Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

By Alyssa M

#345: How to Understand Your Medical Bill, with Marshall Allen

Let’s talk about one of the biggest expenses you might ever encounter: health care costs.

When you get a hospital bill, do you understand it? After all, it looks like it’s written in code (and sometimes it literally is).

How do you know if the bill is accurate? Has everything been coded properly? Are you being charged for the services that you actually received?

If you need to dispute an item, what’s the process?

Pulitzer Prize finalist Marshall Allen joins us to shed light on the complex world of medical billing. He breaks down the “explanation of benefits,” describes a step-by-step process for obtaining your medical records, and explains an actionable plan for how to contest a bill.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the complexity of your health care bills, you’ll learn a lot from this concise, informative episode.

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#344: Ask Paula: I’m Bored at Work, and I’m 14 Years from Retirement; Should I Tough It Out?

Anonymous is on track to be financially independent in 14 years, but isn’t living up to her potential working a boring job. How can she live up to her potential and do more without sacrificing her quality of life?

Daan is wondering if he should stake or lend his current cryptocurrency portfolio to make additional gains on assets he plans to hold long-term?

C wants to know what tax implications she should consider before working remotely from abroad?

Russell’s job offers the option to contribute to a 457 plan. Since he’s in the highest tax bracket, should he take advantage of the tax deferral offered through the 457 or invest within a taxable brokerage account?

Do you have a question on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing? Leave it here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#343: Are We Heading for a Housing Crash in 2022?

The real estate market in 2021 has been bonkers.

That’s the technical term.

From 2012 to 2020, home prices nationwide rose at an annualized average of 5.8 percent per year.

From April 2020 to April 2021, home prices climbed 17.2 percent.

This sudden surge in prices has many homeowners and would-be investors fearful of a crash. The memories of the stark price run-up prior to The Great Recession are all too salient.

What goes up must come down, right?

Not exactly. In this episode, we walk through market fundamentals — discussing housing supply, lumber prices, and the distinction between cheap credit vs easy credit — to illustrate how today’s market is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

More importantly, we offer tips for everyone — whether you’re a renter looking to get into your starter home, an empty-nester looking to downsize, an owner-occupant who wants to lock in your gains, or a curious aspiring investor who wonders if it’s too late.

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#342: Ask Paula: How to Make Smarter Real Estate Decisions

Russell is a busy professional who’d like to invest passively in real estate. Is there data he can use to compare this approach to owning and managing their own properties?

Laura wants to purchase her first investment property in Miami. Should she cash out some RSUs and stock from her company to use as a down payment? And what type of mortgage is she eligible for since she already owns a home?

Jordan and his wife own three properties and are under contract on a new house since they have a new baby on the way. Should he sell any of his existing properties to be in a stronger cash position, thus mitigating the risk of future fluctuations in his income as a real estate broker? Or should he keep his rental properties since his goal is to reach financial independence through rental income?

Do you have a question on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing? Leave it here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.

Keep reading...

By Alyssa M

#341: Courage and The Consequences of Inaction, with Ryan Holiday

Imagine a line.

Cowardice exists at one extreme end of that line. Recklessness exists at the other extreme end.

And in the balanced middle, you’ll find courage.

Today’s conversation is about courage. We’re not talking about inspiring physical acts of bravery in this episode; rather, we’re discussing moral and social courage.

The type of courage you need to make an investment. Buy a rental property. Invest in stocks. Start a business or side hustle. Retire early. Travel overseas. Have a difficult but diplomatic conversation. Express your feelings constructively rather than bottling them up inside. Raise an issue with immediacy rather than hesitation. Break bad news to someone. Ask for help. Launch an initiative. Try something new. We’re talking about the type of courage that’s required to become a better, bigger person in your work, your relationships, your life.

We’re having this conversation with Ryan Holiday, the bestselling author of a series of books on Stoic philosophy.

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By Alyssa M

#340: How to Make $1 Million in Business with No Employees, with Elaine Pofeldt

Imagine this:

You start a side hustle. Maybe you sell planners or lead workouts in the park.

