Q&A: The Rich Habits Retreat, Investing Your First $100K, & Accelerating Retirement Timeline

Summary

---

Rich Habits Podcast

Q&A: The Rich Habits Retreat, Investing Your First $100K & Accelerating Retirement
Hosts: Austin Hankwitz & Robert Croak
Date: March 26, 2026

Episode Overview

In this engaging Q&A episode, Austin and Robert dive into questions from their audience, focusing on practical financial strategies—especially around early wealth building, asset allocation, and retirement acceleration. The first half is a deep dive into their upcoming “Rich Habits Retreat” in Austin, Texas, explaining the event’s value and exclusive features. The remainder is a rapid-fire, high-value discussion answering listener-submitted questions about building your first $100K, portfolio construction for young investors, managing assets for early retirement, and optimizing income vs. spending for faster wealth creation.

Throughout, the hosts emphasize actionable steps, habits, and mindsets to demystify personal finance and investing for their community.

---

The Rich Habits Retreat – What, Why & Who’s Going?

(01:00 – 13:18)

Event Announcement and Community Feedback

• Listener-driven Event Design: The Rich Habits Network members voted for an intimate, curated, agenda-driven retreat as their preferred event format over more casual meetups or a large single-day event.
• Theme: Hands-on deep dive into venture capital education and networking.

“They all came together and said Option 3 was the event they were most interested in, which is exactly what we built.”
— Robert (04:04)

Event Details & Learning Outcomes

• Dates/Location: May 1–2, 2026 in Austin, Texas at Capital Factory, Texas’s #1 seed fund and startup space.
• Focus: Venture investing, risk management, deal sourcing, due diligence, demystifying term sheets, and exclusive direct networking.
• Speakers and Attendees:
  • Colin West (Ensemble VC, early investor in Zoom & Saranic)
  • Brian Chambers (President, Capital Factory; early Apptronic investor)
  • Chris Camillo (Turned $30,000 into $80 million in stocks; invested early in Robinhood & OpenAI)
  • Christine Healy (Created DXYZ ETF, giving exposure to SpaceX, OpenAI, and more pre-IPO)
  • Ryan Duffy (Payloadspace.com)
  • Anticipated: Josh Baer (CEO, Capital Factory)

“If a deal gets to you and you’re someone just out there and Uncle Bill brings you a deal, it’s probably too late and everyone else passed on it. This weekend is going to teach you how to do deal selection at a very high level.”
— Robert (05:34)

Exclusive Perks

• Limited spots: Only 15 tickets left at taping; VIP tickets sold out.
• Networking: Intimate setting, real actionable learning, site visits for VIPs, and dinners.
• NY Stock Exchange Raffle: 10 retreat attendees will win a chance to join Austin and Robert on the NYSE trading floor the following Monday.

“You have like a 1 in 3 chance essentially of joining us at the New York Stock Exchange the following month, Monday, to hang out on the floor.”
— Austin (10:38)

---

Listener Q&A Deep Dive

1. How to Invest Your First $100K by 25

(14:29 – 22:28)

Question from Dress (21 years old):
Wants to have $100K invested by 25; $25K planned for this year; no debt, no dependents.

Robert's Playbook

• Start Investing Early & Often:
  • “I invested in ETFs and index funds early; then bought a four-unit apartment, lived in one, and had tenants pay the mortgage.” (15:47)
• Maximize Income:
  • “Work as much as humanly possible. Doesn’t have to be cushy or your dream job—just stack cash and invest it.” (16:45)
• Investment Structure:
  • Roth IRA first, then basic ETFs: VOO, QQQ, and perhaps some AIQ.
• Don’t overcomplicate: Touch of crypto, precious metals, but focus on reliably growing assets.

“My friends … were always shocked at how much money I had different from them, even though we made the same. And it was because I didn't blow my money. And I worked weekends, I worked nights …” — Robert (17:41)

Austin's Tactical Spin

• Stat: Avg. time to first $100K invested is 7.5 years—4 years is aggressive, and it’s OK if it takes longer.
• Budget Margin: Use their “Honest Budget” to calculate margin between income and expenses; automate investing that margin. (19:00)
• Focus on Simplicity for Side Income:
  • Don’t chase flashy side hustles—just take overtime or a second W2 job for steady extra income.
  • “Trading time for money is a much better alternative than a side hustle unless you have specific high-value skills.” (20:37)

2. Young Investor Asset Allocation & Commodities

(22:28 – 26:04)

Question from HM (24):
Already has a strong emergency fund and diversified portfolio; asks whether to increase bonds/commodities and best use of an extra $500/month.

Hosts' Joint Advice

• Minimize Bonds at Young Age:
  • “At your age and risk profile, wouldn’t add more bonds or dividend stocks. Already 10%, and that might even be too much.” — Austin (22:28)
  • Focus new capital on broad ETFs: VOO, VTI, DIA, QQQ.
• Commodities Allocation:
  • 10% is sufficient. Don’t go above 15% despite current gold/copper buzz—commodity cycles are volatile.
• Diversification:
  • Consider energy ETFs like XLE, AI exposure via AIQ, and potentially international/REITs like IYRI.

“I agree with Austin 100%. I think at your age and risk tolerance and profile, I would not add more bonds … I would go a little bit harder into where are the markets going and where are the bigger sectors.”
— Robert (24:06)

3. Early Retirement Optimization: Military Family Edition

(26:04 – 33:58)

Question from Brit:
Dual-income, US military family; readying for retirement in 2–4 years; well-diversified assets. Unsure about Roth IRA strategy and keeping/selling a low-cashflow rental property.

Austin: Roth IRA Should Be a Core Focus

• Roth IRAs provide invaluable tax-free distribution and flexibility.
• Even with a robust TSP (tax-deferred) and pension (taxable), the Roth offers withdrawal and estate-planning benefits.
• With 20+ years until traditional retirement, annual contributions now could lead to $1–$2M in each Roth account.

