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BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Broke and in Debt at 50? How to Still Retire On-Time (Step-by-Step Plan)

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Education, Investing, Business

4.5 • 3K Ratings

šŸ—“ļø 13 January 2026

ā±ļø 72 minutes

šŸ§¾ļø Download transcript

Summary

You're in your 50s, $50,000 in debt, and retirement at 65 feels impossible. We made this episode for you. Today, Mindy and Scott spell out the exact step-by-step plan to go from $50K in debt to a million-dollar retirement—even if you're starting over in your fifties. Meet Nancy: a recently divorced stay-at-home mom reentering the workforce with significant debt and zero savings. Her story represents millions of people starting over financially in their fifties due to divorce, job loss, or never having saved for retirement. But Nancy's situation isn't hopeless—and neither is yours. This Episode Covers: Nancy's starting point: $50K in debt, no savings, reentering the workforce in her 50s The debt payoff strategy for people who are catching up to FI and how to prioritize which debts to tackle first Income optimization tactics for your 50s: negotiating salary, side hustles, and career pivots Smart expense cuts that don't feel like deprivation Which retirement accounts to prioritize when you're behind (401k, IRA, HSA strategy) Balancing debt payoff with retirement savings: when to do both simultaneously The real numbers: how much Nancy needs to save monthly to hit $1 million by 65 Investment strategy for people with a shorter timeline to retirement Why it's never too late—and the mindset shifts that make comeback possible Don't give up on retirement—let's show you how to catch up! Subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter: www.biggerpocketsmoney.com Want to be a guest on the show? Apply here: https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/contact/ Get 50% Off Your First Year of Monarch by using code ā€˜Pockets’: https://www.monarchmoney.com/ Connect with Scott and Mindy: Scott: https://www.instagram.com/scott_trench/ Mindy: https://www.instagram.com/_mindyatbp/ Follow BiggerPockets Money on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BPMoney Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biggerpocketsmoney/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

So you're 50. You're broke. You're in debt. And you're starting to think to yourself, man,

0:05.0

retirement is just never going to happen for me, right? You're wrong. Today, we are breaking down

0:11.0

exactly how to get started and become a millionaire by age 65, even if you're starting from zero

0:17.0

or worse, from a negative position. We are covering actionable steps to take, mindset shifts, and strategies to build wealth fast,

0:25.5

even if you're getting started later in life.

0:27.5

And we are going to share actual numbers to project Nancy's progress to show you exactly

0:32.8

how this can work.

0:39.3

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast.

0:42.5

My name is Mindy Jensen, and with me as always is my wants to help you catch up to retirement

0:47.5

co-hosts, Scott Trench.

0:48.7

It was a great way to broken to this conversation, Mindy.

0:51.4

Yeah, we released episode 668 of the Bigger Pockets Money podcast in

0:55.8

August of last year. That was with Bill Yont and Jackie Cummings Koski from Catching Up to Fye.

1:02.4

By the way, that is one of our top viewed videos ever. And if you are broke and starting out

1:08.8

and trying to catch up to FI, the Catching Up to FI

1:11.4

podcast is one of our favorites.

1:13.4

Go listen to them and check them out.

1:14.7

They're going to be very, very helpful for you on your journey, and they're good friends

1:17.8

of ours.

1:18.8

So we walked through in that episode how a 50-year-old who starts at zero net worth can become

1:24.1

a millionaire at age 60.

1:27.0

But there were a lot of comments saying,

...

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