Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#302: The Financial Benefits of Optimism, with Michelle Gielan

What comes to mind when you think about optimism?

Yeah right, how can anyone be optimistic at a time like this?

*eye roll* What fluff.

Uh…does being optimistic about my chances of eating cake count?

Given our current circumstances, optimism might feel worthless, useless, or both. But optimism doesn’t have to be this mythical, unobtainable pie-in-the-sky concept, especially when considered from this lens:

the expectation of good things to happen and the belief that our behavior matters.

Why? Because we have control of our expectations and our beliefs. We can choose to alter our expectations, and we can choose to believe that our behavior matters.

That’s what Michelle Gielan, Positive Psychologist and bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness, is here to explain. In this episode, she offers research-based tactics that you can use today to gradually strengthen your resolve, transform your relationship with stress, and shift towards optimism.

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By Paula Pant

#301: Ask Paula – How Can I Reach FIRE in 11 Years?

Sarah wants to refinance her owner-occupied triplex, but she’s torn between a 15-year and a 30-year option. Which is better in her situation?

Amelia is worried that she and her husband are under-insured. Should her husband get a short-term disability policy, even though it’s expensive and they’re unlikely to need it?

Steven just discovered the financial independence (FI) movement in July 2020, and he wants to reach FI in 11 years. He has $30,000 in cash and $26,000 of student loan debt. How should he use his cash given his FI goal?

The South American Anthropologist wants to make a career change. His baby daughter has inspired him to become an example of living life on your own terms. Will his financial independence plan sustain him and his family for years to come?

Annalis and Mike are hunting for their first rental property, but they haven’t found anything nice that meets the one percent rule. Should they purchase a mansion and rent the rooms on Airbnb?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these five questions in today’s episode. Let’s dive in.

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By Paula Pant

#300: The Two-Fund Investment Portfolio, with Paul Merriman

Target date retirement funds are simple, automated, easy.

The problem? What’s simple might not be optimal.

Investment expert Paul Merriman joins us to discuss the two-fund portfolio, a mix of one target date fund and one small cap value fund. He describes why this could be the ultimate portfolio for buy-and-hold investors who want to boost their returns, without excessive complexity or risk.

Here’s the idea behind a two-fund portfolio:

  • Your age x 1.5 = the percentage of your portfolio in a target date fund
  • Invest the rest in a small cap value fund

According to Merriman, this simple strategy could dramatically improve long-term aggregate returns without creating too much volatility or complexity.

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By Paula Pant

#299: Ask Paula and Joe – Should I Sell My $575,000 in Tesla Stock?

Chris bought Tesla a few years ago and Jinko Solar eight months ago. Both of these have gone up in value by a lot. What tax strategies can he use to sell these shares?

Holly and her three sisters stand to inherit two side-by-side duplexes. How can they structure the ownership of these properties in a fair way?

Eric feels hopeless about health insurance as a self-employed business owner. Are DPCs or healthshares the way to go?

Frank and his wife have a nine-year retirement plan that involves selling their home and moving to Costa Rica. How can they maximize their savings and existing investments to set themselves up for success?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these four questions on today’s episode. Enjoy!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#298: How to Talk to Friends about Money, with Erin Lowry

When going to restaurants with friends, does the idea of splitting the bill make you so anxious you can’t enjoy the food?

If someone asks you to be in their wedding party, is it an honor, or a stomach-churning ordeal?

Are you so afraid of discussing financial situations with friends and family that you let others have a say in what you spend your money on?

Awkward money conversations are an inevitable part of life. Whether it’s turning down invitations to go out with coworkers, trying to maintain friendships despite a limited budget, or discussing caring for aging parents with siblings, talking about money is a critical skill that can serve us for a lifetime.

If this is an area you could use a little help with, you’re not alone. Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial Talks Money, joins us on the show to share scripts and strategies for tactfully navigating life’s most awkward and common money conversations.

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By Paula Pant

PSA Thursday Part II: Let The People Trade!

This morning, almost every major brokerage halted trading on the most volatile stocks, including GameStop, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, Nokia, and AMC Theaters.

