Personal Finance 101

New to personal finance and money management? Start here to learn about the basics like paying off debt, saving more, spending less, and budgeting.

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

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    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.

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

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    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!

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

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    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.

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

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    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

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

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    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!

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

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    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.

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

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    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!

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

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    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.

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    #162: AI and The Future of Jobs – with author Darrell West

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    How will artificial intelligence, AI, impact jobs?

    Former Harvard president and leading economist Larry Summers predicts that one-third of men will be out of work by 2050. Finance guru Suze Orman says not to be surprised if we see 25 percent unemployment by 2030. And major research institutions predict anywhere from 14 percent to 50 percent unemployment.

    Even if we take the most optimistic prediction, that’s huge. Fourteen percent job loss would have massive ramifications on the economy, the stock market, the housing market, and every facet of our lives. Heck, even half of the most optimistic prediction would be an enormous game-changer.