Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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By Alyssa M

#335: What You Think You Want vs. What You Really Want, with Luke Burgis

Have you ever spent years studying the wrong major, climbing the ladder at the wrong company, chasing the wrong career?

Have you spent years living in the wrong city? Wrong relationship? Wrong lifestyle?

It’s hard to discern what *we think we want* from what we really want.

Society teaches us what we’re “supposed” to want. And we follow along.

The result is keeping up with the Joneses. It’s the hedonic treadmill. It’s lifestyle inflation. And it causes conflict, both within ourselves and with others.

Today’s guest, Luke Burgis, discusses mimetic desire — how our “wants” are imitative — and how we can find our deeper truths.

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By Paula Pant

#334: Ask Paula: What Paintbrush Did Michelangelo Use? (said no one ever)

In today’s episode, we answer three questions from a college senior named Rafael.

He asks about productivity tools and tactics, student debt, Robinhood and market investing, and how to establish yourself as an expert in a given domain.

We answer his questions by widening the lens.

People often ask about productivity tools. “Do you use Asana or Trello?” But nobody asked Michelangelo what paintbrush he used to paint the Sistine Chapel. The discussion around tools misses the point, which is to master the craft.

Sure, we answer his direct, overt questions. But we also dive deeper, refining these topics and exploring the questions *behind* his questions.

This is an episode in which we peel layers off the onion.

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By Alyssa M

#333: The End of Recessions?, with Ben Carlson

In the 1890s and early 1900’s, we had recessions every two years.

From 2009 to 2020, we enjoyed an 11-year bull run, the longest bull run in history. And when we finally had a recession, it lasted only two months. It was the shortest recession in U.S. history.

The duration between recessions is growing longer (these days, we average 10 years between recessions, as opposed to two years at the turn of the previous century).

And when recessions strike, we recover faster. The average length of recessions is growing shorter.

What does this mean? If we project these trends into the future, are we bound for the end of recessions?

That’s the question that kicks off this discussion with Ben Carlson, Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritzhold Wealth Management and the host of the Animal Spirits podcast.

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By Paula Pant

#332: Ask Paula: What’s the Point of Financial Independence if I’m Not Going to Retire?

Ginger’s financial independence (FI) number is $2 million, but she doesn’t want to fully retire early. Once she hits ‘coast’ FI, she wants to 1) buy her time back with outsourcing, 2) take a mini-retirement, and 3) buy a vacation home. Does it make sense for her to divert retirement contributions to these goals, or should she aim to save $2M?

Wilson plans to have a two percent withdrawal rate in retirement. Given this low rate, should he go all-in on stocks? Or should he split up his retirement funds and invest one half conservatively and the other half aggressively?

Jennifer has a low-stress doggie-daycare, but she needs a bigger space to scale up. How the heck can she find a property to suit her needs in Austin, TX?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer another round of listener questions.

(If you have questions on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing, leave them here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.)

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#331: Four Thousand Weeks, with Oliver Burkeman

Oliver Burkeman

Four thousand weeks.

That’s how long we live if we’re lucky enough to celebrate our 80th birthday.

Crazy, isn’t it?

We rarely think of our lifespan in terms of weeks. When we do, it seems painfully short. And that’s the point that Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks, wants to drive home.

Oliver, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking and Help! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done,  is a self-professed time management geek.

But after reading scores of books, he concluded that most time management tactics result in an illusion of productivity. They don’t get to the root of why we feel the need to be time wizards. They don’t tell us how to overcome FOMO. They don’t mention the importance of relaxation or play.

Instead, most advice furthers the false narrative that we can do it all and have it all. This narrative leads us to endlessly spin our wheels. Just one more task, just one more project…only to have five more take its place by the end of the week.

If this sounds familiar (and exhausting), then Oliver has a different perspective to offer.

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