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By Paula Pant

#326: Ask Paula – The Dangers of Frugality

Photo of Paula Pant crouching down in the middle of woods“Hetty” is struggling with being too frugal, possibly to the detriment of her health. I mentioned in a previous episode that I struggled with frugality for a long time. She wants to know: in what ways was frugality a hindrance or an asset, and how did I get myself out of such a frugal mindset?

John and his wife aren’t sure how much they should contribute to their daughter’s Ohio 529 plan. They want her to graduate from undergrad debt-free, but they imagine she’ll get help from scholarships and that she’ll work as a teenager. How much is enough?

Rafael just got a job as a 1099 sales associate and is wondering how the heck to calculate what he’ll owe in taxes.

Rafael has a second question: he opened an account at Vanguard in December 2020 and noticed that he could still contribute to that account for the first few months of 2021. Which year should he have focused on contributing to?

Elizabeth has two rental properties: one that’s paid off and profitable, the other which shows a loss. If she put her profitable rental into an LLC, could she still combine the rent from both properties?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer another round of questions.

By the way, if you have questions on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing, be sure to leave them here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.

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By Paula Pant

#325: Bitcoin for Beginners

Okay, so everyone and their dog is talking about Bitcoin — but what exactly is it? And what’s Ethereum?

There’s a famous adage that you should never invest in something that you don’t understand.

Today’s episode is intended to help you understand WTF is going on. Here’s what we cover:

  • We explain the history and purpose of blockchain, which is the technology underlying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin
  • We introduce Bitcoin, which is a use case of blockchain and currently the most popular digital currency. We explain how Bitcoin is created, what “mining” means, what “halving” means, and why some people believe that Bitcoin will continue to  increase in value
  • We discuss Ethereum, which is about use case of blockchain, and is a software platform on which developers build decentralized apps
  • We discuss the environmental impact of Bitcoin, including a discussion about the difference between proof-of-work vs proof-of-stake protocols

If you’re feeling lost in the topic and confused by the jargon, start with this episode in which we cover the basics about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

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By Paula Pant

#324: Ask Paula – I Make $50,000; How Can I Buy a House?

Nick is curious: how have my views on wholesalers changed over the years, and why?

Rob and his fiancé are grappling with what to do about her $400,000 of federal student loan debt. Should they pay it off immediately, or bank on a 20-year dismissal?

Daniel recently discovered the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement and got a job earning $50,000 per year. He wants to househack a duplex to get closer to FIRE, but how the heck can he find anything in this seller’s market?

“Nurse Dreaming of FI” isn’t sure what her family’s next financial move should be. She’s torn between investing extra money into index funds, or using it to buy a fix-and-flip. Her goal is to make work optional. Which path will lead her there?

“Phoebe” and her husband have 457s with the City of Chicago. However, they found out that Illinois has a horrible credit rating. How can they – and should they – protect their funds? How much should they rely on their pensions?

My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these questions today.

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#323: What’s in Store for the Economy and the Future of Work?, with ChooseFI hosts Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa

What did you learn from 2020? 

That question carries a lot of weight, doesn’t it? 

Collectively, all of us experienced an unprecedented year. In March 2020, the world changed overnight. 

Working from home became the norm. The market shot up and down and up again. Bitcoin skyrocketed. Housing prices held at unfathomable highs. We saw a global reckoning around social justice. 

Needless to say, our internal and external worlds experienced rapid shifts. We may still feel ungrounded.

And now we’re dealing with the aftermath, asking questions such as, “What do I really want out of life? How can I form a plan when there’s still so much uncertainty?”

The answer: become nimble. Embrace flexibility. 

At least, that’s the conclusion Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa reach during this interview.

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By Paula Pant

#322: Ask Paula – I Want to Retire at 50; How Do I Bridge the Gap?

Jess wants to reach financial independence by the time she’s 50. But she’s worried that she doesn’t have enough money in cash or taxable brokerage accounts to bridge the gap in her first few years of retirement. What moves should she make, if any?

Yisell wants to invest money now. Should she cash out her $70,000 pension in hopes to generate more than the $1,000 per month she’s guaranteed from it?

Abbey is 22 and she would like to go back to graduate school for nurse anesthesia. Should she save up and pay for it in cash, or invest her money and take out federal loans?

Eliana enjoyed our interview with Paul Merriman on the two-fund portfolio. She’s curious about what growth stocks and value stocks are, and how they fit into a passive index fund investing strategy.

