For most people, there tends to be a specific point in your life when you think, “I want to travel” or “I want to spend time pursuing my passions”. For today’s guest Ainsley, this happened about two years ago. She has spent the last decade or so being a stay-at-home mom, but is looking to up her household income by getting a job that will provide an extra $36,000 a year to the family budget. Her main question: what should this extra income be used for? Mindy and Scott come up with a step-by-step approach to hit financial freedom, even if you don’t have a large amount of cash or investments. Lucky for Ainsley, her home in the Pacific Northwest appreciated close to $150,000 in just the past year alone! Plus, she also has retirement accounts that she and her husband actively contribute to. While they’re doing many things right, they could improve on some simple things like boosting their emergency fund, starting an HSA, contributing to a Roth IRA, and getting their income up as much as possible. This is a great episode for those who don’t want to get into real estate, and instead would rather have passive investments growing on the side! In This Episode We Cover Mindy and Scott’s 7-step plan to hit financial freedom  The importance of keeping a healthy emergency fund (and where to store it) The pros and cons of taking out a HELOC on your primary residence  Always getting the 401(k) match whenever presented with one ESPPs (employee stock purchase plans) and how to take advantage of them  Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and other tax-deferred accounts Investing in a regular brokerage account once you have maxed out retirement  And So Much More! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices