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Money Guy Show

Average Salary By Age (How Do You Stack Up?)

Money Guy Show

Brian Preston, CPA, CFP®, PFS and Bo Hanson, CFA, CFP® | Fee-Only Fiduciary Advisors

Education, Business, Investing

4.73.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Most Americans wildly overestimate what the people around them earn, and that gap in perception can lead to some costly financial mistakes. Financial Advisors, Brian Preston and Bo Hanson, break down real median income data by age, debunk the $500K myth, and show you exactly how discipline and savings rate can matter more than income when it comes to building lasting wealth. Then it's your turn! We answer live questions on HSAs, term insurance, car loan limits, and more (while having some fun out in the wings).⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:36.3

Average income. You ever wondered how you stack up with your peers no brent i am so excited to talk

0:41.6

about this because i think it's just innate in human nature whenever we start working or whenever we

0:47.1

start hanging out with folks and maybe you're not this way but this question always comes i'm always

0:52.0

like i wonder what they have going on i wonder where they are from an income standpoint. And it's more out of general

0:58.8

curiosity, not for some with like the more toxic reasons why people do that. Now, come on. You know,

1:03.6

and everybody always says, comparison is the thief of joy. So why even create this type of content?

1:09.2

And I want to be, I want to be straight with you. A lot of times

1:12.1

it's because I think the public perception of what your peers make is actually exaggerated

1:17.4

on the other side, meaning we overestimate what everybody around us is doing. So it's actually

1:23.0

good for you to find out the truth so that you don't have to fall into the consumption traps that are sat out there because it is so much, you're much more profitable if you're trying to keep up with the Joneses versus if you know what makes you tick. And Brent, I get asked this question all the time by my kids or by peers. They're like, oh, look at so-and-so. They've got the nice car, the nice house, or the

1:44.7

fancy boat, or the whatever thing. And I'm like, hey, you recognize that's not, those things are not

1:49.6

necessarily a sign of how much money someone has or even how much money someone makes. They're more

1:54.8

an indication of how much someone spends. And I think a lot of people live a life that is beyond their means. And I think we

2:02.9

level set on where average or median incomes, median salaries are. I think it'll be a breath

2:08.9

of fresh air to most folks out there recognize, okay, maybe my perception is not actually

2:14.3

accurate of what everyone else has going on. So without, you know, beating around this too much more, let's see, actually see the numbers.

2:20.1

So there was a study done. This is from the Federal Reserve, and this is the median salary by age.

2:26.2

I know it says average, but this is actually the median because we wanted to not have the big

...

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