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.
501
Ask Paula - The Real Estate Episode
#187: Sarah needs $36,000 per year in rental income to reach FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). She owns several rentals. When can she comfortably consider herself FIRE? AyV wants to rent out his primary residence. Should he renovate?...
74 min
502
How Mike and Lauren Retired at 30 with an Avera...
#186: Mike and Lauren have run a cleaning company, started and sold a biodiesel company, repaired and resold motorcycles, opened a coffeeshop, owned a DVD rental box, sold e-cigarettes, bought a storage warehouse, launched a YouTube channel with...
71 min
503
Ask Paula: How Do I Talk to Friends who Ridicul...
#185: Hello from Austin, Texas! I’m living in an Airbnb here for the next 5 weeks. Listen to the end of today’s episode to find out why … and discover how these next 5 weeks, for me, exemplify the “why” of financial independence. In the...
79 min
504
The Alter Ego Effect, with Todd Herman
#184: In 2003, Beyonce Knowles-Carter felt shy about performing sultry lyrics and dance routines on stage. She needed a tactic to overcome her nerves and stage fright. So she created an alter ego, Sasha Fierce, to bring out her more assertive side....
69 min
505
Ask Paula: Should I Sell My Rental Property to ...
#183: Should a newlywed couple with two cash flowing rental properties sell one to pay off $92,000 of student loan debt? What percentage of your portfolio should you have in rental properties? What's the smartest way to approach rental property...
52 min
506
Thirteen Dumb Mistakes Smart People Make with T...
#182: Millions of smart, educated and successful people make dumb mistakes with their money ... and they don't realize it. I'm not talking about obvious dumb mistakes, like spending 85 percent of your income on a fleet of Ultra-Luxe-Fancymobiles for...
73 min
507
Ask Paula: How Should I Plan a Mini-Retirement?
#181: Imagine that you’re going to take a 6-month to 9-month mini-retirement. How should you plan? What should you do? Sure, you’ll need to have enough savings to cover your expenses. You might want to find some part-time work. You may need to...
66 min
508
The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, with E...
#180: Nearly two decades ago, Stacy Berman, a personal trainer, launched a fitness bootcamp in New York City. She called it Stacy’s Bootcamp. She invited her clients to join her for 5:30 am outdoor workout classes in Central Park. At first, only...
74 min
509
Ask Paula: We Want to Start Househacking in a D...
#179: Should a couple in New Orleans sell their single-family home and use the sale proceeds to househack into a duplex? What do you think about turnkey investments? What tax consequences will someone face if they transfer their property to their...
57 min
510
How to Make Work Optional, with Tanja Hester
#178: Tanja Hester retired at age 38. She had a negative net worth until her late 20's, thanks to a combination of student loans, buying expensive cocktails and clothes, living far beyond her means, and not paying attention to her money. If you were...
68 min
511
Ask Paula: Should I Buy a House or Catch Up on ...
#177: Imagine that your job is extremely well-paying, but you don’t enjoy it. You’d like to switch employers, even though this will probably require a paycut. But before you make the switch, you want to accomplish two goals: buy a home and catch...
64 min
512
Digital Minimalism - with Dr. Cal Newport
#176: Cal Newport created a philosophy called digital minimalism, which is idea of reducing your digital life down to only the most important core essentials. Remove the apps from your phone, then slowly re-introduce only the ones that are the most...
82 min
513
Three Percent is the New Four Percent - with La...
#175: Larry Swedroe is one of the most respected investment thinkers and writers of our time. He's published 8 books on investing, including one of the first books to explain the science of investing to a layperson audience. He recently wrote an...
78 min
514
Ask Paula: I'm 48 and Retiring Next Year. Shoul...
#174: Should a 48-year-old New Yorker who’s retiring next year buy more rental properties? Should a Michigan-based first-time homebuyer use an FHA loan to buy a duplex for $135,000 that rents for $1,800 per month? Should a 40-year-old music...
73 min
515
When a Child of Financial Chaos Stumbles into A...
#173: Paulette Perhach is a journalist who has been published in The New York Times, Slate, ELLE, Marie Claire, and Cosmo. But we’re not going to talk about that today. We’re going to talk about the fact that she’s made every decision by putting...
86 min
516
Ask Paula: Should I Buy a Nice Car or Save My M...
#172: Should a 25-year-old homeowner with healthy savings and no debt (other than his mortgage) upgrade his car? Should he make this choice if his current car is fine, and upgrading puts him into new debt? Should a couple without access to an...
72 min
517
The biggest study of everyday millionaires in 2...
#171: Chris Hogan surveyed 10,000 millionaires in the United States. Here's what he discovered: - 89 percent of millionaires have a net worth between $1 million to $5 million dollars - 62 percent graduated from public state schools - 9 percent didn't...
91 min
518
Ask Paula - When Should I NOT Use the One Perce...
#170: When should you NOT use the one percent rule for rental property investing? In today’s episode, I encourage two callers to violate the One Percent Rule for real estate that they already own. WHAAATTTT? Why would I say that? Especially given...
58 min
519
One Tweak a Week in 2019 -- Easy Improvements t...
#169: Happy New Years! To kickoff 2019, we've created a free book called One Tweak a Week, outlining 26 easy, actionable ways that you can improve your financial life. Today's podcast episode covers these 26 tweaks, so you can listen in audio format,...
66 min
520
How to Optimize Your Time and Energy -- with Mi...
#168: You can do anything, but not everything ... and definitely not everything at the same time. How can you optimize your time and energy? How do you choose what's worthwhile and what's a waste of time? How can you eliminate small decisions so that...
63 min
521
Ask Paula: Should I Pay Off Student Loans While...
#167: Angelisa is a college senior with $30,000 in student loans. She has a part-time job, from which she’s saved $2,500. Should she keep saving money, or should she get a headstart on paying down her student loans while she’s in school? Mackenzie...
80 min
522
Everything I Learned About Money Came from My G...
#166: Michelle Singletary learned everything she knows about money from her grandmother. Well, okay, I shouldn't say "everything" that she knows. After all, Michelle also has an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She writes about personal finance for...
68 min
523
Ask Paula - Should I Invest in Index Funds or R...
#165: Should Kim, an entrepreneur, invest in index funds or rental properties? Should Nick, an MBA student, househack into a more-expensive home with stronger cash flow, or a cheaper home with more budgetary wiggle room? Should Kelly, who is getting...
55 min
524
How and Why I Took a Mini-Retirement, with Bob ...
#164: As an entrepreneur, Bob Lotich loves growing and expanding. But after a particularly stressful year, he realized he had burned out. He woke up one Monday morning and, for the first time since he’d started self-employment, he realized he...
66 min
525
Ask Paula - The Future of Index Fund Investing
#163: Does my employer match count against my 401k contribution limits? Should I invest in a Traditional or Roth TSP? Should I invest more aggressively in stocks right now, or should I hold cash and bonds until the next downturn? Should I get a...
63 min