad. It’s so helpless sounding that one out of four people say, “I’ve got these student loans, but I’m never going to be able to get out of this. It’s going to be a weight and a burden and a shackle that I’m going to carry with me for the rest of my life and I’m never going to shake it.” We do not believe that’s true. We do believe that there is in fact a better way to do money.

Brian: Look, there’s a reckoning coming towards education and you all know I have a huge soft spot. I consider myself having the heart of an educator, but I see so many indications and data out there that a lot of colleges are going to be paying a price for a lot of what has happened. Because since 1963, the cost of tuition is up 312%, and that’s even after adjusting it for inflation. So that’s above and beyond what inflation is. So naturally, people are having a problem with these costs. 42.6 million Americans currently hold federal student loan debt, which translates to about one in six adults. That’s a lot of people that are carrying around a lot of student loan debt. And the average student loan debt is $40,000 per borrower.

Bo: This is not a small sum of money. So, what should you do? How should you think about this differently? Make sure whether you are a student or whether you are the parent of a student, approach student loans with caution. They can be fantastic tools and they can be bridges that help you bridge a gap. But if you’re not nervous about it, if you’re not scared about how detrimental it can be to your long-term financial success, you’re likely doing it wrong.

Brian: Yeah. And by the way, there are two big decisions. It’s not only what you’re going to study in college, but it’s going to be also the college you go to. Look, I don’t understand how more people don’t recognize the hack of community school for two years and then maybe transitioning and transferring because the acceptance rate is so much easier and higher for transfers than it is right out of high school. And the cost, your future self will be so much happier. So, don’t sleep on the fact that you can do dual enrollment while you’re in high school. Don’t sleep on the fact that you can get these costs down by the college you choose. But then by the means that we always share, make sure that your major reflects something that will actually have a return on investment in the future.

Bo: And when you’ve answered those two questions, make sure that you follow our Money Guy student loan rules. The first is the first year financing rule. Whatever school and whatever degree you decide to pursue, make sure that you don’t accumulate more student loan debt than you expect to make in your first year salary. If you’re going to rack up $70,000 of student loan debt but your first year salary is only going to be $30,000, you have done it wrong. Don’t find yourself in that place. You’re going to be one of those one in four Americans who doesn’t feel like you can ever get out of the burden of student loans. And if you are someone who has student loans right now and you’re trying to think about how do I prioritize getting out of them, we have another rule: if you’re in your 20s and your student loans are above 6%, you should consider prioritizing paying them off. By the time you get to your 30s, if your student loans are above 5%, you should prioritize paying them off. In your 40s, the number drops to 4%. By the time you get to your 50s, we want you to have those things knocked out so that you are not carrying these through the rest of your life.

Stat #5: $2.1 Trillion in Forgotten 401(k)s (17:11)

Brian: You know, moving on because it makes me too sad to talk about student loans. Let’s talk about something else. This one kind of shocks me because we do a lot of 401(k) content and we know a lot of you are counting on 401(k)s to be your pathway into financial independence. Imagine when we find out that 32 million 401(k)s have been forgotten or abandoned and that totals a value of $2.1 trillion.

Bo: This is definitely a shock of a stat. What’s wild is that that number, $2.1 trillion, is close to 25% of all 401(k) assets that exist. So 25% of all 401(k) assets are abandoned, are left behind, are not actively working for you the way that you want them to be working for you. You want every dollar, every soldier in your army of dollar bills, to be working as effectively and efficiently as possible. But if you change jobs, and the average worker changes jobs 12 times throughout their career, if you just have a trail of 12 old 401(k)s that you’ve forgotten about and you’re not commanding them to work for you, you’re missing a huge opportunity to build wealth.

Brian: Well, what I worry about, hopefully I’m going to go the optimist path. Maybe these are some good 401(k) providers. But I still don’t like when you abandon a 401(k) or forget about it. Whatever you were invested in at that moment in time might be what you’re trapped in. And when you look at the stats out there on how much is left in cash or old things, it just doesn’t work out for the long term. So that’s why let’s give you some key takeaways. When you leave a job, don’t leave your 401(k) behind. We have a great resource. If you go to moneyguy.com/resources, we actually have a great decision matrix that lets you kind of walk through yes or no questions to figure out exactly what to do with those old 401(k)s.

