Afford Anything

Latest Post

Honoring a Beloved Community Member with Our Cancer Survivor Scholarship

Read More

Written By Paula Pant

“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?”

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

“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.

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

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.

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

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 […]

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

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 […]

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

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 […]

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

15 Insightful Books about Investing, Money, Work and Life

I love to read. If you share my enthusiasm, you might enjoy this variety of books about money, work and life that I recommend.

Feel free to scroll, or click on one of these links to skip ahead to your favorite section.

Productivity Books Money Mindset Books Investing Books Real Estate Books

Productivity […]

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

Your Money? Or Your Life?

There’s a scene in a classic 1950’s TV show, The Jack Benny Program, in which a mugger points a gun at the title character.

“Your money or your life,” the mugger says.

Jack Benny is silent.

“I said, your money or your life!” the mugger repeats.

“I’m thinking it over!,” Jack replies.

The scene […]

Keep reading...

Written By

Today is My 10-Year-I-Don’t-Have-A-Job-AVersary

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the day I quit my job.

More accurately, it’s the 10-year anniversary of my last day of employment. Exactly 10 years ago today, on April 4, 2008, I finished my final day as a salaried employee.

I have never been employed by someone else since.

The notion that […]

Keep reading...

Afford Anything