Blog - Afford Anything

8 Money Myths That Might Be Holding You Back

February 19, 2018 By Paula Pant 53 Comments

I live in a two-bedroom condo. It’s furnished with a used couch and used coffee table.

My shoe rack is made from old cardboard boxes glued together.

Almost everything else in my home is from Craigslist, Amazon and Overstock. I consider IKEA to be a splurge.

My favorite hobbies are hiking and camping (free and cheap).

My friend Amanda cuts my hair. (In fairness, she’s a hairstylist.)

I can’t remember the last time I got a manicure or pedicure.

When I travel overseas, I fly with airline miles and visit countries where the exchange rate works in my favor.

The cheapest car I’ve ever purchased cost $400. I drove it for a year and a half, then sold it for $200.

The newest car I’ve ever purchased was 4 years old.

I bought my laptop and phone used (refurbished).

I lived with roommates until I was 31.

And I never need to work a job I dislike again.

This is what financial independence looks like.
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If Money is Not the Motivation, What Is? — an Interview with the Mad Fientist

November 16, 2017 By Paula Pant 25 Comments

Brandon always wanted to be wealthy. He just didn’t know why.

“I don’t like fancy cars, and big houses just seem inefficient,” he said. “I just wanted to have money to manage.”

But in 2011, Brandon discovered the concept of financial independence.

“That just blew my mind — it was just like, oh, I can buy my freedom, and my freedom is something that I would love to spend my money on,” he said.
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How to Make Long Flights Tolerable

November 10, 2017 By Paula Pant 23 Comments

Here’s the funny thing: I hate flying.
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Yet I’ve taken 18 flights in the last 9 months. Including one Wednesday. And my next flight is today.⠀
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To be clear — I’m not afraid of flying. I just don’t enjoy it. It’s noisy. It’s cramped. I can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate. I feel drained and exhausted afterwards. ⠀
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Since I’ve been on the road (um, in the air) so much this year, I realized I needed coping strategies to make long flights tolerable. Here’s how I manage the irritations of flying, and how I keep costs to a minimum:

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Love is Stronger Than Fear

October 2, 2017 By Paula Pant 15 Comments

I live in Las Vegas. This is my home.

Here are a few things that happened today:

Thousands stood in line for 6-8+ hours to donate blood.
Hundreds more donated water, snacks and shade.
Locals gathered on Facebook to offer free housing, rides, and pet-sitting for victims and volunteers.
Airlines donated free flights to victims’ family members.
Hotels donated free rooms to people traveling to Vegas to help victims.
Rideshare and taxi companies offered free transportation to blood donation centers and hospitals.
Faith leaders from many religions held vigils and encouraged giving.

Love is stronger than fear. Good is more powerful than evil. Heroes are more numerous than villains.

Please be a hero. Here are three ways you can help:

#1: Support the Las Vegas victims’ fund, which will provide support to the families of the shooting victims.

The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund campaign on GoFundMe raised $1.8 million within less than a day. Many of these donations came in small ($5 – $25) increments from people who gave whatever they could.

#2: The emergency rooms in Las Vegas feel “like we were in a war zone,” one trauma surgeon said. Please send support to local hospital staff who are working tirelessly. Giving $5 or $10 from every person can create a tremendous impact.

#3: Finally, please support any other causes that are calling you. We live in a world in which 1 in 9 people don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. Around 1 in 3 people don’t have access to sanitation. These facts don’t make headlines. But they matter.

Thank you.

What Would You Do If You Didn’t Have to Work?

August 28, 2017 By Paula Pant 63 Comments

Oh my goodness. I’ve done the unthinkable. I’ve written a blog post, after a many-month absence.

I realize this comes as a shock. If you need a moment to process, take your time.

Okay. Here we go.

So.

I’ve been quiet around here, so first I want to let you know I’m still alive. (Mostly.)

I don’t publish often, because I pressure myself to create articles that are perfect. Since that’s impossible, I stay silent and publish nothing.

To remedy this, I’m now committed to publishing the most imperfect posts you’ll ever read. This one, like everything I write, will be full of jokes that fall flat, terrible grammar, and incomplete sentenc–

(Hehe. #jokesthatfallflat )

Today’s post is a literal status update for the sake of my longtime readers who want to know what’s happening. Here’s the latest in my world of travel, investing and ideas …

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Real Estate Income Report: How Much I Made in April & May 2017

June 28, 2017 By Paula Pant 50 Comments

Hey there!

Just an update to let you know I’m still alive.

I know, I know … I’m a lazy bum who hasn’t published articles often. Sorry about that.

I tend to operate on “Paula Time.” It’s my own schedule, and it’s slooooow. #sooooslow

By some miracle, I created a new YouTube video in which I disclose my real estate income reports from April and May 2017. If you’re fascinated by real estate investing and/or weirdly into financial voyeurism, check out the latest income report here.

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The Last Five Months of Income — Revealed!

May 3, 2017 By Paula Pant 76 Comments

I have an ideal self, and a present self.

My ideal self exercises daily. She hikes or climbs at least twice a week. She eats plenty of vegetables.

She explores ideas that fascinate her. She reads one to two books a week, making copious notes and annotations throughout. Brilliant blog posts emerge as the natural, organic outcome of this practice.

My ideal self is a prolific writer. She’s developed such strong habits that her articles write themselves. Her fingertips move across the keyboard in a state of flow.

She doesn’t get stressed out about the fact that she’s not publishing articles (or finishing course modules) as quickly as she’d like. She’s patient with herself.

She has no attachment to outcome.

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What if We Quit Setting Goals? (Seriously?)

January 24, 2017 By Paula Pant 112 Comments

It’s an old familiar hum:

Every January, we kickoff the calendar year with New Years Resolutions: lose 10 pounds, make smarter investments, create an extra $1,500 per month on the side.

Yet by February, we’ve returned to life as usual. The discarded New Years Resolution has become a tired cultural trope.

We blame ourselves for these failures:

“I should work harder.”
“I should be more disciplined.”
“I should stop procrastinating.”

But what if we’re approaching this in the wrong way? What if goal-setting itself is the problem?
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The Incredible Power of 10x Thinking

November 22, 2016 By Paula Pant 67 Comments

You should see my Inbox after I’ve left it unchecked for a few days.

The sheer volume of crappy pitches, press releases, “check out my infographic” and “could you link to us?” requests would make your head explode.

I leave my Inbox untamed for 2-8 days stretches on a semi-regular basis, and when I return, I discover that my Inbox has devolved into a feral, rabid animal, foaming at the mouth with spammy solicitations.
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The Cheapskate’s Guide to Kitchen Renovations (+ Rental Income Report)

November 1, 2016 By Paula Pant 50 Comments

Some people are addicted to booze; others gambling.

Me? Home renovation.

Three months ago, we finished a $13,000 remodel on Rental House #4. To celebrate, we told our contractor to demolish a kitchen in a different house.

Call it a victory lap. 🙂

We’re renovating House #2, and we’re coordinating everything — from demolition to final clean-up — through email, phone and text messages.

We haven’t set foot on the property.
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