In this week’s episode, Patrick Donley (@JPatrickDonley) sits down with Scott Trench, CEO of BiggerPockets, to talk about how Scott pursued financial independence and shared his strategies in his book, Set for Life. You’ll learn about how Scott got turned onto FI, the bet he placed on himself by leaving his W-2 and joining Bigger Pockets, what his views of the real estate market is in 2024, what his own buy box looks like, and where else he invests outside of real estate and index funds. Scott is the CEO and President of BiggerPockets and has dedicated his career to helping ordinary Americans build wealth in part through real estate investing. Since joining BP in 2014, Scott has authored the bestselling wealth-building book Set for Life and joined Mindy Jensen as co-host of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast. He is an active real estate investor in the Denver market, and currently manages a private portfolio of about $1.5M and holds his real estate license as a Colorado broker. Scott stays active in the BiggerPockets Forums and has contributed hundreds of articles, market analyses, and files to BiggerPockets. He hopes this will provide other investors the tools they need to repeat his results in just 3-5 years, giving them the option to go anywhere they want in the world, work any job, start any business, or finish out the journey to financial independence and retire young. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro. 02:45 - How Scott first got turned onto financial independence. 05:20 - How he made his way from cubicle jockey to CEO of BiggerPockets. 07:37 - Why he is a big fan of house hacking. 09:02 - Who some of his early FI influences were. 12:51 - What the middle class wealth trap is. 16:18 - What his view of the 2024 real estate market is and where he sees opportunities. 18:50 - Why real estate is a bet on the long-term growth of the U.S. economy. 23:06 - When he thinks the right time to invest in real estate is. 32:43 - What asset class he thinks will get hurt the most in 2024. 33:14 - What Scott’s buy box looks like. 35:50 - What Scott’s portfolio look like. 43:25 - What Scott would have done differently looking back on his journey. 48:36 - Where else he invests outside of real estate and index funds. 51:29 - What it is like running BiggerPockets and how he structures his day. *Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Kyle and the other community members. Recommended book: Set for Life by Scott Trench. Recommended book: The Everything Guide to House Hacking by Robert Leonard. Recommended book: Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker. Recommended book: Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin. Recommended book: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Recommended book: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley. Recommended book: The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous. Check out the books mentioned in the podcast here. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our Millennial Investing Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try Kyle's favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: DeleteMe Monarch Money Fundrise Linkedin Marketing Solutions NerdWallet TurboTax NetSuite Toyota  Connect with Patrick: Twitter Connect with Scott: Website Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supp