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Category: Episodes

March 2, 2020By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#244: Why I Quit My Job with No Savings When My Wife Was Five Months Pregnant, with Grant Baldwin

Grant Baldwin felt burned out.

He worked as a youth pastor, which felt like a 24/7 profession. He had to attend student events held late into the night, which left him exhausted.

One night, he came home to find his wife crying. She told him that she felt like she had a roommate, rather than a husband, because he was gone so often.

So Grant did something drastic: he quit his job, with negligible savings, when his wife was four to five months pregnant.

(Editor’s Note: WAT?! Who does that?!)

For the following year, he waited tables and worked odd jobs, cobbling together gig-economy money while raising a newborn. During his rare unscheduled moments, he started crafting a new career for himself as a self-employed public speaker.

Today, Grant Baldwin is a speaker, entrepreneur, coach, and author of The Successful Speaker. He’s earned multiple seven-figures in speaking fees and has helped over 2,000 people become professional speakers.

He shares how he made his dream a reality in this episode.

Keep reading...

February 24, 2020By Paula Pant

#243: Ask Paula – How Can I Retire in 10 Years with Rental Properties?

Adam is 23 years old and wants to achieve financial independence as quickly as possible. However, he’s nervous about investing in the stock market and real estate. How can he overcome his fears?

Paris, age 35, has a similar question. She earns $150,000 per year, is debt-free, and doesn’t own a home. How can she reach financial independence in less than 10 years?

Paul wants to househack his first home, but none of the properties he’s seen meet the one percent rule. He doesn’t want to rent forever. Does he need to compromise on his commute time, or wait until he finds an undervalued gem?

Anonymous Househacker rents an apartment with three bedrooms, two of which he rents out on an inconsistent, short-term basis. They want to know: does the money they earn count as rental income if they aren’t making a profit on it?

Ben is a real estate investor who’s curious about growing his portfolio from four units to 20 units. What’s the best approach to take?

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

Keep reading...

February 17, 2020By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#242: The Art of Trusting Your Most Dangerous Ideas, with Ash Ambirge, The Middle Finger Project

Ash Ambirge grew up in a trailer park in rural Pennsylvania.

She never met her biological father. Her father-figure mentor passed away when she was 14. Her disabled mother, who raised her on government assistance, passed away when she was 20.

Her childhood goal was to join the middle class. She dreamed of becoming one of those people who eats poppyseed bagels and lemon pepper chicken. After all, what’s more middle class than that?

Ash’s future changed the moment she received a need-based, full ride scholarship to college. After she graduated, she snagged a marketing assistant job and negotiated a $30,000 salary.

Ash had finally made it; she joined the middle class. To celebrate, she bought a brand-new car, financed a $5,000 mattress, and rented a luxurious apartment. Yet she felt that something was lacking (and it wasn’t the lemon pepper chicken).

Unfulfilled, Ash set out to answer two burning questions:

“What does it mean to live a good life?”
“What does it look like to do work that I’m proud of?”

Throughout her childhood, the answers to these questions had been elusive. Her mother hadn’t worked, and Ash had no idea what a “good life” involved. She had no role models.

Keep reading...

February 10, 2020By Paula Pant

#241: Ask Paula – Should I Raid My Retirement Savings to Pay for School?

Anton wants to accelerate his flight training so he can get hired within two to three months, rather than two to three years. He has to raid his retirement savings to achieve this. Should he?

Linda and her husband have their eyes on early retirement, but they aren’t sure what their post-retirement lifestyle will cost. How can they budget for unknown expenses that include travel?

Joseph contributes 15 percent of his income to both a Roth 457b and Roth IRA. He wants to retire before age 59.5. Given his early retirement goal, should he focus solely on his Roth 457b?

Henry wants to know how rebalancing and dollar cost averaging interact with each other. Should he rebalance his all-equities portfolio? If so, what approach should he take?

Joe maxes out his 401k and IRA each year. He can make after-tax 401k contributions, or fund his Vanguard taxable brokerage account. Which should he prioritize?

As usual, my friend and former financial advisor, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me on the show to answer these five listener questions. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

February 7, 2020By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#240: 10 Questions to Master Successful Investing, with David Stein

Do you know what it takes to be a successful investor?

Can you name the three drivers of asset class performance?

Are you aware of the upsides and downsides of each investment that you hold?

Not having the answers to these questions could leave your portfolio exposed to major risk.

That’s why David Stein, today’s guest, wrote an appropriately titled book: Money For the Rest of Us. His book outlines 10 thought-provoking questions to ask before making any investment decision.

David, a two-time guest on the show, was the Chief Investment Strategist and Chief Portfolio Strategist at Fund Evaluation Group, a $70 billion investment firm. While there, he co-founded the firm’s $2.2 billion asset management division and developed its investment philosophy and process as the lead portfolio manager.

In this interview, David discusses the 10 questions outlined in his book:

What is it?
Is it investing, speculating, or gambling?
What’s the upside?
What’s the downside?
Who’s on the other side of the trade?
What’s the investment vehicle?
What does it take to be successful?
Who’s getting a cut?
How does this investment impact your portfolio?
Should you invest?

