Author: Erin @ Team Afford Anything

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    #263: How to Build Financial Resilience in 2020, with Dr. Brad Klontz, financial psychologist

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/paulaandjaymoney/AA263.mp3" title="How to Build Financial Resilience in 2020, with Dr. Brad Klontz, financial psychologist" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Brad Klontz - Afford Anything PodcastDo you feel like you’ve spent the last few months on an emotional rollercoaster? Especially with your finances?

    Many of us have experienced one — if not all — of the following situations since March:

    • Volatility in the stock market rattling our retirement portfolios
    • Inconsistent and sometimes delayed unemployment benefits
    • Uncertainty around employment, including reduced hours, reduced pay, furloughs, and safety issues
    • Fears about our own health and safety
    • Fears about the health and safety of loved ones

    It’s been a tough year, and we’re only halfway through it.

    Today’s guest has insights and actions to help you build financial resilience in 2020. Not only will you emerge from the events of this year stronger, you’ll also face future personal challenges and economic downturns with more confidence and knowledge.

  • PSA Thursday – Your Complete Guide to Donor Advised Funds

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/paulaandjaymoney/AA260b_PSA_Thursday_Travis_Hornsby.mp3" title="PSA Thursday - Your Complete Guide to Donor Advised Funds" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    In this episode, we cover what donor-advised funds are, how they work, how to open one, and the benefits of including a donor-advised fund in your financial plan or giving strategy.

  • PSA Thursday – How Does the CARES Act Impact Student Loans?

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/paulaandjaymoney/PSA_Thursday_Travis_Hornsby.mp3" title="PSA Thursday - How Does the CARES Act Impact Student Loans?" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    In this episode, we cover how to manage student loans in the midst of the pandemic with Travis Hornsby, a Chartered Financial Analyst and the founder and CEO of Student Loan Planner. He is an expert in the complex topic of student loans. If there’s anyone who can deep dive 

    We cover: 

    • The CARES Act, and its impact on student loans
    • Options for those with private student loans
    • Why you might want to stop paying extra towards your student loans
    • The changes in government policy around student loans as a result of the pandemic that you need to know
    • The best strategy for managing your student loans in 2020
    • How to view financial independence when you have an overwhelming amount of student loans
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    #259: How to Lead with a Vision, with Michael Hyatt

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA259.mp3" title="How to Lead with a Vision, with Michael Hyatt" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Vision. 

    We’re bombarded by articles and books and social media posts that tell us that a “vision” for life and work is essential.

    But what is a vision? 

    Is it a fluffy, pie-in-the-sky, feel-good statement that elicits warm-and-fuzzy feelings?

    Is it the result of a week-long retreat spent in deep reflection? 

    Is it a board full of a zillion post-it notes with color-coordinated topics?

    Not according to our guest, Michael Hyatt, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author on the topics of leadership and business. 

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    PSA Thursday: How Is The Pandemic Affecting the Housing Market?

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA255b_PSA_Thursday_May_7.mp3" title="PSA Thursday: How The Pandemic is Affecting the Housing Market?" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    Before the pandemic, the U.S. housing market was strong. Home prices were at historic highs. Borrowers were more qualified than ever, with two-thirds of mortgage originations going to borrowers with excellent credit. As of January 2020, delinquencies (borrowers more than 30 days late on a payment) reached a 20-year low.

    How has the pandemic affected the market? Are we due for another spate of foreclosures? What’s going to happen to housing supply? What about demand? Are buyers still buying? Are sellers still selling? And if you’re thinking about buying a home — either as an owner-occupant or as a rental property investor — what do you need to know about the new pandemic landscape?

    We dig into depth in this short, researched-packed PSA Thursday episode.

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    #255: How Your Personality Affects Your Finances, with Dr. Sarah Stanley Fallaw

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA255.mp3" title="How Your Personality Affects Your Finances, with Dr. Sarah Stanley Fallaw" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    When a crisis hits, do you stay calm and collected, or do you launch yourself down a rabbit hole of worry and worst-case scenarios? 

    When the stock market spirals downward, do you shrug and stay the course, or do warning bells explode in your brain? 

    When news of the pandemic hit, was your first instinct to form a calm and reasoned action plan, or rush to the store to buy months of supplies?

    Your personality influences your reactions to these scenarios. 

    Personality traits influence our thoughts, feelings and responses, which affects how we manage our money and investments. 

    What personality traits are we talking about?

    The Big 5 Personality Traits are conscientiousness, agreeableness, introversion/extraversion, openness, and emotional stability. 

    Once we understand how the Big Five personality traits influence us, we can make better-informed, less harmful financial decisions.

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    PSA Thursday: How Bad Is the Stock Market Crash?

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA253b_PSA_Thursday_April_30.mp3" title="PSA Thursday: How Bad Is the Stock Market Crash?" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a somewhat-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    The majority of us have experienced a rapid change that’s affected every aspect of our lives, from work to our wallets to our health. We’re living in a world that was completely unimaginable two months ago. And we’re trying to handle increased responsibility in a time of high anxiety and high uncertainty.

    These weekly PSA episodes are one of many ways in which we hope to help our community make sense of how to manage our limited resources – our money, our time, our energy – in the context of these rapidly changing circumstances. 

    Today, our focus is on money – specifically, the stock market. 

    Why did it crash in March? What effect did that have on us as a society? Why has it rebounded in the middle of a shutdown, and what does that mean? Are valuations too high relative to earnings? 

    How can we handle our investments and retirement savings at a time when the movements of the market seem irrational and unpredictable?

    We explore these questions in today’s episode.

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    #253: The Thinker’s Guide to Market Volatility, with Dr. Steve Wendel and Sam Lamas

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA253.mp3" title="The Thinker's Guide to Market Volatility, with Dr. Steve Wendel and Sam Lamas" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    It’s the spring of 2020, and the market is incredibly volatile.

    It soars up one day and plummets down the next.

    No one knows what to expect from the market or the economy.

    No one knows what to expect, period.

    What can we do in the midst of such turbulence? What should we do?

    What our minds want to do and what we should do are at war with each other. 

    For example, your mind might want you to panic sell after a sharp market downturn.

    “Take me off this roller coaster!” it screams. 

    But in reality, turning paper losses into real losses is a mistake. Investors often lose more when they panic and sell than they would have if they stayed the course. 

    Unfortunately, your mind is nowhere near that conclusion. It’s too busy having an emotional reaction to the news. 

    How can you protect yourself from reacting to panic? Is it possible to let some semblance of logic shine through?

    Today’s guests say yes. It’s possible to save yourself from yourself, as long as you learn to recognize the cognitive tricks your mind plays on you. 

  • What’s Inside Your First Rental Property? | FAQs

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything

    Do you want a real estate course that will take you from knowing nothing about buy-and-hold real estate investing to buying and renting your first property? Then this is the course for you. Our real estate course, Your First Rental Property, opens for enrollment on Monday, November 30th, 2020. Enrollment only opens twice a year:…

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    PSA Thursday: 31 Tips to Stay Productive As You Work From Home

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA_251b_PSA_Thursday_April_16.mp3" title="PSA Thursday: 31 Tips to Stay Productive As You Work From Home" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    Today’s focus is work. Specifically, working from home, and how to stay focused and productive throughout your day.

    Getting thrown into working from home when all you’ve known is the office life can be hard. Especially when there are added distractions involved that you don’t have to deal with at the office, like your kids, a pile of dishes, or your gloriously-stocked refrigerator.

    How can you manage the expectations of both your colleagues and the people you live with? How can you find a routine when you feel like you’re being pulled in a million different directions? How can you ensure your kids are taken care of and your boss/manager/client is happy?

    Listen to the episode to discover the 31 tips we recommend for staying productive as you work from home.