Afford Anything

Category: FIRE

By

#622: First Friday: Why Americans Are More Pessimistic Than Ever

The headlines said America added 147,000 jobs in June. The reality? Private companies actually cut 33,000 positions.

Grad students just lost access to unlimited borrowing. Parent PLUS loans now cap at $65,000. And tariffs are about to jump as high as 70 percent.

Everything is changing at once — taxes, tariffs, student loans, and immigration policy. And data from the University of Michigan says that consumers feel more pessimistic than they did six months ago.

Welcome to the 4th of July First Friday episode. On America’s 249th birthday, we unpack these economic stories.

Keep reading...

By

#621: Q&A: Which Investments Should Go Into Which Accounts?

DOWNLOAD the FREE Cheat Sheet: ASSET LOCATION MADE SIMPLE at affordanything.com/assetlocation

Jared is attracted to the favorable terms of the annuity plan that his employer offers, but he’s hesitant to pay the opportunity cost of locking up his money now. What should he do?

An anonymous caller is struggling to find the efficient frontier with only three funds to choose from in his Thrift Savings Plan. Is there any hope for him?

Jack feels great about the funds in his portfolio, but he’s losing sleep over how to apportion them between his taxable, pre-tax and Roth accounts. What’s the best tax strategy for him?

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

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By

#620: The Hidden Cost of Replacing You at Work, with “Money with Katie” host Katie Gatti Tassin

You probably think your value to your employer equals your paycheck. Katie Gatti Tassin has news for you — you’re worth way more than that.

The host of “Money with Katie” recently joined us to break down a framework that could change how you negotiate forever. Her formula is simple: Your worth equals your market rate plus what it costs to replace you, raised to the power of your unique skills.

Most people focus only on market rate — what similar jobs pay in your area. You can find this through salary transparency laws, LinkedIn data, or job postings. But that’s just the starting point.

The real eye-opener? Replacement costs. When you leave, companies face recruiting fees, interview time, onboarding expenses, and lost productivity. For mid-level roles, recruiters charge 15 to 25 percent of your first-year salary. Senior positions cost even more — headhunters for executive roles charge 25 to 35 percent of total compensation.

A company replacing an $80,000 employee might pay $20,000 just in recruiter fees. For a $200,000 executive, that jumps to $70,000. Add training time and the productivity gap while they search, and replacement costs can hit 50 to 200 percent of annual salary.

Then there’s your “special sauce” — the unique value you bring. Maybe you have deep client relationships, specialized skills, or institutional knowledge that would take months for a replacement to develop.

Katie learned this framework through her own career pivots. She started as an ad copywriter but shifted into user experience writing after working closely with a UX designer who told her the pay was much better. That internal pivot positioned her for an external move that doubled her compensation from $70,000 to $140,000.

Katie had to catch a flight — she visited our New York studios during her book launch tour — but the conversation covers practical tactics for earning more and building wealth.

Keep reading...

By

#619: Q&A: My Company Is Going Public and I Have No Idea What to Do – Plus, Should I Fire My Advisor?

Dave is no longer happy with his financial advisor, but he’s nervous about switching over to self-management after being completely hands-off for so long. What should he do?

An anonymous caller keeps hearing about the benefits of Cost Segregation for investment property. What is it? And should he apply this strategy to his recently acquired duplex?

Another anonymous caller is eagerly anticipating a windfall from his employer’s upcoming IPO. How should he prepare for this, and what happens if it fails?

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

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By

#618: How to Retire at 50 While Supporting Aging Parents, with Frank Vasquez

Frank Vasquez watched his parents, ages 91 and 96, struggle financially in retirement.

They were immigrants. His dad was a physician. They raised five kids. They retired in the early 1990’s. But by 2009, they ran out of money.

When Frank was 45, in 2009, his parents would call asking for money to help make ends meet.

This reality hit Frank hard and sparked a decade-long quest to crack the code on sustainable retirement withdrawals.

At age 45, Frank set an ambitious goal: retire in his early 50’s while still supporting his parents financially.

The problem? Most financial experts simply told people to spend less rather than optimize their portfolios for higher withdrawal rates. Frank wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

You’ll hear how Frank discovered that many retirees leave money on the table by holding too much cash or following overly conservative allocation models.

Through extensive research, he found a sweet spot for stock allocation that maximizes safe withdrawal rates — something most traditional advisors miss entirely.

Frank walks us through his approach to portfolio construction, explaining why he believes in balancing growth and value stocks while keeping bonds limited to US treasuries for recession protection.

He breaks down the math behind safe withdrawal rates and reveals why property taxes pose a hidden threat to retirement security as home values climb.
You’ll learn about risk parity strategies, macro allocation principles, and why diversification across uncorrelated assets creates more stability than traditional 60/40 portfolios.

