Afford Anything

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Honoring a Beloved Community Member with Our Cancer Survivor Scholarship

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Written By Paula Pant

“Invest in real estate during a pandemic? Are you crazy?”

“Invest during a pandemic? Are you crazy?”

That’s a reasonable question. Why would anyone want to invest in a volatile market and in the midst of economic uncertainty?

But recessions create opportunities. Yes, it’s terrible that millions have lost jobs and suffered huge portfolio losses, but the unfortunate reality is recessions happen. Like it or not, this is our current situation. By looking at the market and asking “what opportunities can I find?,” we contribute to the recovery. 

We contribute to the recovery in all types of investments: stocks, real estate, side hustles. 

When we buy stocks, we infuse capital into companies that we believe in and/or into the market as a whole. 

When we buy, renovate and rent properties, we create jobs for contractors, agents and property managers and we offer our tenants a safe, comfortable and well-maintained home. 

When we start a side hustle, we build products or services that thrill our clients and create jobs for our team. 

When we invest, we participate in the recovery. Recessions are an unfortunate fact of life, but they carry a silver lining. And for newbie investors in particular, recessions can open the door.   

Unfortunately, during times of uncertainty, many people surrender to their fear of investing. They sit in cash until it’s too late.

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Written By Paula Pant

Um, yeah – so what’s happening with the real estate market in 2020?

The economy is tanking; unemployment claims have topped 30 million; even optimistic analysts say it’ll take years for jobs to fully recover. So what’s happening with the housing market?

To fully understand the residential real estate market, let’s break this down into three sub-questions:

How strong was the housing market before the pandemic struck?
What’s happening now?
Where might it be going?

Here we go!

How strong was the pre-pandemic housing market?

Home values rose steadily after the Great Recession ended. From 2012–2020, home prices rose 5.8% annually, according to the US Housing Market Health Check report from Thomvest Ventures. (All stats in this article come from that report unless otherwise indicated.)

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Written By Paula Pant

I’m 36 and I tested positive for coronavirus. My so-called “moderate” case is brutal.

You’ve probably heard people say that if you’re young, healthy and you contract Covid-19, you’re likely to only experience mild or moderate symptoms. I’m 36, a non-smoker, in shape, fit and healthy, with no chronic conditions. No asthma, no diabetes, no cancer, no high blood pressure, no history of any type of organ disease. I’m the poster child, the ideal candidate, of someone who would only experience a “mild or moderate” case.

My experience of coronavirus was sheer brutal hell. It was the most intense prolonged physical agony I’ve ever felt.

Here’s what coronavirus feels like.

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Written By Julia Kelly

How to Manage Two Successful Businesses (and Why One Wasn’t Enough)

In 2015, we ran a story about Julia Kelly, an entrepreneur who makes a six-figure income as a caricature artist.

Where is she now?

We decided to follow up her story. How sustainable is her business? How passive is her income?

Here’s Julia, with a follow-up in her own words. Take it away, Julia!

___________
The following is written by guest contributor Julia Kelly

When we left off, I was running JK Expressions and I was a couple of months away from finishing my degree. I was beyond excited to be done with my degree and focus on the business full time – I was pretty sure I would be living the dream!

I was in for a disappointment. About eight months after graduating and focusing on nothing but the business, it was hitting record revenues but I was dissatisfied, bored, unmotivated and thinking seriously about getting a “real” job.

I was confused. Everything looked great from the outside: I was my own boss, had a super flexible schedule, tons of time for hobbies, and good money.

What was the problem?

It probably would have worked for a lot of people — there’s tons of advantages to running a business like that:

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Written By Paula Pant

The Importance of Using the Toilet Correctly (and Other Things I Learned Last Month)

When I was 18, I got a full scholarship for a one-month study abroad trip to Japan.

At the time, I didn’t have much interest in international travel. But free is free, so I spent a month in Japan during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college.

That trip changed everything.

That trip ignited the travel bug.

I came back so enthusiastic about exploring the globe that I’ve based every major decision in my adult life around the goal of traveling more.

Every major life choice, from my initial career in journalism, to my decision to quit my newspaper job to backpack around Southeast Asia, to my pivot to becoming a location independent, self-employed freelancer …

Every choice I’ve made has been based around whether or not this opportunity would allow me to travel. It’s the benchmark against which all my decisions are made. It set me on a meandering path that led to financial independence.

And it all started with that trip to Japan.

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Written By Paula Pant

The eerie similarities between owning rental properties and running an online business

In June, I flew to Atlanta and toured a few of my rental units. This was the second visit I’ve made to these properties in four years.

During that visit, I met with my property manager and a few of my tenants, and I had lunch with my contractor. He and I met at a suburban Atlanta strip mall. 

We ordered a basket of spicy chicken wings and fries, then took out a water-logged spiral notebook and planned a $20,000 renovation.

Here’s what the early brainstormed edition of those plans looked like:

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Written By Paula Pant

We Have Exciting Your First Rental Property News!

Heyyy!!

Guess what guess what guess what guess what? (Can you tell I’m excited?)

Ahem. Clears throat, pulls self together.

Enrollment for the Fall 2019 semester of my favorite course in the world, Your First Rental Property, is open now!!

✨😀🍩🥳📣🙌🤩🍻🔔💥

If you’ve dreamed of owning rental properties but you want a step-by-step roadmap to show you the ropes (whoa, how’s that for a mixed metaphor?!), this is the course for you!

If you’re thinking:

“Awesome! Could this course help me run faster, jump higher, reduce wrinkles, and build six-pack abs?!”

Uhhhh … nope. Not yet.

But if you’re thinking:

“Awesome! Could this course help me avoid losing tens of thousands of dollars in dumb novice mistakes as a real estate investor?”

HECK YEAH!

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Written By Paula Pant

Unusual Ideas about Self-Care … FIRE Edition

There are people who claim that ‘self-care’ requires wasting money.

They’ll encourage you to “treat yourself!,” because “you deserve it!”

Buy those shoes! Enjoy that upscale sushi restaurant! Upgrade to the nicer, newer car! You work hard. You deserve it!

Uh-huh.You know what else you deserve?

You deserve the relief that comes from wiping out a debt.

You deserve the joy that comes from buying an investment or a rental property.

You deserve the pride that comes from maxing out your contributions to a retirement account.

You deserve the stress relief that comes from taking a long walk in the park while listening to an audiobook, or taking a yoga class, or enjoying a hard workout at the gym.

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Written By Paula Pant

What Most People Don’t Know About Pavlov’s Dogs

Disclaimer: This article contains a description of animal suffering. Reader discretion advised.

Most of us have heard about Pavlov’s dogs.

It’s a famous tale in the fields of physiology and psychology: Pavlov rang a buzzer, then fed his dogs; eventually his dogs began salivating at the sound of the buzzer. Most people think the story ends there.

Most of us don’t know what happened next.

The lesser-known epilogue to the saga of Pavlov’s dogs tells us that life isn’t as simple as it seems. Tragedy, stress, and grief can disrupt any training, thwart any plans, re-shape any personalities.

But human connection can repair the wound.

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Written By Paula Pant

The Diderot Effect: How Buying Fuels Itself

In mid-1700’s France, there lived an artist and writer on the brink of poverty.

His name was Denis Diderot.He had been born into an established family, the son of a successful craftsman, and he had obliged the social standing of his birth by pursuing a formal education. He obtained a Master of Arts in philosophy, and seemed bound for a respectable profession in clergy or law.

But Diderot dreamed of becoming a writer.

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Afford Anything