Think you need a six-figure salary to retire early? Think again. Today, Scott breaks down how a median

income earner in their early 20s can achieve financial independence in their 30s with the right

all-out approach. And as a quick note, if you have a newly graduated person in your life,

this episode is for them. Please share this episode with a young person in your life.

Hello, hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast. My name is Mindy Jensen.

And with me, as always, is my set for co-hosts, Scott Trench.

Hey Mindy, great to be here.

Living the dream, right?

Dominate Life Money and the American Dream.

I'm super excited for today's episode.

This is going to be a presentation.

This is a lot of lessons from Set for Life packaged here for 2026.

And it's, hey, how does a median income earner? Let's create a persona, this person who's

22 years old, just getting started in life, no assets, no debt has the privileged position

starting with a blank slate and that median income. How do we help them have a realistic

shot to get set for life financially free by age 30. I think it's a fun challenge

and we're going to be going through a detailed financial plan for that person today.

Okay, Scott, we are going to call this particular person Joe. Yep. Joe is my, as my persona. He's the

average Joe. How do we help average Joe who's not starting from this particularly special position?

Yes, it's more advantage than some. It's less advantage than others. How do we help him really crush it?

Okay, Scott, before we jump into that, let's clarify the position that Joe is starting from.

Yep. So Joe is 22 years old. He's a recent college graduate. He's fairly buff, as you can see here. And he makes about $62,000 in his first job out of college. His net worth is zero. He's got no debt, which is great, but he's also got no assets. And he's very ambitious. But I think even more than his ambition, he has this fear in the pit of his stomach, the fear of the cage of corporate life,

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