Robert: Sell the Rental, Redeploy Into Markets

• Rental cash flow ($400/month) is not worthwhile compared to possible equity redeployment.
• Suggests investing proceeds into income-focused ETFs like SPYI, QQQI, or IYRI for superior cash flows.
• Reminds of capital gains exclusion (Section 121): Military may suspend the 5-year look-back for up to 10 years while stationed, allowing more flexibility.

“If you were to sell this and get all that capital in the markets, you would make substantially more money and you have more control over it … It’s better suited in the markets.” — Robert (30:43)

4. What To Do With $25K in a High-Yield Savings Account

(33:58 – 37:22)

Question from Will:
Has $25K in high-yield savings, isn’t sure if/how to deploy it.

Robert & Austin: Keep It Simple

• Emergency Fund Rule: Keep 3 months’ living expenses, invest the rest. Example: If living expenses = $4K/month, keep $12K liquid; invest $13K.
• Investment Strategy:
  • Roth IRA up to the max, then a brokerage account with index funds (VOO, QQQ, VTI, etc.).
• Emphasize that the emergency fund is for true emergencies—not “fun” money.

“The emergency fund is not there to spend. It’s for emergencies. So it doesn’t mean you can dip into it whenever you want … It is for emergencies, so you don’t go use credit cards or, worse, sell off your investments for retirement.” — Robert (36:50)

5. Accelerating Retirement: The Power of Income vs. the Trap of Online Hustles

(38:48 – 44:27)

Question from Luis (26):
Auto technician, $150K income, small side hustle, $36K in retirement, but wants to “do more” and retire early—tempted by online/E-comm hustle culture.

Hosts' Tough Love

• Audit Your Spending:
  • At $150K/year, if living expenses are reasonable, $5–7K/month should be invested—if not, it’s a spending (not income) problem.
• Foundation Before Diversion:
  • Don’t jump into flashy online side gigs until the basics (budget and robust monthly investing rate) are airtight.
• Compound Wealth Comes from Consistency:
  • “If you can optimize your spending … to aggressively save 3, 4, $5,000 a month, you’re going to be in a really, really great spot when you are 40, 45 years old—like millions of dollars. That’s how you retire early.” — Austin (43:12)

“Stop watching the highlight reels. Stop believing what they tell you … You’ve already built the base. … Work on that, learn more about your personal finances, and keep plugging away and you’ll do just fine.” — Robert (44:05)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On building wealth early:

  “Work as much as humanly possible and put it all away.” — Robert (16:45)

• On focus vs. FOMO:

  “The grass is not always greener. All the glitter is not gold.” — Austin (42:19)

• On financial independence formula:

  “Go get money. This does not have to be fancy, it’s not rocket science.” — Robert (21:45)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Rich Habits Retreat Deep Dive: 01:00–13:18
• Investing Your First $100K: 14:29–22:28
• Young Investor Asset Allocation: 22:28–26:04
• Military Family Retirement Optimization: 26:04–33:58
• Deploying Cash/Emergency Fund: 33:58–37:22
• Online Hustle vs. Budget Mastery: 38:48–44:27

---

Final Reminders

• Rich Habits Retreat: May 1–2, Austin, TX – Only a few tickets left; 10 attendees win a NYSE experience. (44:27)
• Tools Mentioned: Honest Budget (free in show notes), Wall Street Favorites 2.0 (upgraded for stock research)
• Invest in index funds, focus on budget and margin, and beware of online “get rich” distractions.

---

If you want to build wealth, listen to your budget, invest early and often, and seek out communities focused on genuine knowledge-sharing over hype and FOMO.

---

Transcript

[Home Depot Announcer]

Spring starts at the Home Depot and we are bringing the heat to your backyard this season. Fire up the flavor with our wide variety of grills for under $300 like the next grill 4 burner gas grill that's perfect for hosting your spring cookout. Then set the scene and turn your outdoor space into the go to spot the patio sets for every budget. Bring it this season with grills that deliver flavor and patios that set the vibe from the Home Depot. Start your spring with low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot. Exclusions applies to homedepot.com Pricematch for details

[Credit Karma Advertiser]

Are you stuck staring at your W2? Are tax refund worries holding you back? You probably have fomu the fear of messing up the fix using TurboTax on Intuit credit Karma. They find every credit and deduction to help you get every refund dollar you deserve or your money back. It's time to overcome your fear of messing up and get your taxes done right. Start filing today in the Credit Karma app.

[Austin]

Hey everyone and welcome back to the Rich Habits Podcast Question and Answer Edition brought to you by public.com these are our Thursday episodes where you all send us your Questions via Instagram dms@rich habits Podcast on Instagram or via email@rich habitspodcastmail.com and we answer your questions and they're great questions and we appreciate you guys always sending the best, most thoughtful details in all of these questions. These are some of my favorite episodes because it's coming straight from you all and we're able to actually provide value in our perspectives as if we were in your shoes and these episodes just get me so excited.

[Robert]

Robert yeah, I love these episodes as well because I feel the connectivity to our audience grows every single week. You know, we think back a few years ago when 300, 400 people listened to an episode when we would make it and it was so rewarding. And now we have tens and tens of thousands of people that chime in every week to watch these episodes and so it's very rewarding for us as well, for all of you that submit these questions and follow along in the episodes because it keeps us abreast of what is happening in your life. We always say personal finance is personal and this is how we get to know what are your problems, what are your pain points and how can we help bring value to fix them now?

