Build a Better Life

With Paula Pant

Don't Miss An Episode

By

#231: Ask Paula – How Can I Get My Spouse Interested in Frugality?

Avie is looking for help in deciding between two good options: paying off a rental property, or funding a retirement account. Which option should she go with?

Sofia’s parents have been living with her for the past few years, but her job is taking her out-of-state. How should she transition her home to a rental property for her parents?

Lisa has a question about HSAs: when do you actually fund your HSA account?

Jim grew up frugally and has no qualms with this lifestyle, but his wife doesn’t share his views. He’s curious about how he can bring her to the frugal side, and how he can approach opening her eyes to starting a business so that she can stay at home with their kids.

Candice asks: what are your thoughts on online real estate investment crowdfunding platforms?

Kristen has a mortgage on her primary residence and a rental property. They’re both at similar interest rates. Which one should she focus on paying off first?

I answer these questions in today’s episode of the show. Let’s dive in!

Keep reading...

By

#230: How to Develop Emotional Agility, with Dr. Susan David

Dr. Susan David, a psychologist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, joins us to talk about emotional agility.

For the past 20 years, Dr. David has researched and refined the principals around this concept.

A few years ago, she wrote about emotional agility for the Harvard Business Review. Her article became one of the most popular articles of the year, and the publishers heralded it as the Management Idea of the Year.

Dr. David gave a TED talk on the same topic, which went viral, gaining over a million views. She then published a book, called Emotional Agility, which became a #1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller.

The concept of emotional agility also won the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award. She’s provided consulting around this concept with clients that include the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the NASDAQ, Google, and Microsoft.

She joins us today to explain how to define emotional agility, how to develop it in your life, and how it applies to any goal that you want to pursue – whether that’s financial independence, early retirement, career advancement, or greater success in your health and your relationships.

Keep reading...

By

#229: Ask Paula – Help! My Mom or Dad Took Out a Credit Card in My Name. Am I On the Hook?

Helen discovered that her mother fraudulently opened credit card accounts in her name. Eek! How can she protect herself? What will happen to these accounts once her mother passes away?

Amelia and her husband cannot fire their financial advisor. How can they minimize the damage and maximize the benefit they receive from him in the meantime?

Anonymous asks if she should live off an inheritance and max out her 401k contributions during her first year of working full-time. She wants to reduce her taxable income. Is this a good idea?

A different anonymous caller read a USA Today article claiming that “index funds are in a bubble.” How true is this? How can index funds be in a bubble?

Shawn is self-employed. He invests in a Solo 401k that features both a Roth and Traditional component. How should he manage this account?

Another anonymous listener is thinking about downshifting to part-time work. He holds around $278,000 in home equity. How can he capitalize on this?

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

Here are more details:

Keep reading...

By

#228: What I Learned from Losing $170 Million, with Noah Kagan

In November 2005, when Noah Kagan was 24, he was hired as Employee #30 at Facebook.

At the time, Facebook was a one-year-old company with only a few million users. The company was growing rapidly, adding 50,000 new users per day.

Noah joined the team as product manager. He made a base salary of $60,000 plus 0.1 percent of ownership, equivalent to 20,000 shares.

His stock options would have been worth $170 million if he’d cashed out in 2014, he says.

But he didn’t see a dime.

In June 2006, merely 9 months after he started working at Facebook, Noah got fired. Instead of making $170 million, he made zero.

He fell into a deep depression for a year. Then he rescued himself by starting his own company.

He became a serial entrepreneur. He tried his hand at a lot of things — including developing Facebook games, selling discount cards, creating a payment processor in the gaming space — but he’s best known for his two most successful companies.

In 2010 he started a company, AppSumo, which offers daily deals on software for small businesses. It’s like Groupon for online entrepreneurs. By 2012, AppSumo was grossing $4 million per year in revenue, with annual net profits of $500,000.

Yet Noah wasn’t fulfilled. So he pivoted. He offloaded the day-to-day management of the company to a colleague, and in 2015 he started a sister company, Sumo.com, which develops marketing tools for websites and online businesses.

In today’s episode, Noah and I discuss reflections on business, money and life.

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By

#227: Ask Paula – How Can I Get the Most from My Mini-Retirement?

Lien is taking a year off of work to live the van life with her husband. She wants to know how she can make the most of this sabbatical to figure out how to turn her less-than-inspiring career into a lifestyle that she loves.

Lien called in again to say that she wants to start a new business and a family when she returns from her gap year. Her former job offered excellent health benefits and maternity leave, but she doesn’t really want to go back. What should she do?

Eddie wants to build his real estate portfolio. How should he approach downpayments – put down more to net more profit, or put down less to acquire more properties?

Wilson is wondering if it’s a good idea to partner with a friend on real estate ventures. What are the downsides?

Wilson also wants to know about real estate business expenses, and the pros and cons of short-term rentals vs. long-term rentals.

Sean has an inconsistent employment history and is struggling to find a lender that will give him a mortgage. He wants to know if there are any other ways he can get a mortgage for a 4-plex?

