Afford Anything

Category: Episodes

By Paula Pant

#211: What’s Your Why? Financial Independence, Debt Freedom and More

Hey there!

I’m writing this from Croatia, where I’m beginning five weeks of travel that I’m calling my September Sabbatical. From now through September 23rd, I’ll be exploring the globe and enjoying a one-month break.

Today, I’m kicking things off with a community-based episode. Here’s the backstory behind today’s show:

There’s an event called CampFI, which is a 3-4 day gathering for people who are interested in financial independence. CampFI holds around half a dozen events per year in various locations; I spoke at one in Colorado Springs this past July.

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By Paula Pant

#210: How to Be an Adult – with Mark Manson

We live in a fascinating era: huge sections of society are more prosperous, advanced and safe than at any other point in human history, yet depression and anxiety are at record highs.

It’s a paradox of progress: the richer the nation, the more likely its citizens are to suffer from mental health issues and report feeling crushing isolation and unhappiness.

What gives?

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By Paula Pant

#209: Ask Paula – Are Index Funds Unsafe?

Anonymous wants to retire early and often. They’re going overseas, where they’ll make their annual salary within six months. Where should they put their extra income?

Anonymous also wants to know: how can they find a financial advisor they can actually trust?

Another anonymous listener wants to know – is it possible to spend more while minimizing taxes in early retirement?

JuanCarlos asks: is $20,000 too little to invest with a financial advisor?

Angela is wondering how to create a Roth IRA account for a teenager.

Rose is thinking about switching from mutual funds to index funds because it means encountering less fees, but her and her husband are in their 60s. Does this make sense?

Ari has $700,000 to invest in a taxable brokerage account. He wants to know if a 90 percent total stock market index and 10 percent bonds is a good asset allocation.

Dave and his wife want to use their defined benefit plans as their primary income stream in retirement, and supplement with Roth and 457 incomes. Where else should they be saving?

Myself and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy answer these questions on today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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By Paula Pant

#208: How to Talk to Your Parents About Retirement and Beyond — with Cameron Huddleston

Well, this could get awkward.

Your parents and grandparents are aging. (Duh.) You want to have a few important financial conversations with them. It’s time to get the answers to questions like:

“So … are you ready for retirement?”

“You’ve been retired for 10 years … how’s that going? How are your finances looking?”

“Do you have a will or legal trust? What’s your estate plan situation?”

“Do you have an advance health care directive?”

“To whom have you given your power of attorney?”

“What types of accounts do you have, and how can I — or someone whom you designate — access the passwords if and when the appropriate time comes?”

These financial conversations are important, but awkward. Most people would rather discuss the news, the weather, or the Kardashians.

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By Paula Pant

#207: Ask Paula – Should I Take a $30k Paycut for Better Work-Life Balance, or Stick it Out?

Matt and his fiance earn $7,500 per month combined. They save more than half of their income. He’d like to take a different job that will decrease his income by $2,000 per month, but improve his quality of life. Should he?

Suja wants to take out a loan for business growth. What red flags should she watch for?

Anonymous and her husband are thinking about buying half-million-dollar home, purchasing a second car, and having a baby. They’ve saved an emergency fund and a 20 percent downpayment. Are they ready?

Trayci wants to quit her 9-to-5 and start working as a 1099 self-employed lifestyle. How should she manage this transition?

Daria is curious about the economics of a podcast. What do the income and expenses look like?

Jared wants to retire early and then sell off his rental properties, but he’s worried about the depreciation recapture tax rate. How should he plan?

Ali wants to set up a long-term giving plan, but most of the advice out there is geared towards wealthy donors. How should middle-class workers set up their charitable giving?

Financial planner Sophia Bera (hailed by Investment News as one of the Top 40 Under 40) joins me on today’s episode to answer these seven questions.

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By Paula Pant

#206: When Career Zigzagging is Smarter – with David Epstein

We live in a society that values career specialization.

You’re not a “doctor” — you’re a pediatrician, an anesthesiologist, an oncologist.

You’re not a “lawyer” — you practice family law, or bankruptcy, or criminal law.You’re not an “engineer” — you’re an electrical engineer who specializes in solar technologies, or a civil engineer who specializes in the application of artificial intelligence in highway traffic design.

Specialization is beneficial and necessary, but specializing too early in life or too narrowly can also have drawbacks. According to today’s podcast guest, New York Times bestselling author David Epstein, overspecialization can stifle innovation if we’re all digging in parallel trenches. Sampling a broad range of subjects prior to specializing (e.g. at the undergraduate level, or as a hobby) allows people to make connections between far-flung domains and ideas.

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By Paula Pant

#205: Ask Paula – Am I On-Track for Retirement?

Is it ever a good idea to use your 401(k) as an emergency fund?

What’s the best way to break up with your financial advisor so that you can move all of your funds to Vanguard?

Should you put all of your Roth IRA money into index funds, or is there a better option for your money?

A listener has a job offer working less hours for more money, but without a retirement plan. Is this a good move?

When running a small business as a sole proprietor, are there tax advantages to incorporating or forming an LLC? If so, what should you consider?

What’s the best way to maximize the earnings on a large amount of savings while keeping the savings liquid? Can a robo-advisor help with this?

Myself and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy tackle these six questions in today’s episode. Enjoy!

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By Paula Pant

#204: Upgrade Your Thinking, with Super Thinking authors Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann

You make decisions on a daily basis about your career, family, friendships, health and investments; these choices shape your life.But how much have you thought about how to think?

There are common threads and collective wisdom across disciplines. These common threads create mental models, which are frameworks for understanding the world. Mental models allow us to apply insights from a variety of unrelated fields, using reasoning by analogy to make better choices about our lives.

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By Paula Pant

#203: Ask Paula – Early Retirement and The Four Percent Rule

Many people in their 50’s or 60’s warn us about catastrophic or ‘black swan’ events. But what’s the likelihood that this will actually happen?

How can you use the 4 percent withdrawal rule for early retirement planning, given that your portfolio will be split among accounts with different tax treatments? How do you adjust your retirement plan for future taxes?

Should a couple in their 30’s switch from term life to whole life insurance?

Should a couple in their 50’s with adult children bother buying life insurance in the first place?

Is it okay to keep all your assets at one investment brokerage, like Vanguard or Fidelity?

And can you deduct rental losses if your income is over $150,000?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these questions in today’s episode.

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By Paula Pant

#202: Slow Travel is Cheap Travel – with Nomadic Matt

In 2006, Matt Kepnes worked at a hospital in Boston, and he felt miserable. He dreaded fighting traffic, spending his days under his offices’ fluorescent lighting, drinking stale coffee.

He decided to take one year off — a “gap year” — thinking that after his sabbatical, he’d resume another 40 years of punching the clock.

He worked 60-hour weeks in order to save money for his sabbatical year. He saved $30,000, then handed his boss a resignation letter.

Matt traveled for 18 months, returned to Boston, and realized he had lost his willingness to punch the clock. He couldn’t sit still in an office any longer.He re-packed his bags, bought a one-way flight to who-knows-where, and reinvented himself as a travel writer known as Nomadic Matt. He lives on a budget of $18,250 per year, or $50 per day.

In the last decade, his travel information website, NomadicMatt.com, has become one of the most popular travel blogs in the world, drawing millions of visitors. His writing has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, National Geographic Travel, and the BBC. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, and he’s traveled to more than 100 countries.

In today’s episode, Matt and I discuss the art of slow travel.

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