Afford Anything | Make Smart Choices About Your Money, Time And Productivity

#310: Greta is tired of financial modesty. She wants to achieve financial independence through diversified income streams, and has her eyes set on owning local duplexes. What should she focus on to make this happen?  Jeannie wants to know: when should you scale back 401k contributions so you can invest in something else, like real estate? Steph and her husband came into $25,000 and aren’t sure what to do with it. Should they pay off their student loans, save it towards a house and starting a family, or purchase her company stock options? J from California is curious: how do you strike a balance between optimization and simplicity in your financial plan?  Dawn has $65,000 in a 403b through Ameriprise and the fees associated with it are outrageous. Should she take the money out and put it elsewhere, or leave it?  My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these five questions. Enjoy! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode310 Learn more abo

#309: Are we in a housing bubble? Are we going to see a repeat of 2006 all over again? Are there any good investment deals to be found right now? These are the questions playing on many people's minds, and we seek to explore the answers in today's First Friday bonus episode. We start by exploring some of the forces that are at play in today's real estate market. What separates the market of 2006 from the market of today? In the second half of the episode, Paula explains how and why she chose to buy a duplex in Indianapolis, despite it being a seller's market. There are deals to be had if you know where to look and what to look for. Enjoy! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode309  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#308: Ziggy purchased an $890,000 property in San Mateo, CA in 2016. After living there for a year, he had to move, so he rented it out. Unfortunately, it’s cash flow negative. Is this property worth holding onto, or should he sell? Vivek has a paid-off primary residence that he’s interested in renting out for a few years, before selling. He’s worried about capital gains tax – does turning the home into a rental impact the amount he’ll pay? Anonymous in Virginia wants to travel after retiring, which will increase her expenses for the first seven or so years of her retirement. How can she plan for a higher withdrawal rate at the beginning of retirement, and a lower withdrawal rate in the middle of her retirement? Given the talk around student loan forgiveness, Jess wants to know: should she pay the minimum on her student loan debt and save the payments she would otherwise make? Or should she keep throwing extra at her higher interest loans? My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to ans

#307: “Taxes are the single biggest factor that separates people from their retirement dreams.” That’s a quote from today’s guest, Ed Slott, a nationally recognized IRA distribution expert, practicing CPA, and bestselling author. He argues that there’s a high likelihood that tax rates could rise in the future, and as a result, we need to shovel more money into tax-exempt accounts like Roth IRA and Roth 401k’s. Ed says taxes are one of the biggest threats to our retirement plans, and draws attention to tax events that catch seniors by surprise, such as the so-called “widow/widower” tax. If you’re wondering how taxes could derail your retirement -- and what you should do about it -- you’ll learn an enormous amount from this episode. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode307 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#306: Jake and his wife want to retire in five years, at which point they’ll have 14 years before they can access their 401k funds. To help bridge that gap, Jake wants to know: what should their asset allocation look like for their taxable brokerage account? This year, Kim’s employer enrolled all employees into a “fully funded indemnity program combined with a nationwide direct primary care membership.” What the heck is this program, and how might it impact Kim’s finances? Burnt Out in Boston is switching their focus from financial independence to taking a mini-retirement. How can they financially and mentally prepare for this leap? Matthew is torn: should he and his wife -- both 26 -- max out their Roth IRAs and then save up for a rental property, or simply save cash for the rental and worry about their Roth later? Finally, Deva and her husband are fed up with their messy tenants. They’re kind and responsible, but they’ve left the yard a mess. They have a clause in the lease that addresses this, so beyond th

#305: Financial independence is a continuum, a spectrum. How do you know where you stand? In this episode, financial writer JD Roth discusses the seven stages of financial independence, the seven rules of investing, the formula for calculating your lifetime wealth ratio, and the importance of managing your career as though it’s an asset. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode305 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#304: Paige and her fiancé have two autumn 2021 goals: save for a wedding and an emergency fund. There’s one problem: they only have around $200 per month to save. How can they grow the gap when they’ve run out of things to cut and ways to earn more? Kat’s investor friend connected her with a wholesaler who only deals in cash. How can she find $130,000 to buy her subject property? Anonymous “Countryside Living” is renting their grandparent’s property, which they plan to make their forever home. It’s on the older side and needs renovations, but the repairs don’t need to happen immediately. How can they fund these repairs while also avoiding a mortgage payment in their 60s? Annalis wants to know whose approach to business I prefer: Gary V’s, or Cal Newport’s? She also asks: how do you become a good speaker? Anonymous “My Job Pays for My Housing” is planning for financial independence. Given that their employer covers their housing, when should they start looking for a house? Now, or in the last year of their jo

#303: Can you imagine living in a world without email? Most of us can’t - how would we get work done? - but this is what Cal Newport advocates for in his newest book, A World Without Email. Cal cites a study that found the average knowledge worker checks various communication tools once every six minutes. At that rate, it’s a wonder we get any work done at all. Cal argues that modifying our habits (like checking email at designated times) isn’t enough. We need to look for solutions outside the inbox and seek to reduce back-and-forth communication at all costs. If you’re drained by your inbox, we chat about strategies, processes, and systems that can help streamline your work and communication flow. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode303  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#302: Did you know that optimists worry about their finances 145 fewer days than pessimists? They’re also more likely to save money, and are 7x as likely to experience better financial health. Michelle Gielan, bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness, defines optimism “as the expectation of good things to happen and the belief that our behavior matters.” She shares specific tactics and mindset shifts we can make right now to become more optimistic and resilient, and, in the process, develop a better relationship with stress. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode302 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#301: Amelia is worried that she and her husband are under-insured. Should her husband get a short-term disability policy, even though it’s expensive and they’re unlikely to need it? Sarah wants to refinance her owner-occupied triplex, but she’s torn between a 15-year and a 30-year option. Which is better in her situation? Steven just discovered the financial independence (FI) movement in July 2020, and he wants to reach FI in 11 years. He has $30,000 in cash and $26,000 of student loan debt. How should he use his cash given his FI goal? The South American Anthropologist wants to make a career change. His baby daughter has inspired him to become an example of living life on your own terms. Will his financial independence plan sustain him and his family for years to come? Annalis and Mike are hunting for their first rental property, but they haven’t found anything nice that meets the one percent rule. Should they purchase a mansion and rent the rooms on Airbnb? For more information, visit the show notes at htt