Bo: Yeah, realistically you have four options, but not really four because cashing it out should never be an option. You have three good options. This flowchart will help you decide what option makes the most sense for you. What should I do with that old 401(k)? And then I would tell you, don’t forget your investments. This is the part that kind of breaks my heart in a lot of ways. When people don’t know what they have going on, your 401(k) is actually going to be crucial. And when I find out that 30% of 401(k) rollovers are left in cash for a full year, do you realize the opportunity cost of what could be if you were taking a more proactive stance with that 401(k)?

Brian: Yeah, there’s no point in leaving those dollars not working for you.

Stat #4: Only 35% of Workers Get Their Full Employer Match (19:47)

Bo: But a lot of people, it’s not just the old 401(k)s that they make the mistake on. This next stat would suggest that only 35%, so one in three folks, are contributing enough to their 401(k) to get an employer match. Brian, we put this thing up. Employer matching money is so important that we make it step number two of the Financial Order of Operations. It is literally free money. What this stat says is that one in three folks do not like to get free money.

Brian: Now look, step two, that’s a big deal to put this as step two, because we all know high-interest credit card debt, banks are charging you 20 plus percent on credit cards. So that should be darn near criminal. But yet somehow we put matching money before that. And that’s because typically your employer is giving you 50 cents on the dollar, dollar-for-dollar matching. That’s like a guaranteed 50% to 100% rate of return. If you’re sleeping on that like 35% of Americans are doing in their 401(k)s, you are literally missing out on money that, by the way, your employer when they structure your salary and your compensation, they count on you taking that money. You literally are leaving money behind for your employer’s benefit.

Bo: So, what should you do? What’s the key takeaway? Make sure you understand your matching structure. I’ve seen people before where the match might be something like, “Okay, we’re going to match you dollar for dollar on the first 3% and then 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2%.” And someone says, “Oh well, I just want to get the dollar for dollar. I’ll do the 3%.” Not recognizing that you’re leaving an entire percent on the table. So, make sure you understand what your matching formula is and what you need to contribute in order to get 100% of that free employer money.

Brian: And then I would also make sure you capture enough to get the full match, but then also every year when you get a pay raise, go back and revisit what your contribution rates are. So not only can you make sure you’re getting that matching money, but also be the best version of yourself, save enough money for retirement, and be walking towards the path to get to a 25% gross savings and investment rate.

Stat #3: Half of Gen Z Investors Redirected Money to Sports Betting (21:53)

Bo: All right, Brian, we’ve talked about mind-blowing money stats in the past. This next one is a new one that’s recently burst on the scene. This was not a mind-blowing money stat 5 years ago. We know that right now 52% of Gen Z investors, so half of Gen Z investors, redirected money for investing towards sports betting in the past year. Rather than sending it to a Roth or a 401(k) or a taxable brokerage account, they instead decided to deploy those dollars towards sports betting.

Brian: Now look, here’s the thing. Americans and humans in general, we already have a recency bias. So now when you start scratching that itch of, hey, wouldn’t it be a little more fun if I put some money into that football game I want to watch or that basketball game, and heck, we’ve gotten to the point where we can essentially bet on anything in life. I think that this is where we’ve lost the plot and we need to kind of focus more on the discipline of what the money’s purpose is versus how this all makes us feel.

Bo: Well, and I think there’s some missing vocabulary here or I think some vocabulary is getting blurred. Because 31% of folks who participate in sports betting don’t view it as gambling. They view it as an investment. “Oh, some people invest in the stock market. I’m just going to invest in sports betting and it’s the same thing.” Those two are not the same. Investing and gambling are not synonymous.

Brian: We know investing typically, markets make money eight out of every 10 years. But compare and contrast that with a recent study that found that 96% of sports gamblers lost money over a 5-year period of time. And on top of that, now that it’s come to light that even big providers like DraftKings are using artificial intelligence to essentially go after the worst of the worst of the gamblers to kind of extend their profitability and their opportunities. They’re not using this AI technology to go find who might have gambling addictions. No, no, no. We put a blind eye to that. But if you don’t realize you’re the fish or the sucker in this situation, guys, wake up and realize your 401(k), your Roth IRA, these are things that will take you to financial independence. It won’t be because of sports gambling.

Bo: So, what’s the key takeaway here? Gambling is speculation. Investing in the stock market, buying ownership in companies, that is actually investing. These are not synonymous. They do not have the same payouts. They are not the same thing. And I don’t even care if you spend so much time looking at the teams, looking at the injury reports, doing all the research. You could scrap all that time and just go buy a low-cost index fund and I’m going to argue you’re going to end up in a much better place over the long term.

