Afford Anything

Author: Paula Pant

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#429: How BIG Things Get Done, with Dr. Bent Flyvberg

Have you ever thought about remodeling a kitchen? Retrofitting a camper van for #vanlife? Converting your basement into an Airbnb? Building a custom website? Recording an album?

Did you worry that this project will cost more and take longer than you expected?

This episode is all about how to complete projects on-time and under budget.

Today’s guest, Dr. Bent Flyvberg, is an Oxford University professor with a Ph.D. in urban geography. He’s published more than 200 scholarly articles on megaproject planning and management, decision-making, and social science methodology. He’s written or edited 10 books, including recently co-authoring “How Big Things Get Done.”

He shares examples ranging from the Sydney Opera House to Pixar movies to the California High Speed Rail, illustrating why some projects flourished while others flopped.

He joins us on today’s episode and talks to us about why some projects succeed while others turn into colossal disasters. He offers tips for how we can apply lessons from megaprojects to our own lives.

Enjoy!

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#428: Ask Paula: Do I Really Need a Financial Advisor?

Jamie currently lives at home and dreams of reaching financial freedom by her early 30s. How can she take advantage of her low expenses to accelerate her wealth building?

An anonymous caller has enough to retire in 5 years. Does she still need her financial advisor or is it time to do it on her own?

Meghan is a personal finance enthusiast who wants to start a coaching side hustle. What’s the best way to get started? 

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

Enjoy!

P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.

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#427: Start a Micro-Business & Build Multiple Income Streams, with Nick Loper

Okay, maybe the phrase “side hustle” is overused. But it’s also misunderstood.

“Side hustle” is a catch-all term that people use to describe everything from low-paid gig economy labor – Doordash, Uber Eats, Rover – to six-figure consulting for Fortune 500 companies.

On the remote-work side, it includes everything from freelance graphic design (services) to selling bundles of presentation deck templates (digital products).

On the physical goods side, it includes everything from wholesaling (real estate) to flipping antique grandfather clocks (personal goods).

On the e-commerce side, your side hustle might mean starting your own manufacturing, white-labeling and shipping services, in which you distribute toothpaste or trash can lids or desiccant packs.

How do we make sense of such an umbrella concept?

In this interview with Nick Loper, we learn how to wrap our minds around the huge world of hustles. We talk about how to understand the options available, choose a path, and start with minimal capital.

This interview originally aired as Episode 85.

Enjoy!

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#426: Key Takeaways: Best Lessons from the Last Year, with Paula Pant

Behavioral researcher, Vanessa Van Edwards, talks to us about the critical importance of charisma – and how to use the perfect blend of warmth and competence to be charismatic.

Dr. Michael Slepian walks us through what secrets mean, what they cost, and how we think about them.

We dive into the world of long distance real estate investing, and talk about two of the major components of investing – Cash and mindsets – to help you determine if long distance real estate investing is right for you.

International best selling author, Julie Winkle Giulioni, reviews eight dimensions of career development and how to navigate them.

Chris Hutchins, entrepreneur and life hacker extraordinaire, spills his best secrets on optimizing spend to travel more cheaply.

Kiersten and Julien Sanders join us to discuss money topics for couples, and their framework for being financially independent in 15 years.

Stanford professor Jeremy Utley breaks down the art of creativity and producing new ideas – and shares actionable tips on how we can be more creative and have better ideas.

Dr. Daniel Crosby discusses how we are not wired to be good investors, and how to overcome our evolutionary wiring.

Enjoy this compilation of our favorite episodes to air in the second half of 2022.

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#425: Ask Paula: My Dad Died, and My Mom Is CLUELESS About Finances

Ellen’s dad died unexpectedly. Her mom is clueless about finances. How does she help a 70-year-old unravel financial complexities?

Mike has an opportunity to buy into his friend’s growing business. What should be his legal, financial, and relationship considerations?

Pepp wants to know what’ll happen to her Restricted Stock Units when her company goes private.

An anonymous caller needs to build her nest egg. She’ll be a full-time student with no income. She has 20 years until retirement. Should she execute a Roth conversion?

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

Enjoy!

P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.

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#424: The Power of Knowing When To Walk Away, with Annie Duke

We’re taught to stay in the game.

Persist. Be gritty. Try, try again.

But sometimes, the best decision is to walk away. Move on.

How do you know when that’s right? When should you double-down … and when should you fold?

Today’s guest, Annie Duke, won more than $4 million as a professional poker champion. She wrote the bestselling book Thinking in Bets and co-founded a nonprofit that teaches kids decision-making skills.

Her most recent book, “Quit: The Power of Knowing When To Walk Away,” teaches the behavioral science, mental models and recognition of cognitive biases needed to successfully quit.

It highlights real-world examples of startup founders, athletes, mountaineers, and entertainers who either quit – or didn’t – and explains how to make a wise, grounded choice.

She joins us on today’s episode to describe the forces that hold us back from quitting – and how to recognize when quitting could lead to a better life.

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#423: Ask Paula: Can I Make Money with My Passion?

We’ve heard the warnings about following your passion.

People ask if you can *actually* make money doing what you love. They frame the question “passion or profit?” as though these are in opposition.

The majority – who have never tried – decry, “what if you fail?”

Nobody asks the more important question: what if you succeed?

Are you still going to love your passion when you rely on it to pay the bills?

We grapple with that question in today’s episode, which is devoted to side hustles and starting a business. We use questions from two of our listeners as a jumping-off point to discuss the realities of going into business for yourself, doing what you love.

We share examples from our own lives as professional podcasters, as well as from the lives of friends who are full-time photographers, musicians, writers and other creative entrepreneurs.

Enjoy!

P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.

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#422: Ask Paula: We’re Saving 72 Percent Of Our Income…and It SUCKS

Emily is saving aggressively for financial independence, but it’s hard to enjoy the present. Is it time to increase spending?

Monroe wants to stop working. Forever. Which is more important: debt payoff or investing?

Another anonymous caller and his spouse dream of building a homestead on an expensive piece of land. How much is too much to spend on housing?

Given the high costs of moving, Sarah wonders if buying a starter home is the best decision. Should she and her fiance jump straight to buying their forever home?

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

Enjoy!

P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.

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#421: How to Schedule Your Day for Peak Enjoyment, with Laura Vanderkam

Life is busy.

We spend too much time on chores, errands, commuting, emails and other draining tasks. We lack time for joy and hobbies.

Or do we?

Today’s guest, Laura Vanderkam talks to us about how to make the most of our time and carve out more space for gratifying experiences.

Laura Vanderkam is a time management and productivity expert. Her latest work, “Tranquility By Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters” shares actionable steps to help you fill your schedule with more of what you love.

Enjoy!

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#420: What We Learned in 2022, with Paula Pant

Dr. Ellen Vora, M.D., shared insight into the roots of procrastination, offering evidence-based tips for how to overcome our own inner demons of anxiety, fear and laziness.

Psychology professor Bill von Hippel described why too much happiness is just as detrimental to our long-term health and wellbeing as too little happiness.

Wall St. Journal columnist Spencer Jakab observed the perfect storm of conditions that gave rise to meme stonks and other oddities of our era.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy argued for “strategic under-diversification” and explained the Sharpe Ratio.

Data scientist Nick Maggiulli explains the save-invest continuum.

And financial planner Bill Bengen, the creator of the 4 percent retirement withdrawal rule, talks about what most people misunderstand about the safe withdrawal rate.

These are just some of the highlights from the Afford Anything podcast in this 2022 year-in-review episode.

Enjoy!

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Afford Anything