[Austin]

Robert Our listeners that are inside of the Rich Habits Network have known about our in person event, the rich habits retreat 2026 for probably like what, about a month and a month and a half now. I mean they've gone in, they've bought a ton of tickets. Like it's, it's been a really, really cool thing. But now that they have told us, hey, we bought the tickets we want, we are now opening up attendance to the Rich Habits Retreat in Austin, Texas later this year to the general public, all of our awesome podcast listeners and people that read the Rich Habits newsletter. So here are all of the details about the Rich Habits retreat 2026 People from inside the Rich Habits Network, which again, these are our biggest fans. So we prioritize their perspectives, their thoughts and, and what they want us to do. So earlier this year we went to them and we said, hey, we want to do some sort of in person event in 2026 for the rich Habits Podcast. And we've got a couple ideas for you. The first idea we offered them was a super casual meetup at like a brewery or some sort of, you know, large gathering area. No agenda, just food and good drinks. Right? Something super casual. The second option was more of a planned one day event taking place at a large theater where hun hundreds, if not maybe a couple thousand people would be in attendance and we'd probably film some sort of live Q A episode or something of the likes. The third option that we gave these people to choose from was a more curated, intimate weekend long retreat with a real agenda, real speakers, and most importantly, real connective facetime with Robert, myself and every one of the super special speakers that would be at this event.

[Robert]

Well, the cool thing is Austin, they all came together and said Options 3 was the event they were most interested in, which is exactly what we built.

[Austin]

We literally went and we asked these people, what do you want to learn about? And they were excited to share that they are learning a lot about personal finance, business, real estate mindset on the show. But they wanted a deeper dive into a different subject manner that wasn't shared on the show already. And that's why we aligned on the theme of venture capital. Because fun fact, 850 people inside of the Rich Habits Network have already invested alongside Robert and myself in bespoke venture capital deals. So this is right up their alley. So to your point, Robert, introducing the rich habits retreat 2026. Everyone listening right now on the podcast is invited. It's taking place May 1st and 2nd in Austin, Texas at Capital Factory, which is the literal number one seed fund in the entire state of Texas, which is incredible that we've been able to partner with them on this. And this will be a hands on experience that will give all of our ATT attendees direct access to industry leaders while uncovering actionable steps to better prepare for the future of venture investing. And I think this is really timely right now, especially after we just had Ben Miller on the show on Monday talking about how important it is to have this asset class in your portfolio.

[Robert]

Yes. And for everyone interested, the event is taking place over the course of Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd, and here's what you'll learn while in attendance. Number one is proper portfolio construction when it comes to venture investing so you can manage risk while maximizing the power law of venture returns. Number two is Venture Architecture. This is the mechanics of VC Fund structures straight from Colin west and Brian Chambers, two fund managers who have raised billions of dollars. And number three for me is proper Deal sourcing. Learn the proprietary methods institutional funds use to build deal flow and how to identify signal versus Noise when evaluating these early stage startups. We talk about this all the time. If a deal gets to you and you're someone just out there and Uncle Bill brings you a deal, it's probably too late and everyone else passed on it. This weekend is going to teach you how to do deal selection at a very high level.

[Austin]

It's also going to teach you about proper due diligence before investing. With a systematic framework for stress testing the founder teams the market sizing and product market fit. We're also going to have a clear breakdown of what a term sheet is so you can have confidence as you participate in exclusive investment opportunities shared within the Rich Habits network and perhaps even via VCX and other cool things they're up to. And of course you're going to have an awesome opportunity to network with other high value individuals that are attending the Rich Habits retreat. Now we have confirmed a ton of cool speakers including Colin west of Ensemble vc. He's been on the show before. He's an absolute legend in the venture investing space. Early investor in Zoom Grow, which is the Robin Hood of India and Saranic, which is like becoming the next big defense technology company behind Anduril. Brian Chambers is going to be there. He's the President and co founder of Capital Factory, the number one seed stage fund in all of Texas. He invested into Apptronic when it was just an idea on a notepad. And of course Chris Camillo is going to be there as well. You all might know him, he was also on the show, actually one of our most popular interviews. But Chris is famously the guy that took I think it was 30,000 and turned it into 80 million doll by investing in the stock market. He's a massive venture investor early into Robinhood, OpenAI figure, Apptronic, and many more awesome companies. So we've got a really cool lineup. But Robert, talk more about other people that are going to be at the Rick Habits retreat.

[Robert]

Yeah, I was going to say we have Christine Healy as well. She's actually the creator of the DXYZ ETF. That's the Destiny Tech 100 ETF on the stock market. And it's a way for anyone to invest in some really cool names like SpaceX, OpenAI Public and many others pre IPO investing is her bread and butter. We're also expecting ryan Duffy from payloadspace.com to join us for an exclusive conversation surrounding the space race and these data centers and everything else going up into the stars. I'm really, really excited about that one. I think space is the future to solve all of our energy issues related to AI and data centers. And we're also fingers crossed getting Josh Baer, the CEO of Capital Factory, to join us for a fireside chat. And these are just kind of like the who's who of the people that are making it all happen right now in these big secular growth trends in AI and tech and everything that is moving our economy forward. So this lineup is really insane and we're grateful to get all of these people together, especially on a Saturday in Austin, Texas.

[Austin]

Robert, I'm so excited about this. Again, May 1st and 2nd in Austin, Texas. It's going to be incredible. We only have, I think maybe 15 tickets left right now for sale. People inside the Rich Habits Network bought the other, I don't know, 30 or so that were for sale. And as a reminder, the purpose of this event is intimacy. It's FaceTime, it's networking. It's real actionable information, not just this rah rah BS that you see at other events. So if you've been wanting to hang out with Robert and myself for a weekend, maybe even enjoy some dinner and maybe some site visits, if you're a VIP ticket holder, as well as all the other incredible things taking place that weekend, be sure to click the link in the show notes and check out the Rich Habits Retreat landing page. It's going to be right there. You can purchase your ticket. It'll get automatically emailed to you. It's going to be a blast.

