Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money

#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 useful and beneficial. Take control of your smartphone, rather than letting it control you.   Digital minimalism is a philosophy of technology use. Thi...

#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 ultra-comprehensive guide to retirement planning. He joins us on the show today to discuss the nuances of investing and retirement planning. We talk about...

#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 professor who owns a duplex transfer his property into an LLC? Should a New Jersey condo owner sell her unit as For Sale by Owner? And should a woman who’s anx...

#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 her life first, and then forcing her career to follow. She’s hiked through jungles and watched eclipses and volunteered with the Peace Corps. She’s been o...

#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 employer-sponsored retirement plan put their savings into a taxable account, or should they save for a downpayment on a rental property? The market is fluctu...

#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 graduate from college - Close to 50 percent had a B average or less in school - 55 percent give to charities and churches on a regular, monthly basis...

#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 that I’ve gained a bit of a reputation as The World’s Most Staunch Advocate of the One Percent Rule? (Long title, I know, but someone’s gotta wear it.) A...

#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, in addition to reading the book. If you put these into action for the first six months of 2019, you'll be in a more stronger position in June than yo...

#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 your mind is free to focus on the few choices that make a massive 10x impact? How can you spend less time struggling with your Inbox, and more time o...

#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 is also a college senior with some student loans. She recently received a settlement from a car accident. Should she invest this money? If so, how? Fran...

#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 the Washington Post. Her nationally-syndicated personal finance column, The Color of Money, is published in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She'...

#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 married soon, sell her current home and use the proceeds to buy multiple rentals? Or should she use her current home as a rental property? Should Tray...

#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 didn’t want to go to work. This was a new and uncomfortable feeling. He decided to take a mini-retirement. He had taken long breaks before. In the past, Bob...

#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 mortgage or keep renting until I can buy a home in cash? Do you think index investing will dramatically change in the coming decades? Former financial plan...

#162: How will artificial intelligence, AI, impact jobs? Former Harvard president and leading economist Larry Summers predicts that one-third of men will be out of work by 2050. Finance guru Suze Orman says not to be surprised if we see 25 percent unemployment by 2030. And major research institutions predict anywhere from 14 percent to 50 percent unemployment. But could this really be possible? Or...

#161: Matt is interested in achieving financial independence, and he wants to encourage his friends to pursue the same goal. What podcast episodes provide a light, digestible introduction to the world of financial independence and retiring early? Daniel wonders why everyone pursuing financial independence seems to have a blog or podcast about this topic. Is the purpose of FIRE to sit around writin...

#160: When Jonathan Mendonsa was 18, he researched which college degrees lead to the highest income. Pharmacy was near the top of the list of high-paying degrees, so Jonathan decided to become a pharmacist. He wasn't motivated by passion or calling. His decision was purely tactical. He wanted to make money. He spent four years in college, followed by another four years of graduate school. By age 2...

#159: Should a 36-year-old father of three invest primarily in Traditional or Roth retirement accounts? Should Rose, a grandmother of four, open a Vanguard account for each of her grandchildren? Should Nancy, who lives overseas and is the sole breadwinner in her family, invest in a Traditional or Roth TSP? Should Scott’s wife rollover her 403(b) from her former employer into an IRA? Should Patrick...

#158: Clark Howard loves the FIRE movement. That's because he's one of us. Clark began investing in real estate at age 22, started a travel agency at age 25, and retired at age 31. He sold his travel agency, moved to the beach and relaxed for four years; then he started a second career as the host of The Clark Howard Show, a popular radio show that's syndicated nationwide. Today, he's a personal f...

#157: We're back with another Ask Paula - Real Estate Edition of the show! In this episode, we cover down payments, cash flow, investing in condo hotels, building a rental on the side of your own house, selling your properties, and whether it's better to buy actual properties or REITs. Erin asks: Would you ever put 30% down (or more) in order to make a rental property cash flow positive? Avy asks:...

#156: James Clear wanted to start flossing, but he never managed to follow through. Despite his best intentions, his dental floss sat unused in a bathroom drawer. Fortunately, James had learned a thing or two about human behavior and habit formation. As a self-improvement writer, he'd spent hours pouring over scientific data about behavior changes. He decided to apply a few of these concepts to hi...

#155: How can a schoolteacher dad and stay-at-home mom send their four kids to college? Where should a 23-year-old keep the savings that she’s accumulating to buy a home by the time she’s 27 or 28? What should we know about retirement planning if we have a pension? And should I rollover my 401k from my old employer? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in this w...

#154: Want to retire early? You'll need at least $5 million, more likely $10 million, says famous financial personality Suze Orman. I should know. She said that to me, directly, on my podcast. I asked Suze for her opinion about a frugal, flexible person who wants to retire early with a $2 million portfolio. She warned that retiring would be a massive mistake. "Two million dollars is nothing," Suze...

#153: A few weeks ago, Suze Orman's team reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in chatting with Suze on my podcast. "Um, duh," I replied. Sure Orman is one of the most famous voices in the world of personal finance. From 2002 to 2015, she hosted The Suze Orman Show on CNBC. She's the author of 10 mega-bestselling books, she wrote a financial column for O, The Oprah Magazine, and she's m...

#152: Dr. Brian Portnoy is an expert in making decisions. He holds a Ph. D. from the University of Chicago, he's a Chartered Financial Analyst, and he's the Director of Investment Education at Virtus Investment Partners. Dr. Portnoy joins me on the podcast to discuss how to make smarter decisions -- not only about investments, but also generally in life. How do we sharpen our decision-making skill...