Dr. Jim Dahle decided to entertain a request to help those with a good-but-not-great income build wealth. It’s important to note that the $150,000 could be combined household income, and that makes it a figure that is much more attainable to dual-income households, even without any advanced degrees on the wall.
Whatever your income is and whatever your debt is, that’s what you have to work with. There’s no magic answer here.
With a lower income or a lower income-to-debt ratio, your road is simply going to be longer and harder. Instead of becoming financially independent in 20 years, it may take 25. But the principles are all the same.
Change jobs, ask for a raise, work overtime, start a side hustle, go into business for yourself, get a second job, send a spouse to work, find an investment you can add value to . Lots of options.
Let’s imagine you invest $10K a year for 10 years at 10%, then let it ride for another 20 years. Then, let’s consider someone who waits 10 years to start investing and invests $10K a year for the last 20 years.
You have to really evaluate what that lower earner is being paid AFTER paying for child care, taxes, maybe tithing, work-related expenses, and the additional money you can save by having someone economizing at home.