Phase 2: Build The Runway

Phase 2 is about building the runway: the buffer that turns a paycheck into options. You hit a net worth of $0 in Phase 1. Now the gap between what you earn and what you spend goes to work in low-cost index funds, inside the accounts that let you keep the most of it. The goal isn't a bigger number for its own sake. It's the runway that funds your choices, from going PRN to walking away entirely.

Step 1: Maximize your savings rate

The gap between what you earn and what you spend is the engine of this whole phase. The higher your savings rate, the faster you build options. You increase your savings rate by reducing large recurring expenses, optimizing your spending, and maximizing the things you value in life. See how your savings rate sets your timeline in the Autonomy Calculator → (dedicated guide coming soon).

Step 2: Invest in low-cost index funds

Once the gap exists, it has to go to work. Decades of evidence point the same direction: broad, low-cost index funds beat stock-picking and active management for almost everyone, almost all of the time. Here's how to choose funds and build a simple portfolio that will outperform most professionally managed funds. Read the investing guide →

Step 3: Use the right accounts, in the right order

The account you invest in decides how much of your money you keep. This covers the 401(k), the 403(b), and the 457(b) that lets you reach your money before 59½, plus Roth versus traditional and the order to fill them. Learn how to minimize taxation and use that money to fuel your savings. Read the "where to invest" guide →

Step 4: Decide whether to buy a house

A house is the largest option-reducing purchase most people make, which is exactly why it belongs in a phase about building options. The rent-versus-buy math, what the common rules of thumb actually tell you, and how a mortgage changes your runway. Read the housing guide →

Already set on buying? See which lenders extend physician/professional loans (0% down, no PMI) to PTs, OTs, and SLPs. Physician mortgages for therapists →

Step 5: Cope with the boring middle

Most of this phase is uneventful on purpose. The long stretch where consistency does the work and nothing feels like it's happening is what we call "the boring middle." But it is exactly when consistent, sustainable savings pay dividends (literally) every year. How to stay the course when it feels like nothing is happening. (Guide coming soon.)

Continue to Phase 3

When the runway is long enough to make work optional, you move from building it to spending it.