Afford Anything

Author: Paula Pant

By Paula Pant

#221: Ask Paula – How Much of My Company Stock Should I Buy?

Vanessa is curious about Fidelity and Vanguard. She asks: what are your thoughts on the no-fee Fidelity index funds? What are your opinions on Vanguard’s financial advisors?

Andy wants to know: should my wife and I continue maxing out our traditional 401k and backdoor Roth IRA, or should we start contributing to the Roth 401k my employer offers?

Kyle is wondering – how can he minimize his taxes when he earns $450,000/year?

Rob is self-employed and has been maxing out a Roth IRA, but recently discovered that he can open a self-employed IRA. Should he move his Roth IRA money over, or just open a new account and fund it from scratch?

Christina is torn. She and her husband have been saving to buy a house, but because they live in New York, their savings won’t go very far. Is it a good idea for them to continue renting, despite their dreams?

Mercedes is wondering how REITs compare to stocks and owning actual real estate. Additionally, she’d like to know more about Forex trading.

Craig has an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). Since these tend to be risky, he’s wondering: is he better off moving the $25,000 that he puts towards the ESPP into mutual funds? Or is an ESPP a good way to diversify his funds?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these questions in today’s episode. Enjoy!

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By Paula Pant

#220: Stillness is the Key, with Ryan Holiday

In a hectic world, stillness is the key to a calm, enjoyable life.

That idea comes from Ryan Holiday, author of Stillness is The Key.

Stillness is finding flow, staying present, and being impervious to the pressures of the outside world. It doesn’t mean removing yourself from society and sitting in a forest; to the contrary, many CEOs and world leaders have practiced remarkable stillness during times of crisis.

Stillness exists within, regardless of the frenetic pace of the outside world, and irrespective of the pressures that you face at the moment.

In today’s episode, bestselling author Ryan Holiday discusses actionable tips on how to practice the art of stillness, as well as its applications to the pursuit of financial independence.

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By Paula Pant

#219: Ask Paula – How Should I Invest $4,000 Per Month for Early Retirement?

Stella is working toward FIRE and wants to know: how can she create passive income in her retirement years? Is a portfolio with stocks and bonds enough, or should she invest in real estate?

Travis and his wife are also on the FIRE path, and are comparing their investment options. Travis is concerned about the inefficiency of reinvesting returns in real estate. How can you factor this into your decision when buying a property?

Stephanie and her husband are also interested in FIRE (hooray!) and they have $20,000 to invest. How can they best use this money to help them FIRE sooner?

Cade, a 24-year-old listener, wants to FIRE by age 30 (we’re on a roll!). He’s saving $4,000/month and wants to know how to invest these savings.

Anonymous and their partner are taking a mini-retirement and have questions surrounding the logistics of healthcare. What options should they consider?

On a different note, Amanda works in academia. After listening to Episode 12, she’s looking for tips on managing long-term, complex collaborative projects now that she’s in a leadership position.

Steve’s question brings us to the topic of building an online business and social media following. Should he have one brand for all of his interests, or divide these interests into separate channels?

I tackle these questions in today’s episode of the show. Enjoy!

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By Paula Pant

#218: Why We’re Irrational with Money, with Kristen Berman

Kristen Berman is co-founder of Irrational Labs, a behavioral product design company, along with Dan Ariely.

She has a fascinating job that involves looking into why people behave the way they do with their money, and discovering the easiest solution to help them create more positive financial behavior.

In short, she’s a proponent of redesigning the current financial system to make saving automatic and easy, and that’s part of what we discuss in this episode.

If creating better financial habits has been a challenge for you, or if you have trouble framing spending as a positive thing, rather than a loss, then Kristen has awesome advice for you.

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Written By Paula Pant

The Importance of Using the Toilet Correctly (and Other Things I Learned Last Month)

When I was 18, I got a full scholarship for a one-month study abroad trip to Japan.