The conversation covers Frank’s Golden Ratio Portfolio, a structured approach to asset allocation designed specifically for the retirement drawdown phase.
Frank figured out how to fix what went wrong with his parents’ retirement. His approach could help you avoid the same mistakes.

Keep reading...

By

#617: Q&A: We Just Had a Baby and Lost Half Our Income

Austin and his wife are worried about moving to a single-income household while supporting two kids. Should they free up cash flow by paying off a car loan, or tighten up and stay the course?

Paul has been retired for seven years, but still can’t shake his anxiety about not having enough. Is there a […]

Keep reading...

By

#616: How Hackers Are Stealing Your Retirement $50 at a Time, with former CIA hacker Dr. Eric Cole

Two school teachers in Ohio saved their entire lives for one dream — buying a farm.

When they inherited $1.3 million and found the perfect property for $1.2 million, everything seemed perfect.

Five days before closing, they received what looked like a legitimate email from their closing company with wire transfer instructions. They sent the money and showed up at closing, only to discover they’d been scammed.

The email was fake, sent by hackers who had infiltrated the closing company’s servers for months, waiting for exactly this type of high-value cash deal.

That story comes from cybersecurity expert Dr. Eric Cole, who joins us to explain why ordinary people have become prime targets for cybercriminals.
Cole, a former CIA hacker who served as cybersecurity commissioner under President Barack Obama and advises high-profile clients including Bill Gates’ personal estate, has a message: if you think you’re too small to be targeted, you’re wrong.

While billion-dollar companies deploy teams of 60 cybersecurity professionals, you have virtually no protection.

Criminals know this. They’re not trying to steal $100 million from one person anymore — they’re stealing $50 from thousands of people every month.

You probably won’t notice the small amounts vanishing from your accounts. Cole calls it “death by a thousand cuts,” and it’s happening right now.

We talk through the most common attacks targeting your money. Bank hacking is simpler than most people realize. All criminals need is your account number — printed on every check you write — and your password. With that information, they can often perform electronic fund transfers of up to 50 percent of your account balance without triggering alerts.

We also cover the China-TikTok connection, secure messaging options, and why Cole helped configure President Obama’s smartphone to connect to fake cell towers that masked his actual location.

Cole’s bottom line: cybersecurity isn’t just for tech companies anymore. Criminals are targeting ordinary people because we’re easier prey than heavily protected corporations. Your money is under threat. Here’s how to protect it.

Keep reading...

By

#615: Q&A: We Saved $1.2 Million But We’re Still Renting. Should We Buy?

Emily is nervous that buying their first home will derail her family’s journey to financial independence. What’s the smartest way to deploy their savings and stay on track?

Based on cap rate calculations, Paul’s real estate investments have appreciated beyond their sensible holding point. Should he sell his assets, or is there more to consider here?

Mike is recently retired while his wife still works. With a paid-off home and healthcare already taken care of, what are best practices for drawing down an investment portfolio?

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

Enjoy!

P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.

Keep reading...

By

#613: Rachel Rodgers: This Multimillionaire Started With $330,000 in Debt and a $41,000 Salary

Rachel Rodgers graduated from law school with $330,000 in student loans. Her starting salary? Just $41,000.

Most people would have accepted this crushing debt-to-income ratio. They’d slowly chip away at payments for decades. Rodgers had a different plan.

She deferred her loans and started her own virtual law practice in 2008 — during the recession, when jobs were scarce and most lawyers were struggling to find work.

Her mom thought she was crazy.

Her first year, she made around $65,000 in gross revenue with only $300 in overhead costs. By year two, she was earning $300,000.

The key to her success wasn’t cutting expenses or living on rice and beans. Rodgers focused entirely on earning more money.

We talk about the practical steps she took to scale her business.

She waited until hitting $250,000 in annual revenue before bringing on her first full-time employee — an administrative assistant who immediately paid for herself by responding to client inquiries faster than Rodgers could manage alone.

Rodgers also shares insights from a CEO’s perspective on what employees should know when asking for a raise.

Understand your company’s goals. Know your boss’s pain points. When you spot a problem, bring three solutions — not just the issue. She usually goes with whatever option her team recommends.

“You are the asset,” she explains. This mindset applies whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee trying to maximize your career potential.

Our interview covers her transition from solopreneur to multimillion-dollar business owner, her approach to leading employees, and her philosophy on building wealth through entrepreneurship rather than cost-cutting.

Keep reading...

By

#611: Q&A: “Is It REALLY Different This Time?”

With the state of the world changing so rapidly, Lesley is struggling to accept that “this time isn’t different.” Does the past still reliably inform the present in the face of major decisions today?

An anonymous caller and her husband want to achieve financial independence through real estate within 10 years. Is it better to pay off existing mortgages or prioritize buying more rentals?

Melanie feels duped by the FICO credit scoring system. She’s doing all the right things, but her credit score is still moving in the wrong direction. What’s going on here?

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

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

Afford Anything