Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money

#584: Think about how you spend an average day. Would the 10-year-old version of yourself be impressed? What about the 90-year-old version? These two powerful questions frame our conversation with Sahil Bloom, founder and managing partner of an early-stage venture fund with investments in over 60 startups and author of The Curiosity Chronicle, a newsletter that reaches more than a million readers...

#583: Contrary to recent discussions, Jesse has concluded that a traditional IRA is the smarter way to go for most people once marginal tax rates are factored in. Is he missing something?   An anonymous caller is four years away from early retirement but she’s unsure if her portfolio allocations are in the right place. How and when should she start converting equities to cash? Luz is confused abou...

#582: They had it all. Six thriving children. A 40-year marriage. A household income of $200,000. Then in her 60s, she discovered a shocking truth: he had gambled away their entire retirement savings in penny stocks.  She had no access to their financial accounts during the marriage. After divorcing, she was left with nearly nothing. Today, she relies on her adult kids for support. Harvard-trained...

#581: Today's question is different. There's something special about it — and you'll understand why in a moment. An 84-year-old listener left us a voicemail about his struggle to break free from mortgage debt. He and his 83-year-old wife need to move from their two-story townhouse because they can’t climb the stairs any longer. They found a single-story ranch house that fits their needs perfectly...

#580: "If you want to understand what's happening in the economy, look at bonds," begins today's episode, where we explore how the bond market acts as a crystal ball for economic trends. The bond market has been sending some clear signals lately. Interest rates remain elevated, with 10-year Treasury yields about 1 percent higher than their September 2024 low. After a challenging 2024 where bond re...

#579: Todd is in a real estate bind. He found out six days before closing on a new home that it wasn’t legally sellable. And renters are moving into his current home in two weeks. What should he do? Anonymous is excited about expanding her real estate portfolio. Should she sell her $2.5 million rental property in the Bay Area to do this, or can she keep it and leverage the equity instead? Former f...

#578: Fear blocks smart money moves. Ask Harvard Business Review advisor Dr. Margie Warrell, who guides Fortune 500 companies through strategic risk-taking. Her client roster includes NASA, Morgan Stanley, and Google. Her understanding of courage started at home. Her 13-year-old daughter landed an Australian TV role. She flew to LA for acting classes. There, she learned the hard truth: Success mea...

#577: Kelsey is excited about investing along the efficient frontier, but it feels impossible with the lack of fund options in her employer-sponsored 401k. What’s the best way to deal with this problem? Molly discovered that her rollover from a 401k to a traditional IRA hadn’t been invested in mutual funds and was still in a money market fund. Manually calculating her net worth helped her identify...

#576: The world's greatest investors have a secret: they're weird.  When one young fund manager met Bill Miller for the first time, he refused to shake hands. Instead, he locked eyes and declared: "I'm going to beat you, man." William Green joins us to share what he's learned from decades of conversations with investing legends — from the hyper-competitive to the deeply philosophical.  These conve...

#575: Apar’s income has more than doubled after he started his own business. His advisor recommends Roth contributions but he’s skeptical due to his high income. Who’s right? Keith is frustrated by the conflicting advice he’s heard about Roth conversions. Is it better to do it while he’s young and earning a lower income, or should he wait until closer to retirement? Krish is fascinated by cryptocu...

#574: What would you do if someone in authority told you to do something that felt wrong? Most of us like to think we'd speak up, push back, stand our ground. But research tells a very different story. In fact, when Yale researchers conducted a famous experiment in the 1960s, they found that 65% of people would administer what they believed to be deadly electric shocks to another human being... si...

#573: An anonymous caller has always put her large purchases on zero percent APR credit cards, but something’s been nagging at her. Is she walking on thin ice with this strategy? Von is confused why he keeps hearing that Roth accounts are better than traditional if they both lead to the same mathematical result. What’s he missing?  Molly and her husband are well on their way to financial independe...

#572: At age 7, Dr. Jordan Grumet lost his father. This early loss shaped his career path — he became a physician, following in his dad's footsteps. But by 2010, feeling burned out from internal medicine, he took an unexpected turn: he became a hospice doctor. In this episode, Dr. Grumet joins us to discuss what he's learned from thousands of conversations with people in their final days.  These d...

