Afford Anything

Author: Paula Pant

Written By Paula Pant

Why the FIRE movement is misunderstood

The FIRE movement is misunderstood. The drama of the last two weeks proves it. The question is, how can we fix this?

Ohhh we have a new supporter!!

Last week, Suze Orman called FIRE “dumb and stupid.”

“When I was 30 I was dumb and stupid as well, okay?,” she said in an interview with Yahoo! Finance, adding that she’s “pissed off” at people pursuing early retirement.

But since then, she’s taken more time to learn about the movement — and she’s in support.

In a Facebook post titled “What I Hate — and Love — about FIRE,” Suze writes…

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By Paula Pant

#156: How to Build Incredible Habits – with James Clear

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 […]

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By Paula Pant

#155: Ask Paula & Joe – How Can I Send My Four Children to College?

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 a listener know about retirement planning if he has a pension? And should a listener rollover his 401k […]

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Written By Paula Pant

“Two Million Dollars is Nothing. It’s Pennies,” says Suze Orman

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 said. “It’s nothing. It’s pennies in today’s world, to tell you the truth.”

Wait, what?

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By Paula Pant

#154: You’ll Need at Least $10 Million to Retire Early, says Suze Orman

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 this podcast.

I asked Suze for her opinion about a frugal, flexible person who wants to retire early with a $2 million portfolio. She warned […]

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Written By Paula Pant

“Why I Hate the FIRE Movement,” says Suze Orman

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Suze Orman’s publicist, asking if I’d be interested in interviewing Suze on my podcast.

“Duh,” I replied.

Suze is a legend in the world of personal finance. She’s appeared on Oprah multiple times, published 10 mega-bestselling books, and hosted The Suze Orman Show on CNBC from 2002 to 2015. She’s one of the most famous voices in this space.

I read her most recent book, Women & Money, and sketched out a framework for the interview. Then I threw it away, feeling dissatisfied with my questions, and I turned to the Afford Anything community on Facebook and Twitter.

“I’m interviewing Suze Orman,” I wrote. “What would you like me to ask her?”

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By Paula Pant

#153: Why I Hate the FIRE Movement, says Suze Orman

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.

“Duh,” I replied.

Suze 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 […]

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By Paula Pant

#152: How to Make Better Decisions — with Dr. Brian Portnoy

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 […]

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Written By Paula Pant

“What I’ve Learned from Building an Eight-Figure Business” — an interview with Rand Fishkin

I’ve been following Rand Fishkin’s career for years. He has one of the best rags-to-not-quite-riches-yet stories I’ve heard.

Rand is a college dropout who spent his early 20s spiraling into a deep debt hole. His problems began when he tried to grow a marketing company but funded it in the worst way possible. He leased office space, rented booths at conferences, hired expensive contractors — and paid for everything with a personal credit card. Yikes.

His credit card debt ballooned to $150,000. He couldn’t make the minimum payments, so he defaulted. The late fees and penalty interest rates caused his debt to swell to more than $500,000.

Anyone else might have declared bankruptcy, but Rand stayed the course. He doubled down at work. He decided to specialize in a marketing niche, search engine optimization, which set him apart from the pack.

He brought new clients into his business. He developed internal tools to use for his clients, then started selling subscription-based access to this software.

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