Whether you’re new to investing or consider yourself an advanced investor, David has an asset allocation approach that can save you from the expensive mistakes investors often make.

Here’s how to think through each of these 10 questions and improve your investment decision-making process.

Keep reading...

February 3, 2020By Paula Pant

#239: Ask Paula – Should I Put My Student Loans in Forbearance? Should I Buy a Vacation Rental in the Mountains? and More

Lo is in a good spot with her career, but she’s struggling with a ton of student loan debt, and consequently, credit card debt. What should she do to manage it?

Anonymous wants to know how to set up a backdoor Roth IRA.

Eric and his wife own a property in Savannah, GA that brings in more money as an Airbnb than a traditional rental. They want to invest in more properties and are wondering if this model is the best path to take.

James wants to own a vacation rental in the Vermont mountains that he can use when it’s vacant. What features or qualities would make a profitable vacation rental? What red flags should be on his radar?

Ayesha is looking at buying a rental property that has a partial HUD claim on it. What kind of complications should she anticipate? Or should she let this property go completely?

Shelbi and her husband own a rental property that they purchased for $178,000 that’s now valued at $300,000. They’re looking at a multitude of options – sell it, move into it, or keep it. What’s best given their FIRE goal?

Keep reading...

January 27, 2020By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#238: How to Stop Making So Many Money Mistakes, with Jeff Kreisler

Have any of these thoughts ever crossed your mind?

If I had more willpower, I’d achieve my financial goals.

I’m doomed to fail with money.

Budgets suck. They only show me what I did wrong and make me feel horrible.

If so, you’re not alone.

It’s not that you lack willpower.

It’s not that you’re doomed to fail with money.

It’s not that you’re a horrible person for blowing your budget.

It’s that you’re human.

And humans make emotional decisions all the time. Decisions that often defy logic.

But making emotional decisions doesn’t have to be a financial death sentence. Money management is a skill, which means we can improve.

When we understand the “why” behind our decisions, coupled with the marketing tactics that retailers use, we can guard ourselves against cognitive biases and sales strategies.

That’s what today’s guest is here to discuss.

Keep reading...

January 20, 2020By Paula Pant

#237: Ask Paula and Joe – Should I BUY a Business, Instead of Starting One?

Katie wants to know how to purchase a business that’s already cash-flow positive. What indicators can she look for?

Rob will retire from the military with an inflation-adjusted pension. Does he need a bond allocation in his investment portfolio?

Brian conquered a large sum of credit card debt, but still has student loan debt and a mortgage. Should he pay off his student loans, refinance them, or refinance his mortgage?

Jeff is curious about the pros and cons of investment apps. When should you use them?

Another Kati (without an e!) wants to live a healthy and wealthy life before she’s 70. Where should she allocate her savings so she can retire early?

We answer these five questions in today’s episode.

Keep reading...

January 13, 2020By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#236: How We Saved $1 Million and Retired at 31 and 32, with Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung

Can you imagine living on 44 cents a day?

Kristy Shen doesn’t need to imagine it. She lived it.

Kristy grew up in rural China, where 85 percent of the population lived in abject poverty.

When she was eight, her family emigrated to Canada. In Kristy’s eyes, her family’s newfound ability to buy a can of Coca-Cola meant that they had “made it.” Kristy loved her Coke can so much that she turned it into a toothbrush holder.

Years later, Kristy met Bryce Leung at university, where they were classroom lab partners. They married, settled in Toronto and started saving for a downpayment on a house.

When their down payment savings hit $500,000, they started to question the wisdom of dumping their money into an expensive personal residence.

Fueled by curiosity, they stumbled down the financial independence rabbit hole. After countless hours of research and number-crunching, they ditched their plan to buy a house and invested their $500,000 into the stock and bond market. Around seven years later, their net worth reached $1 million.

Keep reading...

January 6, 2020By Paula Pant

#235: Ask Paula – Sooo … I Quit My Job. What Type of Business Should I Start?

Anna has made the leap to self-employment … but what’s next? She lives in the Bay Area and she’s trying to choose between five business ideas; she needs to make enough money to stay in her high-cost area.

Doug recently won $9,000 from an online poker side gig and is wondering how best to use the funds: pay off high-interest student loan debt, or keep it to increase his poker earning potential?

Alex and his partner want to househack a single-family property with a mother-in-law suit. What should they consider as far as zoning goes?

Darrell is on track to retire in two years at age 55 and wants to know what he should do with his primary residence. Should he rent it out? Or should he sell it and use the profit to invest in rental properties? Or use the profit to buy his retirement home?

Mara is curious about 1031 exchanges. She has equity in a rental property that she’d like to harvest, but she wants more information before making the move.

Michael and his wife are struggling with competing goals. They want to invest in real estate, but they also want to move into an apartment closer to work to reduce their long commutes. Should they sell their home and invest the equity into a rental property, or should they take a HELOC on their home instead?

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

Keep reading...

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Afford Anything

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
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    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
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  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income