Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

By Paula Pant

PSA Thursday – What’s in Store for the Rest of 2020?

After a brief hiatus, PSA Thursday is back! If you’re a new listener, PSA Thursday is a weekly-ish segment of the podcast in which we normally talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

However, for this episode, we’re taking a step back to 1) reflect on why this show exists, and 2) give you a sneak peek of future PSA Thursday episodes. 

We also break down why we interview the guests that we have on the show, and the important difference between telling someone what to think versus telling them how to think. 

Enjoy!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#281: The Art of Decision-Making, with Annie Duke

How many times have you made a decision – big or small – only to regret it later?

            “I wanted to fund my IRA this year, but that vacation was calling my name…I should have known better. Now I feel behind.”

            “I really wanted to take that out-of-state job, but I talked myself out of leaving my family and friends behind. Now I’m unhappy thinking about what could have been. How stupid of me.”

            “Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have eaten all this ice cream, but it was too good to put away. What was I thinking?”

But…how could you have known?

We can’t make decisions with 100 percent certainty. Therefore, we can’t know how something will turn out.

Yet most of us get stuck in analysis paralysis, desperate to gather as much information as we possibly can before making a decision.

And when that decision doesn’t turn out as we hoped, our response is, “I should have known!”

How can we break this cycle? How can we accept that we don’t have total control over the outcomes of our decisions? How can we forgive ourselves, and others, for not getting it right?

Most of all: how can we improve our decision making skills to avoid this scenario in the first place?

That’s what today’s guest, Annie Duke, best-selling author of Thinking In Bets, is here to tell us.

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By Paula Pant

#280: Ask Paula – Could This NYC Couple Contribute Only $10,000 Per Year Towards Retirement?

Amy and her husband have $900,000 saved for retirement. They’re 40 years old and plan to retire at 65. Due to a job change + pay cut, they might only have $10,000 per year to save for the next 25 years. Will this be enough, given their yearly expenses of $144,000?

Janie wants to get a solar power system for her house, but isn’t sure how to pay for it. Should she borrow funds from her seven-month emergency fund, or use funds from a taxable brokerage account that were earmarked for retirement?

CJ and his wife netted $200,000 from the sale of their home. They aren’t sure when they’ll purchase their next home – their timeline could be as short as three years or as long as six years. Where should they keep the $200,000 to use towards a downpayment on their next home?

Brandon wants to retire in the next five to ten years. He contributes 20 percent to his Roth 401k. Since he can’t withdraw those contributions early, does it make more sense to contribute up to the match of his 401k and invest the rest in an IRA with the goal of doing a Roth conversion?

Anonymous “am I missing out?” wants to know: when is tax-loss harvesting worthwhile?

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

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#279: How to Avoid Financial and Life Disasters, with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

What process do you use to make decisions?

“Uhh … I put together a pros and cons list!”

“I harness my awesome spreadsheet skills and work out the variables in cells.”

“I ask others for their opinions and seek information from people who have been in my shoes.”

All of these tactics are common decision-making techniques…but they’re not processes.

What happens when you get stuck on a critical decision that you need to make quickly?

Does the intensity of the situation get the best of you? Do you make the decision based on your gut reaction? Or do you work calmly through a list of techniques that will help you arrive at a well-informed decision?

If you rely on your instincts in the heat of the moment, that’s natural. But it won’t lead to the best outcome, and it lacks process.

Today’s guest is here to share two decision making processes that can help you cut through the noise and arrive at a well-thought out decision. If you love practical guests with information that you can apply right away, you’ll love this episode.

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By Paula Pant

#278: The Loopholes That Destroy Our Ability to Form Habits, with Gretchen Rubin

Does this sound like you?

You want to exercise, but you can never find the time for a workout. Eventually, you grow tired of putting exercise off. You commit to working out every morning. You become so enthusiastic, you buy new gym clothes for the occasion.

Your enthusiasm carries you for five days, and on day six, you’re swamped with work. You promise yourself you’ll exercise tomorrow – after all, taking a break for one day won’t hurt. And then … you never get back on the wagon. The cycle repeats.

Most habits and routines start with good intentions. But good intentions aren’t enough to carry you through tough times. Good intentions aren’t enough to overcome the excuses you’ll make, either.

That’s what today’s guest, Gretchen Rubin, is here to explore.

Gretchen Rubin is the New York Times best-selling author of The Happiness Project, Better Than Before, and The Four Tendencies. She joins us on the podcast to discuss the loopholes that we use – the excuses that we make – when it comes to breaking bad habits and forming good habits. Why is this important? The more aware we are of loopholes, the better we can resist them.

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By Paula Pant

#277: Timeless Financial Lessons from My Grandma, with Michelle Singletary

Michelle Singletary writes a Pulitzer-nominated personal finance column, The Color of Money, for The Washington Post. Her column is syndicated in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She’s the author of three finance books and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

But her strongest financial education came from her grandmother.

Her grandmother raised five grandchildren while working full-time as a Nursing Assistant at a hospital. She earned $13,000 per year, but never took welfare, was never late on a bill, and “handled her money like a pro.”

In this podcast episode, Michelle shares timeless financial lessons she learned from her grandmother, including…

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By Paula Pant

#276: Cut the Fluff and Become a Digital Minimalist, with Dr. Cal Newport

Have you found yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds over the last few months? Have you also found yourself in a state of sadness, anxiety, or aggravation afterwards?

We live in an increasingly noisy world. A world in which many of us use social media, or the internet in general, to escape. But our escapes often leave us feeling empty and annoyed at ourselves for wasting several hours of precious time.

Here’s one possible remedy for this tiring, relentless cycle: embrace the philosophy of digital minimalism.

            Okay, I’m in. But…what’s digital minimalism? 

Digital minimalism is a term coined by Dr. Cal Newport, today’s guest.

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By Paula Pant

#275: Avoid These 13 Hidden Money Mistakes That Most People Make, with Jill Schlesinger

It’s September! I’m on round two of what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, otherwise known as my yearly time to take a one-month recess from podcast production.

Throughout September, we’re airing some of the most insightful, inspiring interviews from the archives. You’ll hear from experts discussing topics like habits, happiness, focus, digital minimalism, classic financial lessons and easy-to-make financial mistakes. Enjoy!

Even the nerdiest of money nerds are susceptible to making a dumb financial mistake.

“Nope, not me! There’s no way I make any financial mistakes. I live and breathe this stuff.”

Hm, really? You’re not capable of making any financial mistakes?

By the way – we’re not talking “classic” mistakes like taking out a bunch of loans, running up your credit card, or making a late payment.

We’re talking about hidden mistakes, like having the wrong life insurance policy, or not having an estate plan, or listening to the wrong ‘experts.’

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By Paula Pant

#274: Finding Hope and Happiness in a Confusing World, with Mark Manson

It’s September! If you’ve listened to any episode in the last month, then you know that I’m on round two of what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, otherwise known as my yearly time to take a break from podcast production.

We’re not leaving you hanging, though. Instead, we’re digging through the archives and airing some of my favorite interviews on the show. Enjoy!

What does it take to create a sustainable sense of hope?

That’s the question that I invited Mark Manson, megabestselling author of Everything is F*cked and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, to answer on this episode.

While we published this episode one year ago, the question of how to create hope remains as pressing as ever.

Mark says that three basic factors contribute to a sense of hope:

  1. Autonomy
  2. Purpose
  3. Community

Mark and I keep these three factors in mind as we discuss how to define success, find new challenges, and choose what’s meaningful in life. We touch on the importance of emotional regulation and avoiding crises of hope. And we talk about how they relate back to the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#273: The Emotional Complexity of Money, with Dr. Dan Ariely

Has the pandemic caused you to feel less-than at any point?

Do you find your painstakingly-formed money habits harder to stick with?

Are you worried about losing your job or figuring out how to make ends meet?

Many of us have faced one or all of these pressures since March. And we’re wearing thin, if we haven’t already crumbled.

Today’s guest, Dr. Dan Ariely, best-selling author and famed behavioral economist, returns to the show with a simple message for us:

“My responsibility ends at me doing the best job I can.”

If this resonates with you, tune in as Dr. Ariely and I discuss the emotional complexity of money.

Specifically, we discuss: preparing for a job loss and lowering expenses, the emotional and financial complexity of control, the value of resilience (and how to become more resilient), and embracing the pain of the process.

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