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.
576
Ask Paula - How to Repay $50k in Student Loans ...
#74: Former financial planner and friend of the show, Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins, joins me to answer the following listener questions: Kicking off today's episode, Nicky asks: I'm young and healthy. My car is old and not-worth-much. And...
66 min
577
What Chess Taught Me About Making Smarter Life ...
#73: Last January, I went to a party at a trailer park that featured a huge bonfire, a few llamas, and a member of Public Enemy. (I realize that sounds like the setup to a joke. Welcome to my life.) While I was there, I met a former competitive...
67 min
578
Ask Paula -- Should I Loan Money to Friends? St...
#72: Spaghetti is a major part of my life. I eat it, of course, as many people do. I also spill it all over my pants, despite the fact that I’m 33 and should’ve learned the rules of gravity by now. But most importantly, I use spaghetti as a...
48 min
579
Can I Retire Yet? - with Roger Whitney, the Ret...
#71: Roger Whitney is known as the "retirement answer man." "All I think about, all day long, is how to make that [retirement] transition successfully," he says. But he holds a dirty little secret. "I don't believe in retirement. And the most...
61 min
580
Erin Lowry on Raising Children Who Are Enabled,...
#70: Erin Lowry, author of , talks about the early childhood scripts that we learn about money. Why is this topic important? Well, if you're a parent, you want to set a good financial example for your child to follow. Giving them the right tools and...
61 min
581
Ask Paula - The Real Estate Edition
#69: So many Afford Anything listeners have great questions about real estate investing. That's why this episode of Ask Paula is dedicated to answering them. Our first question comes from Ade, who has $25,000 to invest in real estate and lives in the...
65 min
582
Ask Paula - How to Invest Your Tax Refund, Save...
#68: My buddy Joe Saul-Sehy, host of the Stacking Benjamins podcast, joins me this week for another episode of "Ask Paula (and Joe!)" -- in which we workshop through questions that came from you, the Afford Anything community. This week, Joe and I...
66 min
583
Ask Paula -- How to Care for Aging Parents, Buy...
#67: It's the first Monday of the month, which means it's time to answer questions from the Afford Anything community. Our first question comes from a caller in a tough spot: Her mother-in-law is 66 years old. She's divorced, holds no retirement...
45 min
584
Take Radical Responsibility for Your Life -- a ...
#66: You know that rare moment when you meet someone with whom you connect *instantly*? I felt that way when I met Emma Pattee, the 26-year-old millionaire and mini-real-estate-mogul who joins me on today's episode. Emma and I share similar stories:...
46 min
585
How to Improve Your Relationship with Money
#65: I've always taken an approach to life that puts my freedom first. My one and only 9-5 lasted only 3 years. Since then I've been self employed and built financial independence through rental real estate. And while most see this podcast as...
42 min
586
Michael Kitces -- Your Mind is More Powerful Th...
#64: Your potential is unlimited. I realize that's the type of cliche that you normally find embossed in cursive script on the side of coffee mugs. It's trite and impersonal and overused. But it's also true. Your potential to earn and grow is...
77 min
587
Ask Paula - Travel vs. Passive Income, Proximit...
#63: It's the first Monday of the month, and you know what that means - another Ask Paula episode. Our first question comes from Richard, who wants to know if he should focus on creating a travel fund or building passive income through real estate. ...
37 min
588
Ask Paula - Q&A Featuring Special Guest Joe Sau...
#62: Joe Saul-Sehy, a former financial advisor and host of the Stacking Benjamins podcast, joins me to answer your questions in this bonus episode of Ask Paula. Joe and I are goofballs; we tell PG-13 dirty jokes; we disagree on several answers, and we...
78 min
589
John Lee Dumas - From Small-Town Kid to Multimi...
#61: Even though John wasn't never an entrepreneur at heart -- even though he didn't (yet) self-identify as an entrepreneur -- he decided to throw himself, full-force, into the one and only business idea he'd ever had. Listen to John's story, in his...
48 min
590
Andrew Hallam (Part Two): The Nine Rules of Wea...
#60: Andrew Hallam grew a million-dollar investment portfolio on a schoolteacher's salary by his mid-30's. In his bestselling book, Millionaire Teacher, he describes these nine lessons in detail. He shares these nine rules...
100 min
591
Andrew Hallam: How I Became a Millionaire on a ...
#59: By his mid-30's, Andrew Hallam became a millionaire on a teacher's salary. He began by investing $100 a month upon advice given by a mechanic. Then he began saving nearly half his $28,000 teacher’s salary. Andrew rode a bicycle 35 miles to...
62 min
592
Ask Paula -- Death, Taxes, Crushing Debt and Mo...
#58: Ashley is a single mom saving diligently for her 2-year-old son. What alternatives are there to 529s and brokerage accounts? Julie and her husband invest quarterly. Should she try buying European equities when they are much cheaper due to...
47 min
593
Philip Taylor - Top 5 Financial Lessons PT Lear...
#57: Philip Taylor, aka PT, is one of the most well-connected guys in the personal finance world. He’s spent the past half-dozen years building tight relationships with some of the most influential authors and speakers in this space. Today he shares...
52 min
594
Billy Murphy - Expected Value, or What Professi...
#56: Former professional Poker player Billy Murphy has an intriguing story. He achieved financial independence at age 29, and he did this by applying a concept known as "expected value" to his online businesses. In this episode, I chat with...
55 min
595
From Money Moron to Millionaire, with Scott Ala...
#55: Scott Alan Turner used to be a money moron. (In his words.) He traded a Jeep for a Porsche in his 20s, purchased a 3,000 sq. ft. house with two mortgages, and bought luxury furniture on credit. The Porsche cost him $800 per month. The house...
52 min
596
Ask Paula - Automating Savings, Starting a Blog...
#54: It's the first Monday of the month, which means I'm fielding questions from the audience. We start with a question from Nicole. She's a new listener, and she's stuck in a confusing situation. You see, Nicole is self-employed. She'd like to...
38 min
597
Live Q&A with Paula on Real Estate and Travel
#53: This episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, this podcast episode is a recording of a recent talk I gave in Equador. The audience wanted to know more about the context surrounding the decisions I've made regarding...
60 min
598
How to Combat Lifestyle Inflation, with Julia K...
#52: Imagine transitioning from making $8.50 per hour and sharing a crammed apartment with 5 people, to becoming a six-figure business owner doing what you love. That's the journey that Julia Kelly, caricature artist and founder...
36 min
599
Six Types of Financial Frenemies, with Mary Bet...
#51: Today's guest is Mary Beth Storjohann, CFP®, Founder of , and author of the book . As I was reading through her book, one thing stuck out to me: the financial frenemies we all have, and how to deal with them in a constructive way.
What's a...
47 min
600
Ask Paula - Retirement Savings in Your 50's, St...
#50: Mark, a 55-year-old listener, has no savings. He's been listening to personal finance podcasts. He recently read Tony Robbins' Money: Master the Game. He called this podcast to tell us that he's feeling overwhelmed by the scope of what's ahead of...
46 min