At the time, I didn’t have much interest in international travel. But free is free, so I spent a month in Japan during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college.

That trip changed everything.

That trip ignited the travel bug.

I came back so enthusiastic about exploring the globe that I’ve based every major decision in my adult life around the goal of traveling more.

Every major life choice, from my initial career in journalism, to my decision to quit my newspaper job to backpack around Southeast Asia, to my pivot to becoming a location independent, self-employed freelancer …

Every choice I’ve made has been based around whether or not this opportunity would allow me to travel. It’s the benchmark against which all my decisions are made. It set me on a meandering path that led to financial independence.

And it all started with that trip to Japan.

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By Paula Pant

#217: Financial Independence – My Philosophy and Origin Story, on The FI Show

Earlier this year, Cody and Justin from The FI Show interviewed me and asked some excellent questions about my journey to financial independence, entrepreneurship and passion, and minding the gap between your income and expenses.

We talk about the importance of side hustling and how to create a well-paying job from your skills.

We touch on real estate and why I chose this strategy to reach FI.

We also discuss the bone I have to pick with the financial independence movement.

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Written By Paula Pant

The eerie similarities between owning rental properties and running an online business

In June, I flew to Atlanta and toured a few of my rental units. This was the second visit I’ve made to these properties in four years.

During that visit, I met with my property manager and a few of my tenants, and I had lunch with my contractor. He and I met at a suburban Atlanta strip mall. 

We ordered a basket of spicy chicken wings and fries, then took out a water-logged spiral notebook and planned a $20,000 renovation.

Here’s what the early brainstormed edition of those plans looked like:

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By Paula Pant

#216: Unraveling the Four Percent Rule, with Dr. Wade Pfau

It’s September! If you’ve been listening to the show for the past few months, then you know that I’m on what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, in which I’m traveling the globe and taking a break from podcast production.

In light of that, we’re digging through the archives and airing some of my favorite interviews on the show, in between airing interviews I’ve done on other podcasts.

Welcome to another episode from our archives! This one was recorded in March 2018, and Dr. Wade Pfau had a ton of insight into the four percent rule that so many of us are concerned with.

First, here’s a brief history of how the four percent rule came to be.

In 1994, William Bengen decided to look at 30-year timespans throughout U.S. History, beginning with the year 1926.

He worked under the assumption that a retiree held 50 percent stocks (in the form of S&P 500 Index), and 50 percent bonds (intermediate-term government bonds).

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Written By Paula Pant

We Have Exciting Your First Rental Property News!

Heyyy!!

Guess what guess what guess what guess what? (Can you tell I’m excited?)

Ahem. Clears throat, pulls self together.

Enrollment for the Fall 2019 semester of my favorite course in the world, Your First Rental Property, is open now!!

✨😀🍩🥳📣🙌🤩🍻🔔💥

If you’ve dreamed of owning rental properties but you want a step-by-step roadmap to show you the ropes (whoa, how’s that for a mixed metaphor?!), this is the course for you!

If you’re thinking:

“Awesome! Could this course help me run faster, jump higher, reduce wrinkles, and build six-pack abs?!”

Uhhhh … nope. Not yet.

But if you’re thinking:

“Awesome! Could this course help me avoid losing tens of thousands of dollars in dumb novice mistakes as a real estate investor?”

HECK YEAH!

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By Paula Pant

#215: Financial Independence in Seven Stages, with Joshua Sheats

We are really digging into the archives with today’s episode. This originally aired back in 2016!

Besides being another fun and fascinating interview, this is one of our most popular episodes. Which isn’t surprising, given the topic we’re exploring. 🙂

Financial independence means many things to many different people, which might be why we find it challenging to settle on a definition that everyone can agree on.

Regardless of what your personal definition is, Joshua Sheats, a financial planner and host of the well-known Radical Personal Finance podcast, says that financial independence can be separated into seven stages.

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Afford Anything