An anonymous listener is thinking about taking the leap into real estate investing and wants to know how to overcome the fear they have about it. Also, should they put all of their savings towards real estate?

Anonymous is also wondering: how do you calculate net worth when you’re married?

I answer these questions on today’s episode of the podcast. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By

#226: How to Make Time for Things That Matter, with John Zeratsky

Feeling time-crunched? Today’s episode is for you.

Today’s episode features productivity expert John Zeratsky, who shares specific, action-packed time management strategies, with a focus on email management. If the term inbox zero sounds laughable, these strategies are up your alley.

John’s interest in productivity began one winter morning in 2008, when he realized that the past few months had been an eerie blur. He realized that time was slipping away. He knew he needed to figure out a better way to manage his time – and his life.

He started deep-diving into time management strategies and eventually co-authored a book, Make Time.

If you want to learn how to redesign your daily schedule, you’ll enjoy this episode.

Keep reading...

By

#225: Ask Paula – How to Invest for the Next Five Years

Lauren is 26 and earns $48,000 per year after taxes.

She saves $12,000 annually in retirement accounts, and an additional $18,000 per year for a downpayment on a home.

She wants to buy a home in the next five years. Where should she keep her savings in the meantime?

Sawyer has a five-year financial independence plan. She owns two high-end condos in a NYC suburb. She lives in one unit and rents out the other, but she’s bothered by the fact that she’s forgoing collecting rent on the other unit. Should she move?

Katie’s husband is going back to grad school and they want to pull money out of a retirement account to help fund this cost. Are they able to do that? Or is there a better option for short-term investments that they should use?

Cassie is in the process of finalizing a divorce. She and her daughter will receive between $80,000 – $116,000. Should they use the funds to buy a home with a 20 percent down payment or pay off their $30,000 debt?

Andy is curious: should you re-adjust the 4 percent withdrawal rule if your investment portfolio grows?

Joe wants to become self-employed but is concerned about health insurance. What are some affordable options?

Laura is close to pulling the FIRE alarm but her fiance wants to keep working. She wants to know what will change once they get married. Should they file taxes jointly or separately?

Doug is interested in learning more about equity sharing programs. Are these safe to invest in?

Tania wants to know: can you open and fund a Roth IRA if you haven’t worked in the past two decades, but earn alimony?

Brian took out a 401k loan to purchase a new car and regrets his decision. Would it be a wise move for him to take out a personal loan to pay back the 401k loan?

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

Keep reading...

By

#224: The Science of Rapid Learning, with Scott Young, author of Ultralearning

Today on the show we feature Scott Young, author of Wall Street Journal best-selling book Ultralearning.

Scott finished a 4-year MIT computer science curriculum in one year, learned how to speak four languages fluently in one year, and learned how to draw portraits in 30 days. Scott is also a writer, programmer, traveler, and avid reader who, for the last ten years, has explored the question: what’s the best way to learn? Ultralearning answers that question.

In today’s episode, we chat about the nine principles of Ultralearning, which can help you learn new skills, reinvent yourself, stay relevant, and adapt to whatever life throws at you. If you think you know the best way to learn something…think again. This book will challenge your assumptions.

If you enjoyed my interviews with James Clear or Cal Newport, you’ll enjoy this one.

Whether you want to develop hard skills to become more valuable at your job, soft skills for your journey to self-improvement, or you want to honor your love for learning, these nine principles will help you become more effective at developing new skills.

Keep reading...

By

#223: Ask Paula – Should I Choose This or That? How to Weigh the Tradeoffs

Elizabeth is curious to know: what does a good net worth breakdown look like? Is it appropriate to have a lot of your net worth tied up in real estate?

Marie wants to start her own business, but she’s living paycheck-to-paycheck. Is incurring debt her only option to make this dream a reality?

Bria wants to take a second mini-retirement and has a good chunk of money saved up. She wants to come back to the workforce with a cash cushion. What should she do with her money while traveling?

Anonymous is relocating from Southern California to Florida. She wants to know if she should rent an apartment and buy a rental property, or buy a primary residence with the $150,000 she has saved.

Connor is facing a dilemma. Is he correct in not prioritizing 401k contributions given that his employer doesn’t offer a match, combined with his goal for financial independence? Is his strategy of using his savings for real estate investing better?

Caroline is wondering: should she aggressively pay off her home and her rental properties, or use her excess savings to fund a brokerage account?

Today’s episode is full of exploring and weighing tradeoffs. Let’s dive in!

Keep reading...

By

#222: Seven Ways to Escape the Rat Race, with Michael Robinson

Michael Robinson and his wife, Ellen, achieved financial independence at age 33. They ‘retired’ (they still enjoy working) three years later at age 36 on two five-figure incomes. Today, Michael and Ellen are raising their two children to be bilingual by slow traveling throughout Latin America.

Michael and Ellen blog about their FIRE adventures at uncommondream.com. They believe that “the Uncommon Dream is the dream pursued – the dream met with planning, action, and sacrifice. With just a dream and those three tools, you can accomplish almost anything.”

Today, Michael joins us on the show to talk about the seven ways that he and Ellen escaped the rat race and achieved FI at 33.

Keep reading...