Podcast

April 15, 2019By Paula Pant

#188: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, with Daniel Pink

In May 1915, a renowned 58-year-old sea captain, Captain William Thomas Turner, made a series of questionable decisions.

He was the captain of the Lusitania, a ship with 1,959 passangers, sailing from Manhattan to London. The first World War was taking place around them, and Captain Turner knew he needed to move swiftly to evade German submarines.

His ship approached England; land was in sight. They had almost made it. Yet for reasons that will always remain a mystery, around 1 pm on May 7th, Captain Turner slowed the speed of the vessel to around 18 knots, slower than the 21 knots that they needed to outpace the threat of submarines. Around 45 minutes later, he executed what’s called a “four-point bearing,” which forced him to pilot the ship in a straight line rather than a zigzag course, which would be better for outmaneuvering torpedos.

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April 8, 2019By Paula Pant

#187: The Final Ask Paula: Real Estate Episode!

Sarah needs $36,000 per year in living expenses in order to reach FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). She owns several rental properties, and she’s aggressively paying off the mortgages through the debt snowball method. How will she know when she’s ready to live on $3,000 per month in consistent rental income?AyV wants to rent out his primary residence. What steps should he take to prepare the property for rent? Should he hire a contractor? What level of renovation should he give it?

And more!

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April 5, 2019By Paula Pant

#186: How We Retired at Age 30 and 29, with Mike and Lauren

Mike and Lauren reached financial independence at age 30 and 29, respectively.

But their story begins a dozen years earlier.

Mike and Lauren started dating high school. Mike worked as a restaurant server in high school, earning $19,000 per year. He built his first net worth tracking spreadsheet in December 2005 as a high school student. He had a net worth of $416.

In 2007, Mike dropped out of college to start a commercial cleaning company. He made $76,000 that year. As history would have it, that was the couple’s second-highest-earning year ever.

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April 1, 2019By Paula Pant

#185: Ask Paula: How Do I Talk to Friends who Ridicule the Idea of FIRE?

Hello from Austin, Texas! I’m living in an Airbnb here for the next 5 weeks. Listen to the end of today’s episode to find out why … and discover how these next 5 weeks, for me, exemplify the “why” of financial independence.

In the meantime, though, the show must go on! Here are the questions that we’re answering in today’s episode.

An anonymous listener named Seeking FIRE wants to know how she can talk about financial independence with people who ridicule the topic. What do you say to those who laugh at the very idea?

Russell owns a landscaping company and is also a part-time student. He’d like to earn more money on the side, but his schedule is overbooked. What can he do?

Nick and his family are moving to the Washington D.C. area for approximately two to six years. They own two rental properties free-and-clear, and would like to buy a personal residence when they move. How should he save for the downpayment?

Gerardo lives in Mexico and wants to retire on his investment portfolio, using the 4 percent withdrawal rule. How should he invest, given currency fluctuations and other international factors?

Anonymous left her job and wants to know if she should roll over her 401k from her old employer.

We tackle these five questions in today’s episode. We also answer a comment from a listener who says that individual stock-picking and active management doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

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March 25, 2019By Paula Pant

#184: The Alter Ego Effect, with Todd Herman

In 2003, Beyonce Knowles-Carter felt shy about performing sultry lyrics and dance routines on stage. She needed a tactic to overcome her nerves and stage fright. So she created an alter ego, Sasha Fierce, to bring out her more assertive side.

Beyonce is one of many top performers — along with other top artists, athletes, executives, speakers, investors, bankers, lawyers, negotiators, and more — who use alter egos as a tactic to overcome their insecurities and become better versions of themselves.

Today’s podcast guest, Todd Herman, is an expert at the practice of creating alter egos to improve your performance in any arena of life. He says that crafting an alter ego can help you become a better worker, leader, manager, investor, and even a better parent.

Todd joins us on today’s podcast to describe the “why” and “how” of creating an alter ego at work, at home, and in social settings.

Here are six takeaways from our conversation:

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March 18, 2019By Paula Pant

#183: Ask Paula – Should I Sell My Rental Property to Pay Off My Student Loans?

Should a newlywed couple with two cash flowing rental properties sell one to pay off $92,000 of student loan debt?

What percentage of your portfolio should you have in rental properties?

What’s the smartest way to approach rental property investing, particularly if you get anxiety thinking about tenant requests?

How much should high interest rates impact your decision to buy a rental?

I answer these four questions on today’s episode, plus, I have a big announcement regarding the future of real estate Ask Paula episodes, so check it out. 🙂

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March 11, 2019By Paula Pant

#182: Thirteen Dumb Mistakes Smart People Make with Their Money – with CBS News analyst Jill Schlesinger

Millions of smart, educated and successful people make dumb mistakes with their money … and they don’t realize it.

I’m not talking about obvious dumb mistakes, like spending 85 percent of your income on a fleet of Ultra-Luxe-Fancymobiles for your 16-car garage. That’s clearly a bad idea.

Instead, I’m talking about hidden dumb mistakes that you may not realize until it’s too late.

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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.

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March 1, 2019By Paula Pant

#180: The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business – with Elaine Pofeldt

Elaine Pofeldt, a writer for CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, Money Magazine and other business publications, decided to deep-dive into the world of solopreneur million-dollar companies.

What are the stories of entrepreneurs who gross $1 million or more in their businesses, despite having no employees? How did they begin? What do they do differently?

She interviewed hundreds of founders of non-employer seven-figure companies and wrote a book about her findings called The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business. Today, she joins us on the podcast to talk about what we can learn from this special class of entrepreneurs.

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February 25, 2019By Paula Pant