Afford Anything

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Unusual Ideas about Self-Care … FIRE Edition

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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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“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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“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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“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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You Can’t Change History From the Middle of the Bell Curve

“If Elon Musk has asked people what they wanted, they would have said better gas mileage.

“But Elon never bothered asking. Because he knows he can’t change history from the middle of the bell curve. And he knows design by consensus, by definition, leads to average results.”

Last week I published a transcript of the speech I delivered at the World Domination Summit, in which I challenged people to be true to themselves despite the fact that others may not like it.

A few days later, WDS released the video of the speech. (I had no idea they were going to release it so soon! I thought it would take a couple months.)

It’s the most heartfelt talk I’ve ever given. It’s deeply personal, and it describes a philosophy I’ve been creating for years. I’d encourage you to watch it here:

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How to Live Louder than the Sound of ‘Should’

One month ago, I made a speech at the World Domination Summit in Portland about the importance of being yourself, even if this requires setting difficult boundaries or relinquishing your people-pleasing tendencies.

If you’re a creative entrepreneur, such as an artist, writer, musician, designer, craftsman, entrepreneur, or any other type of creator … this is advice you might not have heard before.

I argue that your best business move is to stop giving a sh*t about what other people think. Even your customers.

It’s a counterintuitive philosophy, one that runs contrary to the seemingly-benign “I want to help others” mindset that’s preached in the world of online entrepreneurship. I argue that your effect on others is outside of your control, so the best thing you can do is be yourself and let the chips fall where they may.

Bending over backwards to please others is inauthentic and, ultimately, ineffective. People will be served the most when they see a confident, strong person who is true to themself.

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How Much is Enough?

The idea behind financial independence is that your passive income — typically through investments — is enough.

But how much is enough? Enough for what?

The typical reaction that many people have to this question is to define “enough” based on their current standard of living.

For example: “Right now, my spouse and I […]

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How to Stop Talking Yourself Out of Your Dreams

I once asked my friend Monica: “What would you do for a living, if you could do anything in the world?”

I expected her to pause, but she knew the answer immediately.

“I’d open my own clothing boutique,” she said.

It was a fitting response (no pun intended). There’s a positive feedback loop between […]

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This was Every Landlord’s Nightmare …

The excellent, the normal, and the terrible. Two weeks ago, I saw them all.

I’d like to share the harrowing story. It’s a story of triumph, resilience, and late-night burritos. A story that immersed three days of my life — and is now over, chapter closed, with nothing else needed for at least another […]

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I’m 34 Years Old and Own 8 Homes. Here’s How I Did It.

Well hey, would you look at that!!

Money Magazine wrote a huge feature on my real estate investments. And they NAILED the headline. Damn.

I’m 34 Years Old and Own 8 Homes. Here’s How I Did It.

I’ve been writing about real estate investing since the beginning, and I never thought of a headline […]

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