Build a Better Life

With Paula Pant

Don't Miss An Episode

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#279: How to Avoid Financial and Life Disasters, with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

What process do you use to make decisions?

“Uhh … I put together a pros and cons list!”

“I harness my awesome spreadsheet skills and work out the variables in cells.”

“I ask others for their opinions and seek information from people who have been in my shoes.”

All of these tactics are common decision-making techniques…but they’re not processes.

What happens when you get stuck on a critical decision that you need to make quickly?

Does the intensity of the situation get the best of you? Do you make the decision based on your gut reaction? Or do you work calmly through a list of techniques that will help you arrive at a well-informed decision?

If you rely on your instincts in the heat of the moment, that’s natural. But it won’t lead to the best outcome, and it lacks process.

Today’s guest is here to share two decision making processes that can help you cut through the noise and arrive at a well-thought out decision. If you love practical guests with information that you can apply right away, you’ll love this episode.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#278: The Loopholes That Destroy Our Ability to Form Habits, with Gretchen Rubin

Does this sound like you?

You want to exercise, but you can never find the time for a workout. Eventually, you grow tired of putting exercise off. You commit to working out every morning. You become so enthusiastic, you buy new gym clothes for the occasion.

Your enthusiasm carries you for five days, and on day six, you’re swamped with work. You promise yourself you’ll exercise tomorrow – after all, taking a break for one day won’t hurt. And then … you never get back on the wagon. The cycle repeats.

Most habits and routines start with good intentions. But good intentions aren’t enough to carry you through tough times. Good intentions aren’t enough to overcome the excuses you’ll make, either.

That’s what today’s guest, Gretchen Rubin, is here to explore.

Gretchen Rubin is the New York Times best-selling author of The Happiness Project, Better Than Before, and The Four Tendencies. She joins us on the podcast to discuss the loopholes that we use – the excuses that we make – when it comes to breaking bad habits and forming good habits. Why is this important? The more aware we are of loopholes, the better we can resist them.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#277: Timeless Financial Lessons from My Grandma, with Michelle Singletary

Michelle Singletary writes a Pulitzer-nominated personal finance column, The Color of Money, for The Washington Post. Her column is syndicated in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She’s the author of three finance books and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

But her strongest financial education came from her grandmother.

Her grandmother raised five grandchildren while working full-time as a Nursing Assistant at a hospital. She earned $13,000 per year, but never took welfare, was never late on a bill, and “handled her money like a pro.”

In this podcast episode, Michelle shares timeless financial lessons she learned from her grandmother, including…

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#276: Cut the Fluff and Become a Digital Minimalist, with Dr. Cal Newport

Have you found yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds over the last few months? Have you also found yourself in a state of sadness, anxiety, or aggravation afterwards?

We live in an increasingly noisy world. A world in which many of us use social media, or the internet in general, to escape. But our escapes often leave us feeling empty and annoyed at ourselves for wasting several hours of precious time.

Here’s one possible remedy for this tiring, relentless cycle: embrace the philosophy of digital minimalism.

            Okay, I’m in. But…what’s digital minimalism? 

Digital minimalism is a term coined by Dr. Cal Newport, today’s guest.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#275: Avoid These 13 Hidden Money Mistakes That Most People Make, with Jill Schlesinger

It’s September! I’m on round two of what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, otherwise known as my yearly time to take a one-month recess from podcast production.

Throughout September, we’re airing some of the most insightful, inspiring interviews from the archives. You’ll hear from experts discussing topics like habits, happiness, focus, digital minimalism, classic financial lessons and easy-to-make financial mistakes. Enjoy!

Even the nerdiest of money nerds are susceptible to making a dumb financial mistake.

“Nope, not me! There’s no way I make any financial mistakes. I live and breathe this stuff.”

Hm, really? You’re not capable of making any financial mistakes?

By the way – we’re not talking “classic” mistakes like taking out a bunch of loans, running up your credit card, or making a late payment.

We’re talking about hidden mistakes, like having the wrong life insurance policy, or not having an estate plan, or listening to the wrong ‘experts.’

