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.

Business
Investing
Entrepreneurship
526
Ask Paula - Should I Buy a Rental Property with...
#140: Should you buy a rental property that mandates HOA payments? How do you adjust for cap rate over the years, as the property's rent increases with inflation? Should you buy an $88,500 house that rents for $1,250 a month? And can you dive into...
54 min
527
How I Save Half of My Income as a Firefighter, ...
#139: Five years ago, at age 29, Kim E. started her first professional, salaried full-time job, working as a firefighter for the City of Austin, Texas. She received a starting salary of $42,000. Today, five years later, she has saved: - one year's...
75 min
528
How to Create an Authentic Life
#138: There’s a famous quote that’s attributed to Henry Ford. The quote says, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”⠀ ⠀ There’s no proof that Henry Ford actually said this. But whether or not that...
50 min
529
Ask Paula: What the F**k are Annuities?
#137: Today's episode is an annuity sandwich: we answer one question about family and relationships, three questions about annuities, and one question about time management. My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer...
73 min
530
How I Bought 20 Houses, Debt-Free, While Servin...
#136: Rich Carey is a military millionaire. He's spent his career in the U.S. Air Force; he's currently stationed in Seoul, South Korea. He was stationed in Germany before this. He'll retire after this. Most of his fellow servicemembers, upon taking a...
76 min
531
Ask Paula - How Can I Get a Downpayment for a R...
#135: Time to talk about houses! I answer your questions about rental property investing in this week's episode. Our first question comes from James, age 25. He lives in Florida, where he bought a $130,000, 3-bedroom, 2-bath condominium in the Class B...
54 min
532
How Radical Curiosity Leads to Innovation in Li...
#134: We often peek inside the world of business to look for lessons about how to simplify, optimize and innovate. But what can we learn when we examine world-class people who are hacking the system in any field -- including sports, politics and...
74 min
533
Ask Paula and Joe -- How to Give More to Charit...
#133: Andy from Michigan loved the episode with charity:water founder Scott Harrison. After the episode, he and his 6-year-old daughter started watching videos about charity:water, and now they're both inspired to give. Andy's question is on the topic...
57 min
534
Ask Paula - I'm Six Years Away From Financial I...
#132: BONUS EPISODE!! On the first Friday of the month for the remainder of the year, I'm rolling out an additional bonus episode. As you know, this podcast airs weekly on Mondays. I'm thinking about maybe -- MAYBE -- expanding the podcast to...
36 min
535
How We Slashed Our Costs 70 Percent and Gained ...
#131: Scott Rieckens and his wife Taylor enjoyed a classic Southern California lifestyle. They lived near a gorgeous beach in sunny San Diego. They frequently dined at sushi restaurants. They drove a BMW. But after the birth of their daughter,...
70 min
536
Ask Paula - Should I Sell Stocks to Buy a Renta...
#130: Anna and Dave want to get married … eventually. But they want to buy a rental property together first. How should they approach this from a paperwork/legal structure standpoint? Note: They’re thinking about having one partner purchase the...
58 min
537
How I Paid Off Thousands in Credit Card Debt - ...
#129: Laura Adams grew up in an upper-middle-class family in South Carolina, and her parents supported her through college. She attended her top-choice school, met her husband while they were still students, and enjoyed a charmed life. When she...
57 min
538
Should I Choose a Roth vs. Traditional IRA and ...
#128: Antonia, 27, wants to retire in 15 years. She's trying to figure out whether to contribute to pre-tax or after-tax retirement accounts. Most financial advice for 20-somethings that she's encountered says to contribute to after-tax (Roth)...
71 min
539
Four Unhealthy Attitudes Towards Money -- with ...
#127: Most people know what they “should” do — save for the future. Spend less than they earn. Why do so few people follow through? The answer may have less to do with tactics, and more to do with a person’s deep-seated beliefs, fears and...
66 min
540
Ask Paula - Should I Buy a Beachfront Rental Pr...
#126: It's time to answer real estate investing questions! Tom asks: "We're thinking about buying a duplex on a beach in a popular vacation destination in Florida. If the property stays 85 percent occupied as a short-term (VRBO) rental at current...
64 min
541
How to Gain a Competitive Edge, with Morgan Housel
#125: Morgan Housel has spent thousands of hours reading about investing. As a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal and The Motley Fool, he's spent more than a decade reading, interviewing, thinking and writing about how to manage money. And...
62 min
542
Ask Paula and Joe - Should I Sell My Brand-New ...
#124: Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer five questions about investing, retirement, insurance, travel and selling an expensive car. Eliana is 25 and makes $63,000 per year, plus a little extra from freelance work. She holds $95,000...
62 min
543
Your Money or Your Life -- with Vicki Robin, be...
#123: In the 1970's, a woman named Vicki Robin teamed up with a man named Joe Dominguez. They came from different backgrounds: she was an Ivy League graduate with a comfortable upbringing; he was raised in Spanish Harlem on "welfare cheese." But they...
63 min
544
Ask Paula - I'd Like to Airbnb a Yurt. Should I?
#122: Tony lives in Chicago, where the returns on rental properties are so-so. He's thinking about investing in Indianapolis, where he consistently finds rental properties with cap rates that are greater than 8 percent. Should he invest locally, so...
48 min
545
How I Retired at Age 32 - with Liz Thames from ...
#121: After Liz Thames graduated from college, she couldn't find a job. "Nowhere would hire me," Thames says. "I had what I thought was this nice resume, and I sent out over 50 applications. Nowhere called me back." She took a temporary job at a...
61 min
546
Ask Paula - I'm Retiring at 53. How Will Early ...
#120: Roger Whitney, age 51, calls himself The Retirement Answer Man. As a financial planner, investment analyst and podcast host, he focuses on helping Baby Boomers craft a traditional (past-age-60) retirement. Today, he joins me to answer two...
45 min
547
How Much Can I Spend in Retirement? - with Dr. ...
#119: Once upon a time, in southern California in 1994, there lived a man named William Bengen. He read many claims, widespread at the time, that said that since the markets return at least 7-9 percent compounding rates on average, retirees could...
59 min
548
Ask Paula - How Do I Buy a Foreclosure? - and O...
#118: Questions -- I get questions! Today, I’m tackling four queries about real estate investing that come from the audience. Here are the details: Sam says: I work full-time and I’m not handy, so I definitely need a property manager. I’ve found...
44 min
549
How to Avoid Killing Your Spouse (and Should Yo...
#117: My friend and financial expert Farnoosh Torabi joins me to answer a relationship & money question from a listener named Janice.⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Janice is engaged, and she calls to ask: Should she get married?⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ She earns double what...
53 min
550
Ask Paula -- Help! I'm Underwater on My Car!
#116: Stacy and her boyfriend would like to downsize to one vehicle. But they're collectively $14,500 underwater on their car loans. 
 Stacy owes $11,000 on her car, but its trade-in value is $7,200. She's paying a 12.74% interest rate and her...
80 min