Paula Pant

Does Your Lack of Savings Halt Your Dreams?

March 20, 2015 By Paula Pant 34 Comments

Several weeks ago, I invited new email subscribers to share their answers to two deeply personal questions:

What’s your wildest dream, and what’s preventing you from getting there?

The answers poured in to a degree I couldn’t believe. My Inbox flooded with hopes and sorrows. Some people shared brief-but-honest answers; others wrote memoirs. People from all walks of life and all corners of the globe responded. While each person’s dreams and obstacles are unique, a few common threads emerged.
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10 Lessons I’ve Learned as an Airbnb Host

March 10, 2015 By Paula Pant 213 Comments

This is Chapter 4 of The Airbnb Series — the juicy details of life as an Airbnb host. Before you read this, check out Chapters 1, 2 and 3 — or download the free guide, below, to get all four chapters in one convenient .pdf.
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Almost one year ago, I took the crazy leap into becoming an Airbnb and VRBO host.

Since then, I’ve earned $28,268.35. I’ve met some fascinating people from around this world. And yes, I had one police visit.

In this 4-part Airbnb Series, I’ve pulled back the curtain. I’m revealing the good, the bad and the ugly.
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Investing, Reduced to Its Core

February 25, 2015 By Paula Pant 38 Comments

Myth: Wealth comes from living below your means.

Fact: Frugality is the first step, not the last.

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I’d like to tell you about one of the most interesting couples I know.

They were apartment-dwellers when we met, and I don’t mean the New York City variety. Their dark, musty apartment festered in an area where land is plentiful and square footage is cheap, where apartments are synonymous with squalor.

I’m not sure when their tables turned, or how long they toiled behind-the-scenes building their family empire; I can’t pinpoint the year their net worth climbed into seven digits.

Their newfound wealth isn’t flashy. They drive modest cars and wear nameless brands, though they’ve upgraded into a nicer home.
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How Sarah Quit Her Job, Launched an Online Business, and Now Travels As Much As She Wants

February 18, 2015 By Paula Pant 22 Comments

Five years ago, a Canadian woman named Sarah embarked on a series of life-changing steps.

She moved 215 miles away from her hometown. She returned to college (after initially failing a few courses) to finish her degree. After graduation, she landed a cushy job with a pension and plenty of benefits. She got engaged. They bought a house.

To pay for her wedding and honeymoon, Sarah started experimenting with ways to make money online. She tried blogging, freelance writing, even running an Etsy store.

She began earning a trickle of side money. Then more money. And then more. She started noticing that her “hourly rate,” so to speak, from her side hustles was outpacing her pay rate at her conventional 9-to-5 job.
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Mini-Retirements, Semi-Retirement, Early Retirement — What’s the Most Awesome Lifestyle?

February 12, 2015 By Paula Pant 46 Comments

This recent reader email struck a chord:

I’m a software engineer trying to plan my plunge [into freedom]. I’m young, so I figured I would grind it out, save a lot, and retire early.

But after a health scare, I realize mini-retirements might trump early retirements, and I want to achieve a lifestyle similar to yours.

It’s difficult to figure out what I should be prioritizing, however. Side hustles, remote work, rentals, starting a business?

Oohhh!! I love this email.

On the surface, it’s a tactical “how-to” inquiry: Should I launch a business? Buy a rental property?

But under the surface, this reader hints at a deeper question: What’s the optimal lifestyle?

Mini-retirements? Early retirement? Something else?
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Think You Can’t Pay Off $147,106 in Debt? Guess Again.

January 25, 2015 By Paula Pant 53 Comments

There are Conformists, and there are Rebels.

The Conformist Majority says: “I have a 30-year mortgage, a 20-year second mortgage, a 10-year student loan and a 5-year car loan.”

“I’ll pay the minimum, and hold those debts for 30, 20, 10, and 5 years. After all, why deprive myself while I’m young?”

Worse, they’ll ask:

“How can I stretch these loans out even longer? A lower monthly payment means I can get granite countertops. Score!”

They tell themselves this is normal. And the scary truth is, that’s true. It IS normal.

But it ain’t right.
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Gear Up for the One Percent Challenge!

January 14, 2015 By Paula Pant 15 Comments

“I’m scrounging dollars to fill my gas tank. I don’t make enough money to save. At the end of the month, there’s nothing left.”

If this feels like you, gear up for a radical shift that will change your life.

Last month I announced the One Percent Challenge, a quest for Afford Anything Rebels that can turbocharge your financial life.

The concept is simple: save one percent more than usual. Regardless of how much you’re currently stashing, boost this number by one extra percent.
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The Next Financial Challenge: 20 Contenders in a Fight to the Top

January 9, 2015 By Paula Pant 14 Comments

Last year I blindfolded myself, threw darts at a list of stocks, and bought the first 10 that I hit.

I let them ride for a year and showed you the results.

This year I’m embarking on a ploy that’s a tad less crazy, but far more heated:

I’m competing against 19 financial writers in a tournament to see who can rock the hottest investment gains.
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Why You Shouldn’t Let a Monkey Pick Your Stocks

January 6, 2015 By Paula Pant 27 Comments

“A blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspaper’s financial pages could beat most experts.”

Princeton professor Burton Malkiel uttered that slam against Wall Street stock traders back in 1973.

He claimed that despite their fancy-pants degrees, professional traders can’t predict the future any better than … well … a blindfolded monkey. His book around that topic became a mega-bestseller and investing classic.

I love wagering real-life money on ridiculous experiments. One year ago, I put his statement to the test.

Well, kinda.

I had trouble finding a monkey. And I can’t train my cats to throw darts. (Grrow!)

So I blindfolded myself, flung darts at a list of stocks, and bought the first 10 that I hit.
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Take the One Percent Challenge

December 17, 2014 By Paula Pant 61 Comments

Pop quiz: You’re buying airline tickets to visit grandma for the holidays. She lives on the other side of the nation, too far away to drive.

You’ve budgeted $400 for holiday travel, but you can’t find airfare for less than $575.

What do you do?

a) Tell grandma she’ll have to spend Christmas alone.

b) Spend it. You’ll claw the money from somewhere else — maybe you’ll cut back on restaurants or skip your spring vacation.
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