[Robert]

Yes, I'm super excited as well. I have not been to Austin in a very long time and we are going to have a packed house of some of the brightest minds out there and people that we respect and talk about all the time in the Rich Habits Network. And just a quick note, once you've purchased the tickets, we reserved a room block at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas. More details for this can be found on the website Website which is going to be linked in the show notes below and we'll both link it in our bios on Instagram and Tick Tock as well. But we're so excited. This is our first Rich Habits Retreat. It is going to be action packed and we'd love to see you there.

[Austin]

And if all of that doesn't sound incredible to you, we are choosing 10 lucky ticket purchasers out of the I think it's going to be what, 35 or 40 people that are at this event, Robert, 10 of them. So you have like a 1 in 3 chance essentially of joining us at the New York Stock Exchange the following month, Monday to hang out on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. So that Friday, Saturday is going to be the event. Sunday will be a travel day. Robert and myself will then be going to New York City to be at the New York Stock Exchange that Monday for an all day event hosted by the nice. So if you purchase tickets to attend the Rich Habits Retreat, you'll be part of a raffle that we will announce in the coming week. Or two of 10 people that will also get in the invited to join us at the New York Stock Exchange that following Monday. Which means if you live somewhere in the Northeast, like somewhere in Jersey or around the New York City area, like you actually live there, you can go to Austin, Texas for the weekend, go back home and then hang out at the New York Stock Exchange that Monday. Like it's not a crazy travel thing for you. So if you are someone in that New York City area and you've been wanting to go to the New York Stock Exchange, like this is your way to perhaps get a chance to do that.

[Robert]

I get so many people when we attend an event or ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange that lose their minds that we get to do that. And now we're opening this up, this once in a lifetime opportunity for 10 people that attend the Rich Habits Retreat to be able to also go to the New York Stock Exchange with us. So it's just so cool that we get to do all these fun things and now even bring our audience into it. So I'm so excited for this.

[Austin]

Just want to reiterate, we have a few tickets left on sale right now to the Rich Habits Retreat link in the show notes below or go to my Lincoln bio or Robert's Lincoln bio on Instagram or TikTok and you will see the landing page. If you purchase a ticket you will get all the fun things involved and detailed on that landing page as well as be added to a raffle where 10 of the 35 people who attend the Rich Habits Retreat randomly get selected to join us at the New York Stock Exchange the following Monday of that same weekend. It's going to be a blast. I can't wait. And Robert, I'm just so grateful that we've been able to coordinate over the last what feels like six months now. Capital Factory, the New York Stock Exchange like all these cool things that we're doing, we get to now unlock this network of opportunities to people that one are inside the Rich Habits Network but two that listen to the podcast and that to me is the most special thing that we get to do.

[Robert]

Definitely. So incredible. I I just have goosebumps talking about it.

[Austin]

All right Robert, it's been 15 minutes of rich habits Retreat chatter, so let's just jump into the episode and start answering some questions. But before we do, got to give a shout out to public.com the investing platform for those who take it seriously. Because on public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, cryptocurrency and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index using AI.

[Robert]

And it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S P500 all with just a few clicks.

[Austin]

Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities. They're completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. So go to public.com rich habits and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com rich habits paid for by Public Investing.

[Robert]

Full disclosures in the podcast Description all

[Austin]

right Robert, first question coming from Dress, kind of cool name. Dress says, hey guys, I've been listening to the podcast for a while and I've been reading your newsletter and I'm fairly certain this is the right email. I don't have Instagram or TikTok. You found us Dress. Dre says sadly, due to some things I have been out of the loop for the last year or so. But I wanted to submit a question. The core of my question is this. How do I get my first $100,000 invested over the next four years? It's a personal goal of mine. I'm 21 and I want to have a hundred thousand invested by the time I'm 25. I'm on track to invest $25,000 by the end of this year with investments in precious metals and maybe a little bit of cryptocurrency. I have no debt, I have no significant other and I have no children. So I am free floating right now. But I want to make the most of it. I'm currently trying to get back on my feet with my career. I'm doing some part time school online to cut even though I sometimes do not enjoy it. I'm going to be in the securities field. Think cybersecurity, government security, stuff like that. Thank you all for taking my question. Would love to get your perspectives. Robert, if you were 21, you had no debt, no significant other, no children, and you wanted to get $100,000 saved and invested after taxes as soon as you possibly could, what would you do?

[Robert]

I would do exactly what I did when I was 21. I had no kids, I had no significant other. I first and foremost started investing right away when I was 18 years old. And I was putting away, I think back then, $20 or $25 a week. But in this instance I would keep doing what they're doing. I see here that it says that they think they're going to get that first $25,000 done in year one. So if you have four years, $25,000 a year, that's $2,000 a month and you have no one else to worry about in your life. That should be an easy slam dunk. We talk about this all the time of investing early and often. My playbook was invest in the ETFs and index funds early. Then I bought a four unit apartment building. I lived in one unit and the three tenants paid all of the mortgage and the expenses. So I live for free. And I literally worked three, four jobs back then because I wanted to do exactly this playbook and get that first hundred thousand dollars working for me. So I like everything about this question. I would look at getting a little bit of a touch in crypto, get those precious metals. But first and foremost, really focus on making sure you have the Roth IRA set up. You're investing in these simple basic funds like VOO and QQQ that we talk about, maybe some AIQ and just pour every hour you can into working. And when I say working, that doesn't mean your dream job and it's cushy and you love it. I mean, make as much money as humanly possible and put it all away. My friends when I was 21, 22 and 23, they were always shocked at how much money I had different from them, even though we made the same. And it was because I didn't blow my money. And I worked weekends, I worked nights because I wanted to get out of the rat race as soon as possible. And it started by investing early and often. So that's what I would do.

