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NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

How Get Rich Slowly's Founder Retired at 40. Plus, What Higher Bond Yields Mean for Savers

Sep 3, 2026 · 40m

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About this episode

Learn how Get Rich Slowly creator JD Roth paid off $35,000 in debt and retired at 40. Then, learn what rising bond yields mean for savers and investors. Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola talk with JD Roth, founder of the personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly, about paying off $35,000 in consumer debt and eventually selling his blog to retire at age 40. JD explains the psychological shifts that got him out of debt, why growing his income mattered as much as cutting his spending, how he built one of the internet's first personal finance blogs, and how he's now helping his girlfriend, Kim, navigate her own path toward financial independence. Then, NerdWallet investing writer Sam…