Brian: Now look, I don’t mind sharing. I’m going on a personal trip and a lot of conferences are held out in Vegas and other areas and I don’t want you guys to approach me one day and go, “Hey, Brian, I just saw you do the thing.” If you know thyself and you can treat this like it’s entertainment, I’m not saying that you have to be teetotal out of this. I’m just saying that this is one of those things: make sure you’ve got your priorities right. Act accordingly. This is for vacation money. This is not for eating money. And that’s the problem. Future retirement is definitely eating money. So act accordingly.

Bo: And you’ve got to make sure you understand that all of your dollars have tons of potential. Especially if you’re a young person. We talk about it all the time, but the Wealth Multiplier would suggest that for a 20-year-old, every dollar that you can put into investments to grow for you towards your retirement has the ability to turn into $88. For a 30-year-old, every dollar has the ability to turn into $23. For a 40-year-old, every dollar can turn into $7. Your dollars have tons of potential. If you are squandering and wasting them betting or gambling, you are not letting them reach their full potential. And I would argue you are not doing what you should be doing to have that great big beautiful tomorrow.

Abound Wealth (25:52)

Brian: Bo we’ve heard some crazy stuff when we’ve been recording Making a Millionaire. Buddy, have we? From things like roommates turning off their heat for 2 years to save money, someone buying expensive Thanksgiving pillows without their spouse knowing, and who could forget the $100 horse massages? Yeah. And you know what? We don’t judge.

Bo: Well, okay, maybe a little on the horse thing. But look, our job is not to stop you or even your horse from enjoying your money. It’s to make sure your entire financial picture is solid so you can enjoy it guilt-free. And that’s what we do every day at Abound Wealth. We sit down with our clients, learn what’s important to them, and build a plan around their actual life, horse massages and all. If you’ve been watching these episodes thinking, I wish I had someone who could do that for me, we’d love to have that conversation. We’re fee-only fiduciary advisors and we’re here to help. Just head over to aboundwealth.com or click the link below. We’d love to connect and see if we’re a good fit for you. No judgment, mostly.

Stat #2: 47% of Non-Retirees Fear They’ll Never Retire (26:55)

Brian: I want to talk about the next shocking stat. Close to half, 47% of non-retirees, are skeptical that they’ll ever actually be able to retire.

Bo: Again, this is another just devastating, depressing, sad stat that one in two workers don’t think that they’re ever going to reach financial independence, that they’re ever going to be able to retire. It should not be that way because financial independence, retirement, and building wealth should be available to everyone. But most Americans, half of them, turn a blind eye to it.

Brian: Let me be your good time nerdy uncle, but I’m going to give you some cold hard facts here that should hit you a little differently because I’m hoping this motivates you. If you look at what the Federal Reserve shares, the typical 65 to 74 year old crosses into retirement with only $200,000 saved for retirement. A lot of you look at that stat and you go, whoa, how does that happen? Because look, we always reverse engineer and tell you, hey, to be a millionaire at age 20, all you have to do is save $95 a month starting at age 20 and you’ll be a millionaire. So, we reversed it and we said, let’s take from age 22 when you graduate college all the way to 65 with the same 10% type of rate of return, what would you have to save to get to $200,000? It’s $23 a month. And so when you see that stat of $200,000 for 65 to 74 year olds, you can look back and say, “Hey, times are tough right now.” But for a 20-something, could you do $20 a month? I think when we look at this, I mean, there are coffees now that cost $10 after you put all the fixings and toppings and everything in there. We literally have people who aren’t doing two coffees a month into their retirement for the future. Guys, this has a cost on your future self.

Bo: But it doesn’t have to be this way. And we are so fortunate. We get to sit in these seats. We get to work with people all over the country. And we’ve seen people have retirement success and build financial independence who started late. They didn’t catch the bug of personal finance until their 30s and some even in their 40s. Or maybe they started with a negative net worth. They had tons of student loan debt or they made some bad consumer decisions early on or maybe they never had a high income. And frankly, we work with a lot of retirees who just weren’t special. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I just mean there was nothing remarkable about them. They were very much everyday people who understood the three ingredients of wealth creation. If you look at our millionaire client base, 76% of them said that they reached their first million by saving and investing.

Brian: That’s right. The slow get-rich method of just putting a little bit of today for your great big beautiful tomorrow is all it takes to create success. So what do you need to know from key takeaways? Have a plan.

Bo: And we actually have a plan that we’ve designed for you. It’s the Financial Order of Operations. Nine steps to tell you exactly what you should do with your next dollar. So you don’t have to guess. You don’t have to wonder. You don’t have to be curious if you’re doing the right things. So you need to put a plan in place. But you also need to take responsibility and recognize: no one is going to care about your financial future, your financial well-being, more than you. No one’s coming to save you. No one’s coming to bail you out. So, you need to take an active role in building for your future starting right now today.

Brian: So, a lot of you, if you’re like I was, came out of school with lots of ambition but didn’t know what to do. We’ve given you the plan with the Financial Order of Operations, what to do with your next dollar. Now you’re trying to figure out: am I ahead of the curve, behind the curve, right where I’m supposed to be? Get out there and use our free Know Your Number calculator. If you go to moneyguy.com/resources, we literally will take all of your assumptions in and give you a really quick spot check so you’ll know, do I need to do more? Am I ahead of the schedule so I can start living a little better? Don’t take chances on that. Don’t put your head in the sand. It’s only going to get better if you know the number.

Stat #1: Median Earnings Rise 71% From Age 22 to 32 (30:51)

Bo: All right, Brian, we’ve been going through these mind-blowing money stats, and a lot of them have been kind of sad, kind of depressing. This next one’s not. I hope this next one is an exciting and hopeful thing specifically for our young folks out there that are listening, because we know that from age 22 to 32, the median earnings for a worker rise about 71%.

Brian: Now, why is this so exciting? Because look, I know for a lot of you when I tell you 88 times over that every dollar could grow by that much in your 20s, a lot of you are like, “Yes, but 20s are tough because cost of living’s gone up. There’s just a lot of things that are pulling at my back pocket or at my purse.” Guys, this is what’s showing you that yes, as you build mastery in your career, you’re going to get pay raises. And that puts more pressure on you to now actually do something with it. Create some separation so that your future self will not be disappointed that you let lifestyle creep take all of the growth instead of you actually saving and investing for the future.

Bo: Let’s assume that you are a 22-year-old and you were making the median annual earnings of $35,000. Our goal for you is to save 25%, and that’s a hard thing to do in your 20s. That’s about $8,750 a year, a little bit more than maxing out a Roth IRA. But if we see a 71% increase in our wages from age 22 to 32, now the median earnings for a 32-year-old is $60,000. And if you can get to saving 25% of that $60,000 salary, now that you have more margin, that’s $15,000 a year you have growing for you. If that describes you, I want you to go to moneyguy.com/resources, play the Wealth Multiplier, and see what $15,000 for a 32-year-old can turn into by the time that you retire.

The Critical Wealth-Building Window: Ages 32 to 48 (32:43)

Brian: What I like is, and I kind of alluded to this, in your 20s, we’re all broke as a joke, so you’re not saving or investing, but that’s why we recently did a show where from 32 to 48 is a magical wealth window. Because this is the part where we’ve taken the fantasy that you’re going to be saving a gazillion dollars in your 20s and we actually applied it to where people really are in their 30s. They’ve gotten those pay raises. These are the decades. You need to make something happen. Look, go watch this. If you need motivation, go watch this episode because there’s a reason this episode did so well. I think people could see we truly want you to live your best life. But the key takeaway is you don’t have to feel behind just because you didn’t start saving and investing in your 20s. But this is the time to get traction and actually make something happen with all those future pay raises.

Bo: Yeah. But you have to be active. You have to make sure you’re not squandering the opportunities that come your way. If you get a pay raise, you can’t just spend it. You have to make sure you devote some of that towards building toward your future financial self. Especially if you’re that person that didn’t start at 20. We genuinely believe that building wealth and reaching financial independence is available and accessible to everyone, but you have to take an active role. The best time to start investing was yesterday, which means the second best time to start is right now today.

Brian: That’s why I like food before lifestyle. And I like when you get those future pay raises, do 60% towards increasing savings and still take 40% to live a better life. These are the types of things that if you’ll make sacrifices by bedazzling your basic life but still building, focusing on memories over stuff, guys, you’re going to live a life you’re going to have success and you’re going to watch this content and it’s going to hit a little bit differently for you.

Your Next Step to Financial Independence (34:32)

Brian: Now for those of you who are watching this, nodding your head, and you’re making all the right decisions but you realize that the success that you’ve created for yourself is now also creating complexities, consider becoming a client. We’ll leave the porch light on for you. If that’s not you, that’s okay too. I want you to go to moneyguy.com/resources. Get in there and get that free stuff so you also can be part of that complicated side of success and be a future Abound Wealth client. I’m your host Brian, joined by Mr. Bo. Money Guy Team, out!