By Paula Pant
Joe and I are catching up in person to dive into a new set of listener questions.
From navigating the complexities of the current real estate market to strategic tax planning for retirement, this episode explores both the technical and psychological aspects of building wealth.
Whether you’re wondering how to handle a sudden […]
By Paula Pant
What do student loans, early retirement, and Airbnb have in common?
They’re the three questions we’re tackling in today’s episode, and each one forces you to think about uncertainty, flexibility, and whether the “right” financial move on paper is actually the right move for your life.
Joe and I answer three listener questions. KJ […]
By Paula Pant
In this Q&A episode, Joe and I answer three listener questions that wrestle with the gap between plans and reality.
Bringham is 23, recently awarded 100% VA disability ($4,300/month for life), and has mapped out a detailed 30-year plan: buy a house, have 2-3 kids, become a […]
By Paula Pant
Should you take a $30,000 raise right before you retire? It’s the kind of question that forces you to ask what you’re really optimizing for—money, or something else entirely.
In this Q&A episode, Joe and I answer three questions: Melanie is four years from FI but a high-stress job with a big raise just opened […]
By Paula Pant
Should you reduce your retirement contributions to save for a house down payment faster?
It’s a question that forces you to choose between two competing financial goals—and the answer isn’t as simple as picking one over the other.
In this Q&A episode, Joe and I tackle three listener questions about financial trade-offs.
Hannah […]
By Paula Pant
Should your emergency fund chase yields, or should you prioritize stability over returns? It’s a question we haven’t had to ask for years, but as interest rates drop, savers are facing a new reality.
In this Q&A episode, we tackle four listener questions that span the practical and the philosophical. We start with a listener […]
By Paula Pant
Three listeners, three very different financial dilemmas, but all connected by the same underlying question: What do I do when life doesn’t follow the plan?
In this Q&A, we tackle three high-stakes money decisions. A post-divorce real estate leap overseas. A retiree with a suddenly swollen portfolio. And an investor questioning whether smarter returns cost […]
By Paula Pant
What’s the real value of a college degree in 2026? Is it just about the paycheck, or is there something deeper we’re missing in the ROI calculation?
In this Q&A episode, Joe and I tackle one of the most consequential financial decisions […]
By Paula Pant
Welcome to Greatest Hits Week – five days, five episodes from our vault, spelling out F-I-I-R-E.
Today’s letter R stands for Real Estate. This episode originally aired in May 2022, but the insights on long-distance investing remain just as relevant for anyone feeling priced out of their local market.
We tackle the five biggest […]
By Paula Pant
Home prices have outpaced wages for more than a decade, and first-time buyers are stretching further every year. Now a new idea is entering the conversation, the 50-year mortgage. It promises lower monthly payments, yet it reshapes everything from equity growth to long-term risk.
In this episode we sit down with Karsten Jeske, PhD, CFA […]
