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    #253: The Thinker’s Guide to Market Volatility, with Dr. Steve Wendel and Sam Lamas

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA253.mp3" title="The Thinker's Guide to Market Volatility, with Dr. Steve Wendel and Sam Lamas" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    It’s the spring of 2020, and the market is incredibly volatile.

    It soars up one day and plummets down the next.

    No one knows what to expect from the market or the economy.

    No one knows what to expect, period.

    What can we do in the midst of such turbulence? What should we do?

    What our minds want to do and what we should do are at war with each other. 

    For example, your mind might want you to panic sell after a sharp market downturn.

    “Take me off this roller coaster!” it screams. 

    But in reality, turning paper losses into real losses is a mistake. Investors often lose more when they panic and sell than they would have if they stayed the course. 

    Unfortunately, your mind is nowhere near that conclusion. It’s too busy having an emotional reaction to the news. 

    How can you protect yourself from reacting to panic? Is it possible to let some semblance of logic shine through?

    Today’s guests say yes. It’s possible to save yourself from yourself, as long as you learn to recognize the cognitive tricks your mind plays on you. 

  • What’s Inside Your First Rental Property? | FAQs

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything

    Do you want a real estate course that will take you from knowing nothing about buy-and-hold real estate investing to buying and renting your first property? Then this is the course for you. Our real estate course, Your First Rental Property, opens for enrollment on Monday, November 30th, 2020. Enrollment only opens twice a year:…

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    #252: Ask Paula – Will the Stimulus Cause Massive Inflation?

    ByPaula Pant
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA252.mp3" title="Ask Paula - Will the Stimulus Cause Massive Inflation?" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    The government issued a $2 trillion stimulus. How will that affect the economy? Could we endure massive inflation or hyperinflation?

    Bradley kicks off today’s Ask Paula episode with this timely question. What inflation rate will we see in 2020, and how can we prepare? How should we hedge against hyperinflation?

    Anonymous Retiree (whom we call Sequencing Sally) is 64 and retired last year. She lives off of monthly withdrawals from a Vanguard portfolio. Given the bear market, should she leave her portfolio alone and spend from an emergency fund?

    Additionally, her target allocation is off-kilter. Should she rebalance now or later?

    Jay wants to reach financial independence in five years, but she’s in a job that will pay her $270,000 student loan balance if she stays there for another 17 years. Should she stay, or quit and face the balance?

    Jan has $500,000 in a managed fund with a three percent annual fee. He wants to move his funds into his Vanguard personal brokerage account, without incurring a ton of taxes from the sales of his holdings. How can he accomplish this?

    My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these questions in today’s episode. Enjoy!

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    PSA Thursday: 31 Tips to Stay Productive As You Work From Home

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA_251b_PSA_Thursday_April_16.mp3" title="PSA Thursday: 31 Tips to Stay Productive As You Work From Home" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    Today’s focus is work. Specifically, working from home, and how to stay focused and productive throughout your day.

    Getting thrown into working from home when all you’ve known is the office life can be hard. Especially when there are added distractions involved that you don’t have to deal with at the office, like your kids, a pile of dishes, or your gloriously-stocked refrigerator.

    How can you manage the expectations of both your colleagues and the people you live with? How can you find a routine when you feel like you’re being pulled in a million different directions? How can you ensure your kids are taken care of and your boss/manager/client is happy?

    Listen to the episode to discover the 31 tips we recommend for staying productive as you work from home.

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    #251: From High School Dropout to Successful Entrepreneur, Author and World Traveler — with Chris Guillebeau

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA251.mp3" title="From High School Dropout to Successful Entrepreneur, Author and World Traveler -- with Chris Guillebeau" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Do you love the idea of making money on your own — without a boss?

    Can you imagine deciding how you spend each day?

    Are you bored and looking for a challenge? Do you love the thought of adventure?

    Today’s guest, Chris Guillebeau, knows all about hustling, living an unconventional life, working towards seemingly impossible goals, and combining his interests into an epic lifestyle business that brings him freedom and joy.

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    PSA Thursday: How to Build an Emergency Fund During an Emergency

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/PSA_Thursday_April_9_2020.mp3" title="PSA Thursday: How to Build an Emergency Fund During an Emergency" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

    Today, we cover two topics:

    1. Building an emergency fund during an emergency
    2. How the bear market affects the way that you handle your investments

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    #250: Ethical Investing 101, with Dr. Jon Hale, Head of Sustainability Research for Morningstar

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA250.mp3" title="Ethical Investing 101, with Dr. Jon Hale, Head of Sustainability Research for Morningstar" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Should we invest in sustainable funds?

    If we choose sustainable funds, will our investment returns suffer? Will our expense ratios be sky-high? What drawbacks might we face?

    How do we know that these funds are actually ethical? And what choices are out there for people who want to invest ethically or sustainably?

    We invited Dr. Jon Hale to our show today to answer these questions.

    Dr. Jon Hale is a chartered financial analyst and the global head of sustainability research for Morningstar. He directs Morningstar’s research on sustainable investing, which launched with the Morningstar Sustainability Rating for Funds in 2016.

    We were inspired to conduct this interview on sustainability after we heard a question from one of our community members, Lily. She left a voicemail asking:

    “Why don’t we hear anything about ethical investing in the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement? I’ve had trouble locating socially responsible funds in the past, and I wonder if these funds are labeled well or if they’re essentially a scam. Is there a third-party reviewer of these funds?”

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

    ByPaula Pant

    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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    #249: How to Talk to Your Parents About Retirement and Beyond — with Cameron Huddleston

    ByPaula Pant
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA249.mp3" title="How to Talk to Your Parents About Retirement and Beyond -- with Cameron Huddleston" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    I’m recovering from Covid-19 at the moment, so I couldn’t put together a new episode this week. But in honor of the First Friday of the month, I wanted to re-air this interview with Cameron Huddleston, which we originally aired in August 2019.

    In this interview, we discuss how to have those important but awkward conversations with your parents and grandparents about estate planning, wills, trusts, power of attorney, and more.

  • PSA Thursday: I Tested Positive for Coronavirus. Here’s What It Feels Like.

    ByErin @ Team Afford Anything
    [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/248B_PSA_Thursday_April_2.mp3" title="PSA Thursday: I Tested Positive for Coronavirus. Here's What It Feels Like." artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

    Paula describes the experience of having Covid-19, the illness caused by coronavirus.