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Category: Personal Finance 101

March 4, 2019By Paula Pant

#181: Ask Paula – How Should I Plan a Mini-Retirement?

Imagine that you’re going to take a 6-month to 9-month mini-retirement. How should you plan? What should you do? Sure, you’ll need to have enough savings to cover your expenses. You might want to find some part-time work. You may need to sell off a few investment. And of course, you’ll need to think about health insurance.

But what else should you consider? And how will your first taste of voluntary unemployment impact your mental and emotional health?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I discuss this in today’s podcast episode.

We also answer a question from a New York-based father of two who’s trying to choose a health insurance plan.

We talk to a woman who wants to roll her six-figure SEP-IRA balance into a Roth IRA account.

We answer a question from a listener who’s moving back to Amsterdam with his wife and two children, and is wondering what to do with his 401k in the U.S.

And we answer a question from a man who’s wondering if he should invest in a taxable brokerage account, rather than focusing on so many tax-advantaged retirement accounts, so that he can more easily access this money before he turns 59 and a half.

Keep reading...

February 11, 2019By Paula Pant

#177: Ask Paula and Joe: Should I Buy a House or Catch Up on Retirement Savings?

Imagine that your job is extremely well-paying, but you don’t enjoy it.

You’d like to switch employers, even though this will probably require a paycut. But before you make the switch, you want to accomplish two goals: buy a home and catch up on retirement savings.

Should you pursue both goals? Or should you defer the home purchase, given the potential future paycut?

If you decide to pursue both goals, which one should come first?

This is one of the five questions that former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer in this week’s podcast episode.

Keep reading...

January 21, 2019By Paula Pant

#173: When a Child of Financial Chaos Stumbles into Adulthood – with Paulette Perhach


Paulette Perhach is a journalist who has been published in The New York Times, Slate, ELLE, Marie Claire, and Cosmo.

She catapulted to fame as an accidental personal finance writer after she published an article called The Story of an F-Off Fund.

This article tells the same narrative twice: in Scenario A, the protagonist in the story doesn’t have any emergency savings, and in Scenario B, she does. Paulette wrote this as a work of narrative fiction that vividly shows the power of an emergency fund, or as she rebrands it, an F-Off Fund.

This story went viral. More than a million people read it, it was translated into multiple languages, and it landed her a book deal and a major profile in the Seattle Times.

Keep reading...

January 14, 2019By Paula Pant

#172: Ask Paula – Should I Buy a Nice Car or Save My Money?


Should a 25-year-old homeowner with healthy savings and no debt (other than his mortgage) upgrade his car? Should he make this choice if his current car is fine, and upgrading puts him into new debt?

Should a couple without access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan put their savings into a taxable account, or should they save for a downpayment on a rental property?

The market is fluctuating like mad; if someone has a lump-sum of cash, should they invest it now or should they slowly meter it in?

Should someone without an emergency fund enroll in an HSA-qualified health insurance plan? Or should they stick with a plan that has a smaller deductible?

How should a husband-and-wife team that’s self-employed and running a company together handle their health insurance?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these five questions on today’s podcast. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

January 7, 2019By Paula Pant

#171: The biggest study of everyday millionaires in 25 years – with Chris Hogan

Chris Hogan is a former football player and Georgetown alum who became the Vice President of a well-respected company. By all accounts, he seemed successful. Yet he felt there was something missing.

He kept seeing families struggle with their personal finances, and he felt a calling to help. That’s when he met Dave Ramsey, who brought him into the Ramsey family to spread the word about smart money management and debt freedom. Chris has been a writer, speaker and influencer ever since.

Chris organized a survey of 10,000 millionaires in the United States. The last time anyone conducted a large-scale study of American self-made millionaires was 25 years ago, and documented in the classic book The Millionaire Next Door. While that book is fantastic, it’s also 25 years old. Chris wanted to gather current data, to see what’s changed since then, and what’s remained the same.

Keep reading...

December 31, 2018By Paula Pant

#169: One Tweak a Week in 2019 — Easy Improvements to Your Financial Life in 2019

Happy New Years! To kickoff 2019, we’ve created a free book called One Tweak a Week, outlining 26 easy, actionable ways that you can improve your financial life.

Today’s podcast episode covers these 26 tweaks, so you can listen in audio format, in addition to reading the book.

If you put these into action for the first six months of 2019, you’ll be in a stronger position in June than you started in January.

Each tweak takes less than one hour (some are as quick as five minutes), and taken together, these tweaks can accumulate into a serious impact.

Improve your money management and get closer to financial independence with our free book, One Tweak a Week. You can download it here: https://affordanything.com/2019

Keep reading...

December 17, 2018By Paula Pant

#167: Ask Paula – Should I Pay Off Student Loans While in School?

Angelisa is a college senior with $30,000 in student loans. She has a part-time job, from which she’s saved $2,500. Should she keep saving money, or should she get a headstart on paying down her student loans while she’s in school?

Mackenzie is also a college senior with some student loans. She recently received a settlement from a car accident. Should she invest this money? If so, how?

Franchesca is 35 and is carrying $212,000 in debt, mostly student loans. Could she reach financial independence, even with a late start?

Erica wants to make environmentally-friendly investments. How should she approach this?

Caroline is 42 and has started making after-tax (non-Roth) 401k contributions. Is this a good idea?

An anonymous listener is curious about podcasting. How did I get started?

I answer these six questions on today’s podcast episode, alongside former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

December 10, 2018By Paula Pant

#166: Everything I Learned About Money Came from My Grandmother – with Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post

Michelle Singletary learned everything she knows about money from her grandmother.

Well, okay, I shouldn’t say “everything” that she knows. After all, Michelle also has an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She writes about personal finance for the Washington Post. Her nationally-syndicated personal finance column, The Color of Money, is published in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She’s written three financial books.

Oh, and guess what? Her column was nominated for a Pulitzer.

Michelle has been learning, thinking, writing, researching and speaking about money management for decades. Yet the most important education she received, she says, came from the lessons her grandmother taught her.

Keep reading...

December 7, 2018By Paula Pant

#165: Ask Paula – Should I Invest in Index Funds or Rental Properties?

Should Kim, an entrepreneur, invest in index funds or rental properties?

Should Nick, an MBA student, househack into a more-expensive home with stronger cash flow, or a cheaper home with more budgetary wiggle room?

Should Kelly, who is getting married soon, sell her current home and use the proceeds to buy multiple rentals? Or should she use her current home as a rental property?

Should Trayci and her sister invest in rental properties or bare land?

I answer these four questions in today’s episode.

We’re a weekly show, but on the first Friday of the month, we air a bonus episode. This is our December 2018 First Friday Bonus Episode.

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

November 26, 2018By Paula Pant

#163: Ask Paula – The Future of Index Fund Investing

Does my employer match count against my 401k contribution limits? Should I invest in a Traditional or Roth TSP? Should I invest more aggressively in stocks right now, or should I hold cash and bonds until the next downturn? Should I get a mortgage or keep renting until I can buy a home in cash? Do you think index investing will dramatically change in the coming decades?

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

Keep reading...

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Afford Anything

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
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  • Community
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    • Your First Rental Property
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