Afford Anything
You can afford anything, but not everything. We make daily decisions about how to spend money, time, energy, focus and attention – and ultimately, our life.
How do we make smarter decisions? How do we think from first principles?
On the surface, Afford Anything seems like a podcast about money and investing.
But under the hood, this is a show about how to think critically, recognize our behavioral blind spots, and make smarter choices. We’re into the psychology of money, and we love metacognition: thinking about how to think.
In some episodes, we interview world-class experts: professors, researchers, scientists, authors. In other episodes, we answer your questions, talking through decision-making frameworks and mental models.
Want to learn more? Download our free book, Escape, at http://affordanything.com/escape. Hosted by Paula Pant.
401
PSA Thursday: Social Distancing is Social Solid...
A new segment giving tips to help flatten the curve and manage your money during this global event.
20 min
402
Ask Paula: Is the Stock Market Going to Crash i...
#247: Caroline wants to buy her first home in Denver, CO. How can she calculate how much mortgage she can comfortably afford? Anne plans to retire later this year on rental income (woohoo!). She’s saved up a hefty emergency fund for her properties,...
89 min
403
Pain, Grief, and the Pursuit of Financial Indep...
#246: At 19 years old, after completing her first year of college, Jillian married her husband. During their first year of marriage, they lived in a camper and earned a combined salary of $12,000. One year later, Jillian's husband graduated...
62 min
404
Ask Paula: I’m 24 and Won a $1 Million Settleme...
#245: Joe has a 24-year-old friend who won a $1 million settlement. How can she use this money to set herself up for financial independence? Jay is 52 years old and wants to retire at 59.5. He began investing in individual stocks to achieve this goal,...
75 min
405
Why I Quit My Job with No Savings When My Wife ...
#244: Grant Baldwin felt burned out. He worked as a youth pastor, which felt like a 24/7 profession. He had to attend student events held late into the night, which left him exhausted. One night, he came home to find his wife crying. She told him that...
71 min
406
Ask Paula: How Can I Retire in 10 Years with Re...
#243: Adam is 23 years old and wants to achieve financial independence as quickly as possible. However, he’s nervous about investing in the stock market and real estate. How can he overcome his fears? Paris, age 35, has a similar question. She earns...
67 min
407
The Art of Trusting Your Most Dangerous Ideas, ...
#242: Ash Ambirge grew up in a trailer park in Pennsylvania. She never met her father. Her disabled mother, who raised her on government assistance, passed away when she was 20. Her childhood goal? To join the middle class. She dreamed of becoming one...
67 min
408
Ask Paula: Should I Raid My Retirement Savings ...
#241: Anton wants to accelerate his flight training so he can get hired within two to three months, rather than two to three years. He has to raid his retirement savings to achieve this. Should he? Linda and her husband have their eyes on early...
79 min
409
10 Questions to Master Successful Investing, wi...
#240: Are you investing, speculating, or gambling? What are the three drivers of asset performance? Are you aware of who’s getting a cut from your investments? Do you even know who’s on the other side of the trade? David Stein is the author of...
72 min
410
Ask Paula: Should I Put My Student Loans in For...
#239: Lo is in a good spot with her career, but she’s struggling with a ton of student loan debt, and consequently, credit card debt. What should she do to manage it? Anonymous wants to know how to set up a backdoor Roth IRA. Eric and his wife own a...
75 min
411
How to Stop Making So Many Money Mistakes, with...
#238: “If I had more willpower, I’d achieve my financial goals.” “I’m doomed to fail with money.” “I’m horrible for not keeping to a budget.” These are common thoughts, but they’re erroneous. You can’t willpower your way through...
61 min
412
Ask Paula and Joe -- Should I BUY a Business, I...
#237: Katie wants to know how to purchase a business that’s already cash-flow positive. What indicators can she look for? Rob will retire from the military with an inflation-adjusted pension. Does he need a bond allocation in his investment...
78 min
413
How We Saved $1 Million and Retired at 31 and 3...
#236: Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung achieved financial independence four years ago at age 31 and 32. They saved $1 million and live on $40,000 per year while traveling the world. Kristy and Bryce don’t worry about running out of money, they created...
65 min
414
Ask Paula: Sooo … I Quit My Job. What Type of B...
#235: Anna has made the leap to self-employment … but what’s next? She lives in the Bay Area and she’s trying to choose between five business ideas; she needs to make enough money to stay in her high-cost area. Doug recently won $9,000 from an...
64 min
415
26 Easy Moves to Improve Your Finances in 2020
#234: We review 26 quick, easy actions that improve your financial life, plus 10 new added bonus ideas that came directly from our community. We issue a challenge for you to tackle one action per week for the first 26 weeks (six months) of the year,...
59 min
416
Ask Paula: How Can I Retire in 12 Years?
#233: Deepak is considering downsizing his family’s home, but wants to know if the savings are worth the transaction costs he’ll have to pay. Anonymous and her husband hold $900,000 worth of privately-owned company stock. How should they plan for...
68 min
417
How to Avoid College Debt, with Anthony ONeal
#232: Anthony ONeal is the bestselling author of Debt-Free Degree, a book that teaches parents how to help their children graduate from college without student loans. He’s part of the Dave Ramsey Solutions team, which teaches people how to pay off...
67 min
418
Ask Paula: How Can I Get My Spouse Interested i...
#231: Avie needs to decide between two options: paying off a rental property, or funding a retirement account. Which should she choose? Lisa wants to know: when should you fund an HSA account? Sofia’s parents have lived with her for the past few...
54 min
419
How to Develop Emotional Agility, with Dr. Susa...
#230: Dr. Susan David, a psychologist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, joins us to talk about emotional agility. Dr. David has researched emotional agility for around 20 years. A few years ago, she summarized her work on this concept for the...
81 min
420
Ask Paula: Help! My Mom or Dad Took Out a Credi...
#229: Normally, we’re a once-a-week podcast, with episodes airing every Monday. But on the first Friday of every month, we have a First Friday bonus episode! Helen discovered that her mother fraudulently opened credit card accounts in her name. Eek!...
81 min
421
What I Learned from Losing $170 Million, with N...
#228: In November 2005, when Noah Kagan was 24, he was hired as Employee #30 at Facebook. His stock options would have been worth $170 million if he’d cashed out in 2014, he says. But he didn’t see a dime. In June 2006, merely 9 months after he...
65 min
422
Ask Paula: How Can I Get the Most from My Mini-...
#227: Lien is taking a year off of work to live the van life with her husband. She wants to know how she can make the most of this sabbatical to figure out how to turn her less-than-inspiring career into a lifestyle that she loves. Lien called in...
83 min
423
How to Make Time for Things That Matter, with J...
#226: Feeling time-crunched? Today’s episode is for you. Today’s episode features productivity expert John Zeratsky, who shares specific, action-packed time management strategies, with a focus on email management. If the term inbox zero sounds...
73 min
424
Ask Paula: How to Invest for the Next Five Years
#225: Lauren is 26 and earns $48,000 per year after taxes. She saves $12,000 annually in retirement accounts, and an additional $18,000 per year for a downpayment on a home. She wants to buy a home in the next five years. Where should she keep her...
85 min
425
The Science of Rapid Learning, with Scott Young...
#224: Scott Young, author of Wall Street Journal best-selling book Ultralearning, talks about the 9 principles of Ultralearning, which can help you learn new skills, reinvent yourself, stay relevant, and adapt to whatever life throws at you. If you...
90 min