We’re in a situation where major trading platforms are blocking retail investors – us – from placing trades, while allowing hedge funds and institutional investors to drive prices.

That is not a free market.

When you don’t let people buy, and you don’t let people sell, you’re locking people out of the game entirely.

Yesterday, I was worried that grandma and grandpa would make the wrong investment choices and irrationally bet their life savings away. Now, they’re prohibited from making any choice. 🤯

We deserve the right to make our own trading decisions.

For the latest updates, follow me on Twitter or Instagram (check out my stories). I’m sharing my thoughts on these platforms as things unfold.

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By Paula Pant

PSA Thursday: Wall Street Bets, GameStop, and the Rise of Meme Stocks

If you blinked, you missed the biggest stock market story since the crash of March 2020. 

It’s a story that led GameStop, a brick-and-mortar company that sells *physical* video games (remember when games came on 5.25-inch floppy disks?), to skyrocket its share price by 700 percent in two weeks. 

It’s a story that explains why multiple brokerages — including Vanguard, Schwab, Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, RBG Direct Investing, ThinkorSwim, Webull, E-Trade, and more — had such high volume and demand on Wednesday that these trading platforms briefly shutdown, or had intermittent service.

It’s a story that explains why AMC Theaters rose 264 percent, um, YESTERDAY. 

It explains why overlooked retailers such as Nokia, Blackberry and Bed, Bath and Beyond rose by approximately 35 to 45 percent yesterday (as of 3:30 pm Eastern, half an hour before market close). 

And it’s a story that explains why Express rose 166 percent in a single day, with such heavy trading volume that several brokerages halted all trades of its stock simply because the platforms couldn’t keep up with the firehose of orders.

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By Paula Pant

#297: Ask Paula – Should I Househack or Pay Off My Student Loans?

George is torn between paying down his student loan debt (which he deferred) or buying a househack. Which is better for his long-term goal of reaching financial independence?

Hanan wants to figure out if a backdoor Roth IRA conversion will work for her. She also wants to investigate whether a Vanguard Institutional 500 Index Trust and a Vanguard Institutional Total Bond Market Index Trust are ideal. Are trusts different from index funds or mutual funds and if so, how?

June and her husband netted $400,000 from the sale of some golden parachute ISOs. They want to help their children pay for college and are trying to figure out how to strategically use this money. Should they pay off their home, buy rentals, fund 529s, or Roth their 401ks?

Mario is curious to know: is his two-fund portfolio at a 90/10 split is a good asset allocation for his Roth IRA?

Vivian is worried about bridging the gap between when she retires and when she claims Social Security. Will her plan of doing a Roth conversion ladder work out the way she hopes?

My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these five questions. Enjoy!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#296: Investing is the Art of Probabilistic Thinking

There’s a lot happening in the market.

The Dow is at a new high, there are runaway stocks causing irrational exuberance, and yet, unemployment claims are on the rise. How can this be?

To make sense of this, we’re dedicating today’s show to discuss how improving judgment and using mental models can protect us against risks and short-term thinking. We also touch on the so-called death of cities, and what this means for real estate investors.

This episode is for you if: you’re confused about why the stock market is doing so well while the world definitely isn’t, you’re getting caught up in market trends and wondering if you should make a risky investment, or you’re curious about whether cities will make a comeback after this is all said and done.

Continue reading for a quick preview of everything discussed in this episode.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#295: What Your Childhood Taught You About Money, with Rachel Cruze

Have you ever stopped to wonder why you find it so painful to part with your money? Or why money seems to slip through your fingers as soon as you get paid? 

Are you able to define your values and connect them with how you manage your finances? 

Have you deeply examined the fears you have around money, and how those fears influence your financial behavior? 

In simple terms: what’s the motivation behind your money management style? 

Whether you’ve pondered these questions for years or they’ve never crossed your mind, digging into your money story can shed valuable insight on your behaviors with money. Those insights may help you develop a healthier relationship with money. 

Rachel Cruze, four-time bestselling author, two-time guest of the show, and daughter of Dave Ramsey, joins us today to talk about three frameworks that can help us better understand our money habits. 

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