Finally, Sneezy wants to know: why aren’t stocks a good hedge against inflation?

My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these questions on today’s episode. Enjoy!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#321: How to Transition to Your Dream Career, with Ashley Stahl

Picture this:

You’re searching for jobs, but you’re not stressed.

You know exactly what you want from a career. You’ve built strong, solid connections.

You’ve spent long stretches of time thinking about your values and traits. You know which companies you’re excited to work for, and which ones make you say “ughh, never.”

You’re confident in your skills and your ability to communicate those skills in an interview. You know whom to network with and what questions to ask.

Thanks to your laser-focus and self-assuredness, your job hunt takes only a few weeks. You land an awesome offer and you’re excited about the possibilities of where your career might lead.

Sound like a pipe dream?

If your brain is saying, “In what world does this actually happen?!”, today’s episode is for you.

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By Paula Pant

#320: Ask Paula – Thinking about Money from First Principles

Rob hopes to retire at age 60, but he has a pesky mortgage balance he wants to eliminate beforehand. He and his wife expect to inherit $300,000. Should they use this money to pay off their mortgage or should they bulk up their retirement accounts?

“Billy” has two questions. One is about the tax efficiencies of ETFs vs. mutual funds, while the other is about Ginny Mae funds and whether there are bond funds that have an inverse relationship with equities.

Priya is looking for information on home equity loans: where can you get the best terms, and what are the disadvantages? Additionally, she’d like to know which city is best for rental investing: Atlanta, Dallas, or Raleigh?

My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me on the show to answer your questions. Let’s dive in!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#319: The Scout Mindset, with Julia Galef

Do you tend to see things as they are?

Or do you tend to see what you want to see?

To cut to the chase: how important is it to seek truth and honesty? Especially if it means the possibility of compromising your existing beliefs and ideas about the world?

If you’re unsure, or if these questions have you thinking, “Whoa, I need more caffeine before going down a philosophical rabbit hole…”, today’s episode has you covered. (Just grab your beverage of choice beforehand.)

Julia Galef, author of The Scout Mindset and host of the long-running Rationally Speaking podcast, explains the difference between the soldier mindset (see what you want to see) and the scout mindset (seeing things as they are).

She explains why we often default to the soldier mindset of defending ideas we desperately want to believe, and reviews several thought exercises that we can use to instead train our brains to scout for the truth.

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By Paula Pant

#318: Ask Paula – How to Think About Finances at the 30,000-Foot Level

Kim is newly divorced and celebrating the freedom to make her own financial decisions. She’s struggling to make a living — also as a new realtor — and wants to get started with real estate…but how can she do that on limited funds?

Kim also wants to know: should she move her funds from an actively managed Fidelity IRA to a Vanguard Roth IRA?

Chaz is 22 and has $2,100 – $2,500 left each month to put toward savings. Where should he keep this money if he’d like to move out-of-state in the near future?

Joe is a new real estate agent and he’s looking for ways to save. Is opening a SEP IRA a good account when you’re no longer a W2 employee?

Grace has a similar concern: she’s a tutor, but she’s paid as a contractor. Should she forget about her Vanguard brokerage account and open a SEP IRA or Solo 401k?

Anonymous just got a raise, and while awesome, it might push her income to a level that prohibits her from making full Roth IRA contributions. Should she make a partial contribution this year, or start adding money to a Traditional IRA to do a backdoor conversion?

My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to tackle these questions. Let’s dive in!

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By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#317: How to Win at Work & Succeed at Life, with Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller

Does work/life balance sound like a mythical wonderland that only a select few ever achieve?

Do you make it a goal to enter this mythical wonderland each year, only to end up completely disappointed a month or two later?

Or have you completely written off this mythical land to double-down on work in hopes that you’ll achieve financial independence sooner?

Neither of these has to be the reality you settle for.

Work and life can coexist together. Without enormous trade-offs.

But you need to ruthlessly prioritize both areas of your life to make it happen.

“Yeah, okay. Please indulge me. Tell me how I can achieve this so-called work/life balance.” 

We’ll leave that to our guests, best-selling author Michael Hyatt, and his daughter and CEO of Michael Hyatt & Co, Megan Miller Hyatt.

They both practice what they preach in their new book, Win at Work & Succeed at Life, and they’re here to share concrete examples and actionable steps you can take today to make work/life balance achievable.

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