[Austin]

I like that. I like that a lot. You're 21. Dress death. Give yourself a 10 year shot clock to put as much money away as you possibly can. I turned 30 in a couple weeks. I feel young as ever. I work weekends, I work nights. Like you're going to have this energy at least for the next 10 years if you really get after it. But let's, let's kind of, before we get into that, let's break down a couple stats. The first stat is it takes people on average seven and a half years to get their first hundred thousand dollars invested. So doing this in four is certainly aggressive. And I don't want you to feel like you failed the mission if it takes you five or five and a half. Right? You still got a hundred thousand dollars invested before the age of 30, which is incredible. If you've got a hundred thousand dollars building for you in the S and P and the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones and some of these international things that we talk about, you are off into the races. You are going to retire a multi millionaire. Congratulations. So I love that you are building this. Now let's talk like tactically speaking, how to do this. Robert did a good job of laying out the broad stroke strategies. But let's the weeds a little bit. When it comes to saving and investing, you need to have something called margin. That margin is defined as the difference between how much you made that month and how much you spent that month. To be able to find that margin, you need a budget. If you do not have a budget yet, dress it is a wonderful, wonderful thing to do. You can go to the link in the show notes below and download for free our honest budget, which is what we call an honest budget. It honestly finds all of your expenses on a monthly basis. So make sure you go fill that out and do that. But that's the first step you need to take. Dress in my opinion to start inching toward this. Exactly how much money entered your bank account in the month of May, exactly how much money left your bank account in the month of May? What is that difference? Let's say that difference is $2000. Like Robert was alluding to with his 25k annual sort of run rate. You want to go to wonderful, that 2000, you take it out immediately, you put it on public.com. you perhaps do it in your Roth IRA. But after you max out that Roth IRA, you're going to use that bridge account on public, and you're going to drop it in the S&P 500 perh in the Dow or the NASDAQ or something of that nature. And then you're going to rinse and repeat to Robert's point. You're going to work some overtime, maybe some weekends, maybe you do some delivery stuff that extra money isn't, ooh, I get to go to Florida. I want to go on a vacation this summer with my friends. If you have dress this idea of trying to get a hundred thousand dollars pretty much twice as fast as everyone else does it, you have to be strategic and you have to be disciplined. And you are in this situation. No debt, no significant other, no children. It is all you. Which means you can work 12, 16 hours a day if you really wanted to. And now let's, let's talk about this too, Robert, because you mentioned something that I think is really important. People are like, hey, I'm gonna go work. And if I wanna make more money, I need to go start a side hustle. I need to go start a little small business, a little something. No, you don't. You have to do that at all. You can go to Amazon and you can sort some boxes at 18 an hour. You can go to Walmart and you can stock shelves at $17 an hour. You can go to Target and stock shelves at $14 an hour. You can go to Chipotle and scoop chicken for 16 an hour. Those immediate trade time for money things, in my opinion, is much better an alternative to saying, hey, if I spend a little bit of time in my garage, I can make like this wooden table and I can try and sell it on Facebook marketplace for $200, but the supplies are 80 bucks. Then I spent four hours making the table. And so when you really weigh things out and you're like, is this side hustle worth it? Nine times out of ten, it's not. And so unless that side hustle has to do with a specific skill or you have and you can charge a lot of money for it. But if I were in your shoes dress, I wouldn't worry about the side hustle. I wouldn't fall for the trap of the online money with whatever right? Like go work long hours, go get the honest budget and put as much money away as possible while you're young and you have the energy and you have no responsibilities.

[Robert]

I love that perspective because so many people get money wrong of how to get out of the rat race. They think it has to be fancy and cool and like you alluded to start a company, invent something. No, take your Sundays and do an afternoon shift and take all that money from that afternoon shift. If you make 100, 125 a shift, do every single Sunday when no one wants to work at a local restaurant or a business. Take that money specifically, invest it and you can become a multi millionaire off that 4 or $500 a month if you just put it away and invest it and then live and budget accordingly to your normal income income. This does not have to be fancy, it's not rocket science. Go get money.

[Austin]

So our next question comes from HM via email. HM says hello team. I hope you're doing well. I'm 24 years old. I'm currently pursuing my master's degree and living with my family. I have no outstanding debt, no car loan, no credit card debt and I cover my tuition expenses monthly. I've already built up my emergency fund. Right now my investment portfolio is about 60% VO, 20% tech in AI, 10% commodities and 10% bonds and other low beta dividend investments. I'm planning to invest an additional $500 per month and would love to get your perspective on how I should deploy this given my current risk profile and age. Additionally, I appreciate your perspective on maintaining or increasing exposure to commodities like gold and silver. Where do they fit in a long term portfolio? Hn I love this question. If I were you I would actually not add any of this 500 to the sort of bonds and you know, low beta dividend stocks. They already make up about 10% of your portfolio. I I personally think that might even be too much at your young age of 24. I would put all of this into broad stroke market Voo, VTI, DIA, QQQ type ETFs. If you wanted to go a little bit more aggressive and you want to do tech. I really like the vgt, ETF and then EUG is another great ETF by Vanguard. Robert what would you do here if you had an extra little bit and then Maybe it's a good idea to talk about where gold and silver fits in your own long term portfolio.

[Robert]

Yeah, I think it's a great breakdown and HN is doing well. I agree with you. I would definitely look at maybe getting a little more exposure to energy. We believe that's going to be a really good sector. You could go with XLE there. I like AIQ a lot. If you want to have some more international exposure to these AI companies, I like that a lot. But I agree with Austin 100%. I think at your age and risk tolerance and profile, I would not add more bonds and more dividend and focus. I would go a little bit harder into where are the markets going and where are the bigger sectors. That's why I really like the QQQ call out. I think everyone listening to this show, no matter what the the fake gurus say, should own Voo and Qqq the very minute minimum. So that's what I would change in that aspect. I would up that a little bit because you say you have 20% of tech AI, but we don't know exactly what that means. So it's a little tough for me to tell you exactly where to go. But I would definitely add those other funds to give you a little more broad exposure throughout. And I would also consider maybe with some of this new capital looking into, start diversifying into real estate through REITs. I really like Iyri. That could be a good one to add at your age stage for the long term. And as far as it relates to gold, silver and we always put like copper and a few other commodities in there. I think those are good long term. I just wouldn't want you to have so much exposure that you get into that 15 or 20% range because these are going to be volatile over the years. They've done very, very well the last two or three years. We were spot on with gold, silver and copper when we called it out in the Rich Habits network back in 2025. But just definitely I like where you're at with the 10% and I would keep it. I know it seems fun and sexy right now because everyone's talking about it, but there will remain volatility over time. So I would keep it at around that 10%.

[Austin]

Yeah, no, I totally agree with that. I think it kind of comes back to our core satellite portfolio structure. We always talk about 65 to 85% of your portfolio, depending on your risk tolerance, should be invested into index funds and ETFs like Voo, QQQ DIA some international stuff. Right? Like these long standing blue chip index funds that go up and to the a long period of time. That's the majority of your portfolio. The other 15 to 35% of your portfolio, depending on your age and risk tolerance could be diversified into other blue chip asset classes. A little bit of cryptocurrency, a little bit of precious metals, a little bit of real estate, a little bit of single stocks. Right. I'm a big Amazon and Tesla guy. I like those stocks, I own them. Same thing with Google. Right? That's where that position comes from. In and a portfolio that if I were to build from scratch it would be part of that diversified satellite 5 to 15% section of the portfolio. Not a I'm going to go put half the thing in Amazon. It's like let's not do that, you know. But no, I think it's a great breakdown. Having 10% in commodities certainly falls within that 15 to 35% range. So. HN rock and roll. Our next question comes from Brit. Brit says hi Robert and Austin. I've been listening to your show for about a year and I've learned a lot. I recommend it to everyone. 39 and my husband is 43 with nearly 19 years as an Air Force officer. We're planning for military retirement in the next two or three, maybe even four years. He'll work afterward but we're not sure doing what we'd like to maintain our lifestyle. We're currently overseas with housing being provided but expect to take on a mortgage when we return stateside. Our snapshot is as follows. We have half a million dollars in a TSP, 137,000 in a Roth IRA, 650,000 into a taxable brokera account, 72,000 into our 529s. We have four kids and 60,000 in our emergency fund. Our expected military pension is $4,000 a month. We have no debt except mortgage on a rental property. So here are questions. You all emphasize how important it is to max out the Roth ira. We actually stopped contributing to my husband's Roth IRA for a few years because the pension and the TSP just felt sufficient. Should we both start maxing out our Roth IRAs again? And does that mean I need to open one up myself and really lock lock in on that? How do we balance enjoying life now versus maxing out our Roth IRAs and investing for the future? And our next question actually has to do with a rental property. We bought a rental property eight years ago. Right now it's worth about 650,000. We paid 325,000 for it and it cash flows $400 a month. To preserve the capital gains exclusion, we would need to sell it within four years, keep it as a long term term asset. Or do we sell it, take the equity and invest it in the markets? Our top priority is optimizing for our retirement in the next two to four years, especially with these Roth IRA decisions. And we'd love your perspective on the situation. All right, Robert, so I'll kick off the Roth IRA conversation and then maybe you jump into the real estate stuff. Your pension at 4,000 plus the TSP, you got half a million over there, super strong. That's awesome. You're doing great, especially at your age. But the Roth IRA in my opinion, serves a different purpose than just like more retirement savings. Because of how you have structured your retirement investments, the Roth IRA will be the most flexible in your tax free bucket, right? You've got a taxable brokerage account and you have a TSP and you have a pension. You got to pay taxes on all of that. With a Roth ira, you have no required minimum distributions. You get those tax free withdrawals and it can act as a inheritance for your kids when you inevitably pass away again, half a million dollars in the tsp, that's great, but it's tax deferred. So every dollar that you withdraw from that in retirement gets taxed as ordinary income. And the pension, that's also taxable income. So you guys are going to have a meaningful tax bill in retirement. You need to have some tax free strategies interwoven in here. The Roth ira, in my opinion, is the best way to do that. Gives you all the ability to tap into some tax free earnings and 39 and 43, which means you've got 20 more years of compound growth ahead of you. And if you're investing 7, 500 a year each into this Roth IRA, that will, I'm sure between both of you turn into well over a million, perhaps two by the time you all are retired in your 60s.

[Robert]

So let's get into the rental property. Keep or sell? I would sell it if it's only cash flowing. 400amonth, that's $4,800 a year. Year. Whereas if you were to sell this and get all that capital in the markets, you would make substantially more money and you have more control over it. Because, you know, real estate markets can be fickle. That's what I would do. I would probably unload it, be able to realize those gains and get that money in the markets and really keep crushing it. You guys are doing a great job and I just hate to see that much capital tied up to make $400 a month. I think it's better suited in the markets. And one more takeaway that I would consider is the capital gains exclusion angle that you referenced is a section 121 exclusion. So you would need to have lived in it for two of the last five years as the primary residence. So for military families, there's an important extension. You can suspend the 5 year look back period for up to 10 years of qualified official extended duty. So make sure you look into that as well before you make the decision.