#300: Here’s the deal: Target Date Retirement Funds are simple, automated, easy. The problem? What’s simple might not be optimal. Investment expert Paul Merriman joins us to discuss the two-fund portfolio, a mix of one target date fund and one small cap value fund. He describes why this could be the ultimate portfolio for buy-and-hold investors who want to boost their returns, without excessive complexity or risk. If you’re wondering what to do with your 401k, tune in. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode300 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#299: Chris bought Tesla a few years ago and Jinko Solar eight months ago. Both of these have gone up in value by a lot. What tax strategies can he use to sell these shares? Holly and her three sisters stand to inherit two side-by-side duplexes. How can they structure the ownership of these properties in a fair way? Eric feels hopeless about health insurance as a self-employed business owner. Are DPCs or healthshares the way to go? Frank and his wife have a nine-year retirement plan that involves selling their home and moving to Costa Rica. How can they maximize their savings and existing investments to set themselves up for success? My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these four questions on today’s episode. Enjoy! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode299 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#298: Money conversations with friends, family members, or significant others are unavoidable. Most of us dread these conversations - they’re awkward, heated, or draining. Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial Talks Money, shares tips and scripts for tactfully setting financial boundaries and expectations without drama. If you’re anxious about being in a wedding, splitting the tab with friends, or asking your siblings about taking care of your parents, this episode is for you. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode298 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This morning, almost every major brokerage halted trading on the most volatile stocks, including GameStop, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, Nokia, and AMC Theaters. We're in a situation where major trading platforms are blocking retail investors - us - from placing trades, while allowing hedge funds and institutional investors to drive prices. That is not a free market. When you don't let people buy, and you don't let people sell, you're locking people out of the game entirely. Yesterday, I was worried that grandma and grandpa would make the wrong investment choices and irrationally bet their life savings away. Now, they're prohibited from making any choice.

If you blinked, you missed the biggest stock market story since the crash of March 2020. It’s a story that led GameStop, a brick-and-mortar company that sells *physical* video games (remember when games came on 5.25-inch floppy disks?), to skyrocket its share price by 700 percent in two weeks. It’s a story of short selling, of high-frequency trading, and of individual investors who harbor deep anger towards hedge funds. It’s a story of social media vs. Wall Street ... and the innocent bystanders who get caught in the crossfire. That's the story we cover in today's episode. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/psathursday Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#297: George is torn between paying down his student loan debt (which he deferred) or buying a househack. Which is better for his long-term goal of reaching financial independence? Mario is curious to know: is his two-fund portfolio at a 90/10 split is a good asset allocation for his Roth IRA? Hanan wants to figure out if a backdoor Roth IRA conversion will work for her. She also wants to investigate whether a Vanguard Institutional 500 Index Trust and a Vanguard Institutional Total Bond Market Index Trust are ideal. Are trusts different from index funds or mutual funds and if so, how? Vivian is worried about bridging the gap between when she retires and when she claims Social Security. Will her plan of doing a Roth conversion ladder work out the way she hopes? Lastly, June and her husband netted $400,000 from the sale of some golden parachute ISOs. They want to help their children pay for college and are trying to figure out how to strategically use this money. Should they pay off their home, buy rentals, fu

#296: There’s a lot happening in the market. The Dow is at a new high, there are runaway stocks causing irrational exuberance, and yet, unemployment claims are on the rise. How can this be? To make sense of this, we discuss how improving judgment and using mental models can protect us against risks and short-term thinking. We review one question people rarely ask that might save them from making costly investment mistakes. We then wrap up with a discussion on the so-called death of cities, and what this means for real estate investors. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode296 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#295: How well do you know yourself and the reasons why you manage money in the way that you do? You might not know at all, or you might have some degree of understanding, but digging into your money story can shed insight on your behaviors with money today. Rachel Cruze, four-time bestselling author and daughter of Dave Ramsey, shares three frameworks that can help us better understand our money habits. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode295 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#294: Jeffrey is curious: if I were to interview Suze Orman today, would I agree more or less with her thoughts on the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement? Matt wants to know: if a property cash flows really well, is it worth paying significantly more than the appraised value to purchase that income stream? Sara and her husband are returning to the states after living abroad for a few years. They’re moving to an expensive area where three to four bedroom homes cost $800,000+. They have $150,000 saved for a downpayment, but a $600,000 mortgage isn’t what they had in mind. What should they do? Eva and her partner are squirreling away money before the birth of their baby. They’d like to pay off their $90,000 mortgage in three years, but they’re afraid to use the money in case of unexpected baby expenses. What’s their best move? Justin and his wife want to take a gap year with their children in three years. They plan to visit Spain and London for six months each. What are unexpected expenses that

#293: Geoff Woods, Vice President of The ONE Thing and host of The ONE Thing podcast, is an expert on ruthless prioritization, habit development, and goal setting. The simple framework he presents allows you to focus deeply and commit to the actions you need to take if you want to take your productivity to the next level this year. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode293 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices