Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

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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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday: How to Avoid Parental Burnout, with Andy Hill

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

At the beginning of the month, we interviewed two teachers, Rob Phelan and Mandy Bert, for their perspective on what lies ahead for schools.

Now, as summer break ends, we turn to Andy Hill, father of two and founder of Marriage, Kids, and Money, for his perspective on how to avoid parental burnout.

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By Paula Pant

#272: Ask Paula – I’m Three Years from Retirement. How Should I Invest?

Kelsey doesn’t feel comfortable investing in total stock market index funds and would rather invest in ESG funds. How can she tell if she has the necessary $2,000 invested in a company to submit a proposal to participate in a proxy voting? Also, Vanguard has a poor history of supporting shareholder resolutions. What can we do about this?

An anonymous listener, nicknamed “Jack from Belgrave,” wants to buy and househack one duplex every year to achieve financial independence and leave his office job within the next three to four years. Is his plan realistic?

Dylan and his wife rolled her 401k into a rollover IRA with pre-tax contributions. They’ve continued contributing to this IRA with post-tax contributions. Should they separate the accounts, or can they worry about this when they’re ready to retire?

“Alyssa from Belgrave” (another anonymous listener) and her partner earn $150,000 per year after taxes. They’re currently saving 80 percent by living with family. What should they do with their savings?

Leigh and her husband are three years away from retirement. They have an extra $50,000 in income this year and plenty of options for where to invest this money. Which one is the best?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these questions on today’s episode. Enjoy!

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By Paula Pant

PSA Thursday: Here’s a simple framework for deciding how to earn extra income

A desk with a small plant, yellow cup, and imac on itWelcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

Today, we’re focusing on handling money — specifically, how to earn more, especially as the $600 supplemental federal unemployment benefit has come to an end.

The new $300 supplemental benefit that’s replacing it is slooooowly getting approved by FEMA, state-by-state, through an excruciatingly snail-like process that can only be described as 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯.

As a result, millions of people — including possibly your friends, family, neighbors, or yourself — are in financial limbo.

You may be lamenting the loss of the old benefit, anxiously awaiting the new reduced benefit, and drowning your sorrows in a bucket of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream while you wait for two+ months to receive a whopping half of the enhanced benefit that you used to collect.

That’s a run-on sentence, I know, but there are worse atrocities in life.

So. Here we are. And you — or someone you know — might be extra-anxious to figure out how to make a little extra money right now.

That’s why we put together a guide that does two things:

  1. This guide gives you a framework for how to think about opportunities to make extra money. How to think about the tradeoffs, the pro’s and con’s, the priorities.
  2. This guide gives you those opportunities, organized along that framework.

Click here to see the full guide, complete with awesome offers and resources.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#271: Retirement Planning in 2020, with Dr. Wade Pfau

Are you wondering how in the world you’re supposed to plan for retirement given the craziness of the year 2020?

You’re not alone.

That’s why we brought Dr. Wade Pfau on the show. Dr. Pfau is a Professor of Retirement Income for the American College of Financial Services. Dr. Pfau has made a major name for himself within the field of retirement planning. He’s a two-time winner of the Journal of Financial Planning Montgomery-Warschauer Award and two-time winner of the Academic Thought Leadership Award from the Retirement Income Industry Association.

Dr. Pfau also won an award for best paper in the retirement category from the Academy of Financial Services. In 2014, he was named “40 Under 40” by InvestmentNews. He is a co-editor of the Journal of Personal Finance, and he speaks frequently at national conferences of organizations for financial professionals.

He is a RetireMentor for MarketWatch, the Director of Retirement Research for McLean Asset Management, and an Expert Panelist for The Wall Street Journal. He holds a doctorate in economics from Princeton University, and he’s also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

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By Paula Pant

#270: Ask Paula – Buy a Home, Buy Investments, or Pay Off Debt? How Do I Decide?

Briana and her husband want to buy a home, but they don’t have enough saved for a downpayment. They also have student loan debt and a car loan. Which should they prioritize?

Javier is sick of being in debt. What can he do to put himself in a better situation?

Tracie wants to buy her first rental property, but she has student loans and a car loan to pay off. If she receives $20,000 from a cash-out refi, how should she use this money?

Vanitha wants to start a non-profit organization in memory of her uncle. She wants to know: what does this process look like?

Margie went under contract on a primary residence listed as a six-bedroom property. She found out that, legally, it’s a four-bedroom home. Should she re-negotiate the price, or ask for credits at closing?

I answer these questions in today’s episode. Enjoy!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#269: How to Ask Better Questions, with Charles Duhigg

Are you scared to take the first step toward the habits that you want to build?

Do you believe in your ability to change?

Or are you completely lost as to where to start?

Charles Duhigg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the best-selling books The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better joins us on today’s show to tackle these questions.

On his podcast, How To!, Charles explores the “why” behind our habits and helps listeners overcome life’s biggest challenges. Among them, finding a new career before it’s too late, walking away from an impossible parent, fighting racism in your town, and saying the right thing at the worst time.

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