Episode #12748 Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise. Start with as little as $10: https://fundrise.com/pockets *Most Americans are worried about money.* Paying the bills, having enough for retirement, and being able to afford emergency expenses. And, like many of us, you may have grown up in a household *watching your own parents constantly worry or fight over finances.* This is one of the crucial anxiety points of Americans—and *rentals can change that.* Today, *Joel Larsgaard* from the _How to Money podcast_ shares his story about how *rental properties,* and just paying attention to his money, *changed his worldview and* his family’s *financial future.* He, too, saw his parents constantly keeping up with the Joneses—buying more house than they could afford, buying expensive cars, struggling to keep up. Joel vowed never to worry the way his parents did. After discovering personal finance, Joel did what most new real estate investors do: *a “no-brainer” house hack.* Then he bought another, and another, and another—and over the past sixteen years, *built a slow, scalable, financial freedom-enabling rental portfolio, without taking a ton of risk* or biting off more than he could chew. Joel admits it’s harder to *invest in 2026,* but that’s what makes it *a necessity in today’s economy.* Episode Show Notes: https://lnk.to/biggerpocketsYT Join BiggerPockets for FREE 👇 https://www.biggerpockets.com/signup?utm_source=owned_media 🎉Join us at the BiggerPockets Conference October 2-4 in Orlando. Buy tickets: https://biggerpockets.com/bpcon2026 Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! https://www.BiggerPockets.com/Podcastfeedback Grab the Personal Finance Guide, _Set for Life_ : https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/set-for-life-revised-edition?utm_source=owned_media Sign Up for the BiggerPockets Real Estate Newsletter: https://www.biggerpockets.com/email-subscribe?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area: http://biggerpockets.com/agentmatch The Money Show's Guide to Personal Finance for Beginners: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-373?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Connect with Joel: BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/joell27?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none _How to Money_ Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-money/id1337718773 Connect with Dave: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/davem27?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none 00:00 Intro 01:31 Watching His Parents Struggle 07:33 It’s Harder Now (BUT There’s Hope) 12:19 Buy What ACTUALLY Matters 14:44 Sponsor: Fundrise! 15:26 “No Brainer” Rental Strategy 18:23 Investing More, Steady Scaling 23:19 Slow, Low-Risk Rental Investing 28:20 Higher Risk ≠ Reward 31:59 Be PREPARED in 2026 35:58 Invest Like an Optimist 39:15 Learn from Joel!