[Austin]

Yeah, I just don't get excited. At about $400 a month of cash flow. I mean, I don't know, something breaks and your cash flow for the whole year is gone. Right? I mean, like I need a new roof or you have something go wrong with the air conditioning or the plumbing or the sewage. Like 400 is thin. Especially on essentially 3, maybe even 400,000 of equity, depending on what you still owe on it. I'd much rather you see 300, 400,000 in the markets after everything's said and done and have that just be in a taxable brokerage account or something of that nature. Just. And if you're someone that like the passive income, look at Neo's funds, right, you can put it into an spyi, a qqqi, an iyri, something of that nature, and get paid out monthly distributions just like you were with your rental property. So if you, let's say, had $350,000 of proceeds, let's call it 300k after fees and, you know, realtors and stuff like that. Good. $300,000 of proceeds from this sale of this rental property. You could theoretically put that into spyi and get paid $3,000 a month in distributions, which I think is much better than 400. Right. And it will trend up and you can reinvest, you do whatever you want with that money. But I just think that's more advantageous in my opinion. But again, you guys got a really good deal here with the section 121exclusion. Congrats on how you all navigated this. It was definitely the right decision at the time. I'm just not sure at 400amonth, to Robert's point, if it's still going to be the right decision going forward. So our next question comes from Will on Instagram. Will says, hi, Rober. I've recently listened to the Rich Habits podcast and I was wondering what I should do. I've got $25,000 in a high Yield Savings account, and it's just sitting there. The percentage I'm earning on my high yield savings is relatively low. So I'm wondering if I should take that money and invest it into a dividend ETF like SCHD or perhaps some sort of Vanguard real estate index fund like vnq. Because right now I don't really have too much going on. I just don't really know what to do with this money, and I feel like it's eating a hole in my pocket. Robert, what would you to our friend Will here on Instagram.

[Robert]

Well, Will, I wish I knew your age, but I'm going to assume you're 31 years old. And I get it, you don't have a plan and you're kind of just guessing around here. And here's the blueprint. Austin and I have been talking about this for years, and it is just so true for everyone listening. You have to get that 100k saved and invested in making money while you sleep. And it starts with V. In getting a few more of these funds, we talk about like qqq, iq, vti, some of these funds. So I would keep whatever you need for three months emergency fund in the High Yield Savings Account. So if you live off $4,000 a month, you need to keep 12,000 in there. And I would get the rest of it over into your brokerage account. Hopefully you have a Roth IRA set up already. If you don't, I would start there and I would start investing in this basket of index funds we talk about all the time, because that is your go to move till you get up and running and you get to that 100k marker. I wouldn't get fancy. I wouldn't worry about dividends. I wouldn't worry about any of that. I would worry about growth and safety with a basket of these funds like I just mentioned.

[Austin]

Bingo. I. I like that a lot. Right, because let's, let's make sure we're on the same page. The purpose of the emergency fund is to ensure that you don't have to sell out of your investments when it rains and pours on your life. Right? Oh, my gosh. I have to go to the doctor. I have to get new tires on my car. Plus the transmission just went out and something else crazy, you know, happened, right? That's $4,000. If you didn't have an emergency fund up to Robert's point, $12,000, you would then have to go and Sell your investments in V or whatever other investments you might have, maybe at a loss, depending on where you bought them in at or if it was a gain, maybe you have to cash out of a retirement account or pay a penalty on that. Right. It's. It's going on over there. But when you have an emergency fund of three to six months, and the vast majority of people can get away with three, which is why I like that you recommended 12,000 there. I think if you need six months, you're more of like a real estate agent or maybe you work in sales. Very sporadic income. It's very unpredictable. But vast majority of people have steady W2 jobs that pay them. So I think three months here, depending on will situation, is great. The purpose is to ensure that your money stays invested when bad things happen. And by having 12,000 versus 25 or, you know, just three months, maybe you do spend like $8,000 a month and you do need to have 25,000. Right. Well, we don't know your situation, but three months is where. Where you should be. And then take Robert's advice is taking that difference and deploying it into that Roth IRA bridge account, things of that nature, to ensure that you are, you know, moving and shaking in the markets as we hopefully begin to see a real rebound over the coming quarters.

[Robert]

Yeah, I love that. And it's so important for people to understand. And Austin, you're so good at spelling that all out, and I appreciate it. Every time we talk about it, the emergency fund is not there to spend. It's for emergencies. So it doesn't mean you can dip into it whenever you want and go have some fun with it or go buy something you don't need. It is for emergencies, so you don't go use credit cards. You don't get in a bad situation or. Or worse, sell off your investments for retirement. I just want to click back on the absolute importance of understanding that distinction.

[Austin]

Now, Robert, before we answer our final question, coming from Luis on Instagram, generated assets. Why aren't y' all using it yet? It's so cool. You literally come up with any strategy you want. Oh, I want to invest into companies that are coffee companies that are not Starbucks. Or I want to invest into people that advertise on Mr. Beast's YouTube channel. Or I want to invest on. On, you know, insert anything here. Any strategy you like literally just come up with it. And generated assets will bring it to life for you. They'll find the names, they'll figure out what's going on. Here's an interesting one. Robert. I thought I saw something recently about GLP1s about how, like, they are not good for bone strength. And so I was thinking like, okay, does that mean all these people that are taking GLP1s are going to have, like, hip replacements and knee replacements and stuff as they get get older? Maybe my brain's thinking, how do I invest in companies that make the hardware and the people that are doing the hip replacements and the knee replacements? Like, I don't know. That could be an interesting strategy. I have no idea. I can go test it and figure out what it looks like on generated assets using public.com so please go check out public. Go check out generated assets public.com rich habits. It is a really cool product and you need to be playing around with it.

[Robert]

You guys all know that we love public.com but I also love technology. Technology and generated assets is like the cheat code that most people aren't using yet to figure out where to invest and what to invest in. So we love, love, love generated assets.

