Afford Anything

Author: Paula Pant

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#504: The Points Guy: Growing a Side Hustle into a 140-Person Business

Brian Kelly faced a harsh reality during the Great Recession – $65,000 in income and crushing credit card debt.

He started a simple side hustle, a website called The Points Guy, as an attempt to earn a few hundred dollars a month.

Fast forward to today: The Points Guy boasts 11 million monthly visitors and a thriving team of 140 employees.

In this episode, Brian pulls back the curtain on his incredible journey, transforming a fledgling side hustle into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

He also shares his signature expertise – the art of redeeming airline miles and points – empowering you to travel smarter. 

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The Bull Market: Are We Due for a Reality Check?

Hi friends,

Let’s talk about the bull market.

We’ve gotten used to a rising market. Since 2009, the bull run stumbled briefly in March 2020 before powering back up. The past 15 years have been mostly a one-way street for stocks.

Are we getting a little too used to the good times? Is there a […]

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#501: Live From Brooklyn: Travel More, Work Less

Feeling stuck in a job you hate, dreaming of exotic adventures? This episode is your escape hatch.

Brad Barrett, host of the ChooseFI Podcast, takes the interviewer role in this special episode, recorded LIVE at a comedy club in Brooklyn.

Brad interviews me (!!) about how I quit my reporter gig and traveled the world for over 2 YEARS! This episode spills the tea on my transformation from newspaper reporter to world wanderer, and talks about how this podcast (now over 500 episodes!) got started. Feeling inspired? This episode is your travel hack manual for designing your dream life on a budget.

Enjoy!

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#502: Fed Keeps Interest Rates High; Jobs Grow for 40th Consecutive Month

The Fed met earlier this week and elected to keep interest rates at a 23-year high, in an effort to wrestle inflation closer to its two percent target.

Despite this, the April jobs report, which was released today, shows that jobs grew for the 40th consecutive month, and unemployment remains under 4 percent, an historic low, for the 27th straight month.

The 12-month inflation rate is 3.5 percent, based on March CPI data.

Stocks remain on a tear, but performance is lopsided, with 10 companies driving 85 percent of this years’ gains.

We cover this and more in our First Friday economic update episode.

Enjoy!

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#500: LIVE FROM BROOKLYN: Episode 500 with ChooseFI’s Brad Barrett

Let’s talk about the bull market.

We’ve gotten used to a rising market. Since 2009, the bull run stumbled briefly in March 2020 before powering back up. The past 15 years have been mostly a one-way street for stocks.

Are we getting a little too used to the good times? Is there a chance we’re fooling ourselves, thinking this can last forever?

And the big question: should we be worried about a correction coming around the corner?

It’s natural to feel nervous after such a long bull run. Markets are cyclical, but that doesn’t mean we need to panic.

In Episode 500 of the Afford Anything Podcast, I chat with Brad Barrett, the host of the ChooseFI podcast, about how to handle a “fear of heights” around how much the markets have climbed.

Brad and I recorded LIVE in Brooklyn, at a comedy club in front of a sold-out audience.
(Thanks to Brad for coming to NYC from Richmond, VA just for this taping!)

Here are two versions of Episode 500:

–> For a deep dive into the *math,* listen to the audio version.
The audio version includes a bonus track in which I crunch the numbers on historic stock market returns, answering the question: What would happen if you invested a $100,000 lump sum at the worst possible time?

–> For the joy of seeing the live comedy club taping, watch the video!

It was a wonderful night, in the close company of the Afford Anything x ChooseFI communities. Watch the taping to see it unfold.

Brad and I discuss how to invest in today’s climbing market, and how our thoughts about financial independence has evolved over the past decade.

Thanks to everyone in this community for supporting us through 500 episodes and counting. Enjoy the show!

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#499: Q&A: We Save $5,000 Per Month. Where Should We Invest It?

Eugene and his wife are retiring with a $10 million net worth and a guaranteed income that exceeds their annual budget. Do they still need things like life insurance and a financial advisor?

An anonymous caller’s HOA costs have doubled since she bought her condo. She’s wondering if it’s still a good investment. Should she keep it or sell it?

Nandini and her husband save tons every month toward no goal in particular. What should they do with all their extra cash?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#498: Harvard Business Professor Explains Investing in NFT’s

Financial literacy includes understanding NFT’s, DeFi, and cryptocurrency. But it’s hard to separate education from hype.

Harvard Business School’s Scott Duke Kominers, a professor in Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Management Unit, and a Faculty Affiliate of the Harvard Department of Economics and the Harvard Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, joins us alongside Web3 expert Steve Kacizinsky to explain the financial, technological and social significance of NFT’s.

NFT’s, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are a rapidly growing digital asset. Comprehensive financial literacy requires understanding NFT’s. While NFT’s are emerging opportunity for investment diversification, they are also highly speculative and volatile.

NFT’s also represent how digital ownership is evolving, and have implications for the economic futures of a myriad of industries. These assets stand at the intersection of art, technology and commerce.

This episode provides a deeper understanding of NFT’s, taught by a Harvard Business School professor and a Web3 expert.

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#497: Tribute to Dr. Daniel Kahneman, Who Won a Nobel in Economics Even Though He Never Took an Econ Class

Princeton Professor Daniel Kahneman never took an economics class. But he won the 2002 Nobel Prize in economics, thanks to his advancements in understanding the psychology of money.

In today’s episode, we pay homage to the late Dr. Kahneman, who passed away on March 27 at age 90.

We also discuss the jobs report, inflation data, the booming stock market, the next Bitcoin halving, Capital One’s acquisition of Discover, and the National Association of Realtors settlement.

Enjoy!

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