#571: An anonymous caller’s crypto investments have recently skyrocketed to 17 percent of her investment portfolio. Given the volatility of this asset, should she rebalance it or go all in?  Jocelyn wants to buy a house in three years but she’s reluctant to keep her sizable down payment in cash. What if she splits the difference and invests half the money instead? Allison feels antsy holding $1 mi...

Grab your free copy of the 52-week guide to micro-improvements at https://affordanything.com/financialgoals _______ In 2012, the British cycling team pulled off what seemed impossible. After 76 years of losses, they won the Tour de France, took second place, and grabbed 8 Olympic gold medals. Their secret? Tiny improvements that added up to massive change. That's the philosophy behind "One Tweak a...

#569: Let’s take a look back on the biggest financial and economic stories of 2024 - and a look ahead to 2025! The Fed GDP The Bull Market The Deficit Inflation Bitcoin Basel III Endgame and Scientific Breakthroughs References and Resources: Michael Kitces interview https://AffordAnything.com/episode525 One Tweak a Week: https://AffordAnything.com/financialgoals For more information, visit the sho...

Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She’s famous for her work in radioactivity. Lin-Manual Miranda is a songwriter, producer and director who won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2016, as well as several Tony awards. What do they have in common? They lived a century apart. They innovated in disparate fields. But they shared a similar productiv...

Do you ever wonder what happens behind closed doors on Wall Street? Vivian Tu, also known as Your Rich BFF, is here to spill the tea. Vivian grew up in a modest immigrant family. After college, she found herself working insane hours on Wall Street after college. While working on Wall Street, Vivian saw some weird things. Once, a coworker stumbled hungover into the office after a trip to Atlantic C...

If you’ve ever thought: “I’d love a business BUT …“I don’t have TIME.” “I don’t have MONEY.” “I don’t have IDEAS.” “I have TOO MANY ideas and I don’t know where to start.” “I’m not technical.” “I’m not creative or artistic.” “I’m not good at sales.” You’re not alone. Countless people don’t start businesses or side hustles for these reasons. And they’re losing thousands — perhaps millions — in oppo...

Great communication will get you a raise. It’ll get you promoted. You’ll land the corner office. You’ll make friends and be the life of the party. You’ll land business deals and form lucrative partnerships. Supercommunication is a superpower. But how do we build it? Sometimes, you might walk away from a conversation with the joy of having made a cool new friend. Or you snagged a critical piece of...

Ever made a flippant, seemingly minor decision that radically changed the course of your life? Morgan Housel has experienced this. At age 17, he made a quick decision that ended up saving his life. Sadly, two of his friends were less fortunate. He shares that story in today’s podcast episode, and sheds light on the lessons he’s learned from it. Housel says that his lifesaving choice — and many of...

#568: Jason is confused by the recent discussions about the efficient frontier and Paul Merriman’s four-sector strategy. It seems a lot like another form of stock-picking. What’s the difference? Michelle straddles the Roth income threshold and is frustrated that she never knows if she’ll qualify for a Roth contribution until tax season. Is her current savings plan too complicated? Evan has $100 to...

#567: What happens when an astronaut goes blind during a spacewalk? For Chris Hadfield, this wasn't a hypothetical scenario. While working outside the International Space Station, cleaning solution from his helmet visor spread into both eyes, leaving him completely blind in the vacuum of space. His response? Stay calm and methodically evaluate options. He could call Houston. He could have a crew m...

#566: Jackie is sold on Paul Merriman’s “Four Funds” approach, but she’s overwhelmed by the logistics of diversifying her single fund portfolio.. What are the best practices to redistribute her investments, handle taxes, and manage rebalancing? Heidi’s mother recently passed and she’s struggling to decide between distribution options, their tax implications, and investment options for the annuity...

#565: When Codie Sanchez worked in finance, she wasn't planning to buy a laundromat. But facing 60-70 hour workweeks and realizing she didn't want her boss's job, she started looking for an exit strategy. Instead of buying a fancy car during her "midlife crisis," she purchased that first laundromat - a decision that would lead her to acquire multiple laundromats, car washes, and other local busine...