[Austin]

So our final question comes from Luis. On Instagram, Louise says, hey, Robert Noston, I love your podcast. I'm 26 and I'm working at an auto body shop as a technician. I make $130,000 a year, and I have a side hustle that brings me between 20 and 30,000 a year extra annually. I have 36,000 in my 401k. I invest DOL dollars a month into my ACORNS account, which is set to be 4.1 million by the time I retire. But I don't want to wait that long, and I'm trying to get into some online side hustles like E commerce. Any tips or advice for someone? In my shoes, I feel like I'm on this earth to achieve way more than what I've achieved so far. Luis, I love your situation. 150,000 a year is a ton of money to be making at 26 years old. A couple things stick out to me. The first one is you only have 36,000 in your 401k. Well, I'm not gonna say only because 36,000 is a lot of money. So, like, congrats on doing that. But I hope at 150,000 a year, you're probably able to save, in my opinion, between 5 and $7,000 a month, because at 150,000 a year, depending on what state you live in, you're probably taking home about, I don't know, maybe $10,000 a month. And at 26, I can't imagine spending more at 26 years old than $5,000 a month to live my life. Maybe less than that if you have roommates and things of that nature. But if you're not saving $5,000 or a month on your current situation, forget about earning more money. Right? You either have an income problem or a spending problem. You do not have an income problem. You might have a spending problem. So first and foremost, audit your budget, audit your spending year to date, and if you've not yet been able to figure out and say, hey, I can pretty consistently save and invest $5,000 a month, tweak your lifestyle to be able to achieve that. Because at 26, with your income, you should be in that range. Robert, what advice do you have for Luis as it relates of perhaps doing some EE com or AI automation or open Claw or whatever's going on to try and earn more money than 150,000 a year?

[Robert]

Well, first and foremost, I wouldn't. At 26 years old, making 150k, I think you hit the nail on the head, Austin. He needs to figure out what am I doing wrong, where am I spending too much through the honest budget and then get way more money put aside side every month. Because if he wants to retire early, even if he's making 150k a year, he can do that by doing what you said. Imagine if he puts 5k a month, which is $60,000 for the year, away for the next 10 years. That puts him at 36 years old. By 45 years old, he would already be really, really well set up. So for me, I would not be driving, dreaming about anything else, any distractions. I would focus on building this money, putting aside more and get more invested. Because thinking about only 600amonth is going into acorns right now. But the 401k, although 36,000 is good, only has 36,000 in it. There is a leak somewhere where this money is going and I would fix that first. And with already having the hardest part of financial freedom figured out, and that is making money, I would focus on that and not get distracted trying to start Ecom and other things to speed up retirement. Because right now you need to figure out how to better manage the money you're already making and get it invested. So you're making money while you sleep.

[Austin]

Yeah. The big thing I think my friend Luis here might be falling victim to is, you know, he asked this question on Instagram. I know he's on Instagram. He's probably on his Instagram Reels feed and he sees these 24, 4 year old, you know, people who are, oh, look at my helicopter, my Lamborghini, I'm making millions of dollars. And Luis is like, wow, how are they doing that? Like, oh, I do E. Com. Buy my course and I'll teach you how. Right. So, Luis, the grass is not always greener. All the glitter is not gold. I think you have a wonderful situation and if you genuinely are like, I need to achieve more, I want to do more. Like, I would figure out, how does this side gig double? I mean, 20 to 30,000 a year is great. How does it turn into 60? How does it turn into 100? Is the side gig scalable? I mean, obviously it's working for you right now. Can you hire people to work underneath of you so you can build it into a full fledged business? Like, I don't know. Right. But I would really encourage you to want to take a step back, not fall for the highlight reels you might see on Instagram and TikTok. Especially at your age, everyone's trying to look and be cool and do these things that they're not. Yes, there are people out there who are successful and are very young and like, I get that. But what is much more important is what Robert said, which is you have a really, really great income. And if you can optimize your spending against that income to aggressively save 3, 4, $5,000 a month, you're going to be in a really, really great spot when you are 40, 45 years old, like millions of dollars. That's how you retire early. You don't retire early by getting a helicopter, Lambo, sell some courses and be this, you know, fly by night great grifter. You retire early by laying a great foundation at a young age and consistently investing, allowing wealth to become inevitable.

[Robert]

100%. Luis and anyone else listening, stop watching the highlight reels. Stop believing what they tell you. Remember, they're trying to sell you something. You've already built the base. You've already got yourself up and running, making a great income. Work on that, learn more about your personal finances and, and keep plugging away and you'll do just fine.

[Austin]

Everybody. Do not forget Rich Habits retreat taking place May 1st and 2nd in Austin, Texas. Go grab those tickets while they're still available. We've only got a few spots left for general admission. We already sold out the VIP pretty quickly there, so be sure to go check that out. And again, you got about a 30% chance of getting chosen to join us on the floor of the New York stock Exchange. Monday, May 4 if you are in attendance at the Rich Habits Retreat. So just another fun perk of purchasing a ticket.

[Robert]

Before we end this episode, though, I want to give a quick shout out to Wall Street Favorites 2.0. We didn't mention that yet. Today we've got a lot going on, but make sure you check out in the show notes wall street favorites.com or in the Show Notes below because we just made a bunch of upgrades. It is my favorite thing. Shout out to Austin for building such an incredible platform. But if you're looking to simplify your stock research, this is the tool for you. So make sure you check it out.

[Austin]

Yeah. Wall Street Favorites.com if you checked it out a couple weeks ago and you're like, ah, this is all. I don't really understand this. Just go check it out again. We completely revamped the website. We unlocked a lot of it to be completely free. So even if you're someone that just likes to log in and check stuff out and you never want to connect your credit card, there's a lot of free info on there as well. That's really valuable to you. But shout out to the 150 people who've already joined us on the paid side there. So we've got almost 200 people now. I've actually subscribed to Wall Street Favorites.

[Robert]

That's.

[Austin]

That's really exciting. So definitely go check out wall street favorites.com link in the show Notes below as well. But more importantly, see you guys in Austin, Texas on May 1st and 2nd. Thanks everyone and we'll see you tomorrow for our Friday episode of the Rich Habits. Ra.

[Robert]

Just a quick break. Here's a tip. Planning your next fishing trip on TikTok, you'll find gear reviews, lake tips and local tricks. Short videos straight to the point. Download TikTok now.