You make a few thousand dollars during your first year. It’s fun beer money, but not enough to quit your day job.

But you keep growing. You run this as a one-person operation, though you bring on freelancers or independent contractors.

Your revenue grows into the five figures. Then six figures. After a few years, you’re running a one-person, million dollar company.

This sounds like a pipe dream, right?

But it’s the true story of Laszlo Nadler, who created a line of planners and calendars. It’s the true story of Stacy Berman, who started leading 5:30 AM fitness bootcamp classes in the park.

And it’s the true story of hundreds of other solopreneurs interviewed by business journalist Elaine Pofeldt, who took a deep-dive look at the lives and businesses of entrepreneurs who run companies that gross more than $1 million, but have no employees.

In today’s episode, we take an inside look at the secrets behind one-person, million-dollar businesses.

If you’ve ever considered starting a side hustle or business of your own, don’t miss this.

This episode originally aired in March 2019.

Keep reading...

By Alyssa M

#339: How to Invest in Real Estate, Debt-Free, from Thousands of Miles Away, with Rich Carey

Have you ever thought, “I’d like to invest in rental real estate but there are no cheap properties in my area!”

“Homes in my city are too expensive. I’d have to invest out-of-state, but that sounds terrifying.”

Or have you ever thought, “I’m curious about real estate but I’m not a fan of the idea of taking on all that debt.”

Today’s interview is right up your alley. We talk to Rich Carey, who bought 20 single-family rental properties in Alabama, totally debt-free, while stationed in Germany and South Korea.

He invested not just out-of-state, but entirely from outside the country.

He bought his properties free-and-clear. And he did it on a military salary while raising two kids.

This interview originally aired in June 2018.

Keep reading...

By Alyssa M

#338: Why Investors Need a Latticework of Ideas, with Morgan Housel

Here are three lessons from this conversation with investment writer Morgan Housel:

Lesson #1: Great investors need patience and humility.

Lesson #2: Read broadly.

Don’t just read books about finance and investing. Read from a broad multi-disciplinary array of subjects, so that you can form a latticework of ideas.

Lesson #3: Play a strong defense.

On the surface, it seems like playing defense is a conservative strategy. Emergency funds and a strong income-producing allocation, for example, both sound conservative.

But in the long-term it could prove to be the opposite.

Enjoy this interview, which originally aired in April 2018.

Keep reading...

By Alyssa M

#337: Habits are Overrated, with Kristen Berman

Meet Kristen Berman, a top researcher in the field of behavioral economics. She’s the co-founder of Irrational Labs, which designs products that are evidence-based in the behavioral sciences.

Her co-founder, Dan Ariely, is the James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, and one of the most famous behavioral economists in the world.

Here are some of the (counterintuitive!) ideas that Kristen shares:

Habits are overrated. Automate instead.
Budgeting doesn’t change your spending behavior.
Commit in advance.
Forget about the outcome.
Focus on the process.
You need accountability.
Think about the Three B’s: behavior, barriers and benefits.

Tune into this episode to hear Kristen elaborate on these research-backed, evidence-based ideas about how to improve our spending, saving and investing habits.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#336: Ask Paula: I’m Barely Breaking Even on My Rental. Should I Sell?

Paula standing outside by a wall wearing a blue shirtAnonymous and his partner have a one-bedroom condo that they rent out in Pasadena, CA. The problem? They’re barely breaking even. Should they keep the condo, or sell it and make better use of the profits?

Sam wants to know: how much of an emergency fund does a rental property need?

Michael and his wife expect their taxable income to be less than $10,000 this year. Should Michael (age 56) take distributions from his 401k to minimize or eliminate their income tax burden?

Shanon wants to switch to an ethical bank with values that align with hers. How can she create a framework for making decisions about financial institutions when authentic information is scarce?

Sharon’s husband purchased a property with a below-market loan in 2008. They now have an extra $4,000 per month, and Sharon wants to buy a property as a first-time buyer. They’re torn between keeping the property or selling it. What should they do?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer more of your questions.

Do you have a question on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing? Leave it here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.

Keep reading...

Afford Anything