Have you ever made a poor financial decision? You’re not alone! But can a bad blunder disqualify you from FIRE? Today’s guest made a huge investment at the worst possible time, a move that had consequences a decade later. Despite this, he was still able to reach early retirement in just fifteen years!Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast! Ryan Connell had a picture-perfect start to his financial independence journey—saving money at a young age and living well below his means. But then 2007 arrived, and Ryan made the “worst financial decision” of his life. He bought a house just weeks before the housing market began its historic collapse. But a move that could have derailed his quest for FIRE proved to be a minor setback because Ryan was still able to retire at the age of thirty-eight!In this episode, you’ll learn why you should treat real estate as less of a “sure thing” and more like the stock market. Ryan discusses his current portfolio, which consists of 100% index funds, and what led him to pivot from real estate investing entirely. He even gives us a peek into the average day as an early retiree and shares why he has never had a FIRE number!In This Episode We CoverHow Ryan rebounded from his “worst financial decision” to reach FIRE at thirty-eightReal estate versus stocks and why you don’t need properties to retire earlyWhy time in the market is still more important than timing the marketWhether you can reach financial independence without stress and sacrificeHow to enjoy retirement with less productivity and more “negative time”And So Much More!Links from the ShowBiggerPockets Money Facebook GroupNetwork with Other Investors on The Path to FIRE Through the BiggerPockets ForumsFinance Review Guest OnboardingJoin BiggerPockets for FREEMindy on BiggerPocketsScott on BiggerPocketsListen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One PlaceApply to Be a Guest on The Money ShowPodcast Talent Search!Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your AreaFind Investor-Friendly LendersBiggerPockets Money GroupCheck Out Ryan’s Camp FI TalkBuy the Book “Rich Dad Poor Dad"See Mindy and Scott at BPCON2024 in Cancun!BiggerPockets Real Estate 955: BiggerNews: Real Estate vs. Stocks, the Ultimate Wealth-Building Debate00:00 Intro02:02 Buying a House...in 200709:42 Digging His Way Out18:46 Ryan’s Journey to FIRE28:25 Saving TOO Much?35:00 Life After Early Retirement40:49 Find Freedom Faster!Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-557Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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