Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

By Paula Pant

#256: Ask Paula: Bonds Are Tanking. Should I Switch to Real Estate Instead?

Jon is wondering if now is a good time to move his RRSP into a tax-free savings account, given the market downturn. He knows you can’t time the market, but the opportunity is tempting. What should he do?

Laurel’s question revolves around the CARE Act and early withdrawal from a 401k. She needs to rebalance her 401k and wants to buy a rental. Instead of selling stocks, should she sell bonds as a form of rebalancing and to withdraw for a rental property?

After seeing so many businesses experience financial hardship, Rebecca and her husband are curious: why don’t companies have emergency funds?

Salome sees the stock market downturn as an opportunity for tax-loss harvesting, but does this hold if you’ve held stocks for less than a year?

Josh and his wife have funds in Vanguard and Betterment, and they own their apartment in Queens, NY. Does the equity they have in their apartment count as real estate, or should they invest in something else for more diversification?

Jenny and her husband earn $220,000, max out their 403b and HSA, and have an extra $4,000 per month to invest. Where should they put this money?

Sheena has the option to purchase company stock at a 15 percent discount through an Employer Stock Purchasing Plan. However, it’s volatile right now. Should she contribute the maximum amount, or nothing?

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

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday: How Is The Pandemic Affecting the Housing Market?

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.

Before the pandemic, the U.S. housing market was strong. Home prices were at historic highs. Borrowers were more qualified than ever, with two-thirds of mortgage originations going to borrowers with excellent credit. As of January 2020, delinquencies (borrowers more than 30 days late on a payment) reached a 20-year low.

How has the pandemic affected the market? Are we due for another spate of foreclosures? What’s going to happen to housing supply? What about demand? Are buyers still buying? Are sellers still selling? And if you’re thinking about buying a home — either as an owner-occupant or as a rental property investor — what do you need to know about the new pandemic landscape?

We dig into depth in this short, researched-packed PSA Thursday episode.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#255: How Your Personality Affects Your Finances, with Dr. Sarah Stanley Fallaw

When a crisis hits, do you stay calm and collected, or do you launch yourself down a rabbit hole of worry and worst-case scenarios? 

When the stock market spirals downward, do you shrug and stay the course, or do warning bells explode in your brain? 

When news of the pandemic hit, was your first instinct to form a calm and reasoned action plan, or rush to the store to buy months of supplies?

Your personality influences your reactions to these scenarios. 

Personality traits influence our thoughts, feelings and responses, which affects how we manage our money and investments. 

What personality traits are we talking about?

The Big 5 Personality Traits are conscientiousness, agreeableness, introversion/extraversion, openness, and emotional stability. 

Once we understand how the Big Five personality traits influence us, we can make better-informed, less harmful financial decisions.

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By Paula Pant

#254: Ask Paula – Should I Invest During a Pandemic?

It’s our First Friday bonus episode!

Lydia earns income as both a 1099 contract worker and a part-time W2 employee. She filed for unemployment as a W2 worker, but can’t find information on how to file as a contractor. Is there a process contractors can follow to file for unemployment?

Florina and her husband have $70,000 in cash to invest. Where should they put this money in light of the current market?

Ali and his wife saved eight months of living expenses in their emergency fund in case they get laid off during the pandemic. Is this too excessive?

Danielle wants to take advantage of pandemic stock prices – what should she invest in?

Anonymous in Real Estate wants to buy a multifamily property with the equity in their first rental as a downpayment. Their husband doesn’t want three mortgages. Should they accelerate mortgage pay-down and be one mortgage down in four years?

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

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday: How Bad Is the Stock Market Crash?

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

The majority of us have experienced a rapid change that’s affected every aspect of our lives, from work to our wallets to our health. We’re living in a world that was completely unimaginable two months ago. And we’re trying to handle increased responsibility in a time of high anxiety and high uncertainty.

These weekly PSA episodes are one of many ways in which we hope to help our community make sense of how to manage our limited resources – our money, our time, our energy – in the context of these rapidly changing circumstances. 

Today, our focus is on money – specifically, the stock market. 

Why did it crash in March? What effect did that have on us as a society? Why has it rebounded in the middle of a shutdown, and what does that mean? Are valuations too high relative to earnings? 

How can we handle our investments and retirement savings at a time when the movements of the market seem irrational and unpredictable?

We explore these questions in today’s episode.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#253: The Thinker’s Guide to Market Volatility, with Dr. Steve Wendel and Sam Lamas

It’s the spring of 2020, and the market is incredibly volatile.

It soars up one day and plummets down the next.

No one knows what to expect from the market or the economy.

No one knows what to expect, period.

What can we do in the midst of such turbulence? What should we do?

What our minds want to do and what we should do are at war with each other. 

For example, your mind might want you to panic sell after a sharp market downturn.

“Take me off this roller coaster!” it screams. 

But in reality, turning paper losses into real losses is a mistake. Investors often lose more when they panic and sell than they would have if they stayed the course. 

Unfortunately, your mind is nowhere near that conclusion. It’s too busy having an emotional reaction to the news. 

How can you protect yourself from reacting to panic? Is it possible to let some semblance of logic shine through?

Today’s guests say yes. It’s possible to save yourself from yourself, as long as you learn to recognize the cognitive tricks your mind plays on you. 

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By Paula Pant

#252: Ask Paula – Will the Stimulus Cause Massive Inflation?

The government issued a $2 trillion stimulus. How will that affect the economy? Could we endure massive inflation or hyperinflation?

Bradley kicks off today’s Ask Paula episode with this timely question. What inflation rate will we see in 2020, and how can we prepare? How should we hedge against hyperinflation?

Anonymous Retiree (whom we call Sequencing Sally) is 64 and retired last year. She lives off of monthly withdrawals from a Vanguard portfolio. Given the bear market, should she leave her portfolio alone and spend from an emergency fund?

Additionally, her target allocation is off-kilter. Should she rebalance now or later?

Jay wants to reach financial independence in five years, but she’s in a job that will pay her $270,000 student loan balance if she stays there for another 17 years. Should she stay, or quit and face the balance?

Jan has $500,000 in a managed fund with a three percent annual fee. He wants to move his funds into his Vanguard personal brokerage account, without incurring a ton of taxes from the sales of his holdings. How can he accomplish this?

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

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday: 31 Tips to Stay Productive As You Work From Home

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

Today’s focus is work. Specifically, working from home, and how to stay focused and productive throughout your day.

Getting thrown into working from home when all you’ve known is the office life can be hard. Especially when there are added distractions involved that you don’t have to deal with at the office, like your kids, a pile of dishes, or your gloriously-stocked refrigerator.

How can you manage the expectations of both your colleagues and the people you live with? How can you find a routine when you feel like you’re being pulled in a million different directions? How can you ensure your kids are taken care of and your boss/manager/client is happy?

Listen to the episode to discover the 31 tips we recommend for staying productive as you work from home.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#251: From High School Dropout to Successful Entrepreneur, Author and World Traveler — with Chris Guillebeau

Do you love the idea of making money on your own — without a boss?

Can you imagine deciding how you spend each day?

Are you bored and looking for a challenge? Do you love the thought of adventure?

Today’s guest, Chris Guillebeau, knows all about hustling, living an unconventional life, working towards seemingly impossible goals, and combining his interests into an epic lifestyle business that brings him freedom and joy.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday: How to Build an Emergency Fund During an Emergency

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

Today, we cover two topics:

1. Building an emergency fund during an emergency
2. How the bear market affects the way that you handle your investments

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