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#274: Finding Hope and Happiness in a Confusing World, with Mark Manson

It’s September! If you’ve listened to any episode in the last month, then you know that I’m on round two of what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, otherwise known as my yearly time to take a break from podcast production.

We’re not leaving you hanging, though. Instead, we’re digging through the archives and airing some of my favorite interviews on the show. Enjoy!

What does it take to create a sustainable sense of hope?

That’s the question that I invited Mark Manson, megabestselling author of Everything is F*cked and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, to answer on this episode.

While we published this episode one year ago, the question of how to create hope remains as pressing as ever.

Mark says that three basic factors contribute to a sense of hope:

  1. Autonomy
  2. Purpose
  3. Community

Mark and I keep these three factors in mind as we discuss how to define success, find new challenges, and choose what’s meaningful in life. We touch on the importance of emotional regulation and avoiding crises of hope. And we talk about how they relate back to the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement.

Keep reading...

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#273: The Emotional Complexity of Money, with Dr. Dan Ariely

Has the pandemic caused you to feel less-than at any point?

Do you find your painstakingly-formed money habits harder to stick with?

Are you worried about losing your job or figuring out how to make ends meet?

Many of us have faced one or all of these pressures since March. And we’re wearing thin, if we haven’t already crumbled.

Today’s guest, Dr. Dan Ariely, best-selling author and famed behavioral economist, returns to the show with a simple message for us:

“My responsibility ends at me doing the best job I can.”

If this resonates with you, tune in as Dr. Ariely and I discuss the emotional complexity of money.

Specifically, we discuss: preparing for a job loss and lowering expenses, the emotional and financial complexity of control, the value of resilience (and how to become more resilient), and embracing the pain of the process.

Keep reading...

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday: How to Avoid Parental Burnout, with Andy Hill

Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

At the beginning of the month, we interviewed two teachers, Rob Phelan and Mandy Bert, for their perspective on what lies ahead for schools.

Now, as summer break ends, we turn to Andy Hill, father of two and founder of Marriage, Kids, and Money, for his perspective on how to avoid parental burnout.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#272: Ask Paula – I’m Three Years from Retirement. How Should I Invest?

Kelsey doesn’t feel comfortable investing in total stock market index funds and would rather invest in ESG funds. How can she tell if she has the necessary $2,000 invested in a company to submit a proposal to participate in a proxy voting? Also, Vanguard has a poor history of supporting shareholder resolutions. What can we do about this?

An anonymous listener, nicknamed “Jack from Belgrave,” wants to buy and househack one duplex every year to achieve financial independence and leave his office job within the next three to four years. Is his plan realistic?

Dylan and his wife rolled her 401k into a rollover IRA with pre-tax contributions. They’ve continued contributing to this IRA with post-tax contributions. Should they separate the accounts, or can they worry about this when they’re ready to retire?

“Alyssa from Belgrave” (another anonymous listener) and her partner earn $150,000 per year after taxes. They’re currently saving 80 percent by living with family. What should they do with their savings?

Leigh and her husband are three years away from retirement. They have an extra $50,000 in income this year and plenty of options for where to invest this money. Which one is the best?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these questions on today’s episode. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

PSA Thursday: Here’s a simple framework for deciding how to earn extra income

A desk with a small plant, yellow cup, and imac on itWelcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

Today, we’re focusing on handling money — specifically, how to earn more, especially as the $600 supplemental federal unemployment benefit has come to an end.

The new $300 supplemental benefit that’s replacing it is slooooowly getting approved by FEMA, state-by-state, through an excruciatingly snail-like process that can only be described as 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯.

As a result, millions of people — including possibly your friends, family, neighbors, or yourself — are in financial limbo.

You may be lamenting the loss of the old benefit, anxiously awaiting the new reduced benefit, and drowning your sorrows in a bucket of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream while you wait for two+ months to receive a whopping half of the enhanced benefit that you used to collect.

That’s a run-on sentence, I know, but there are worse atrocities in life.

So. Here we are. And you — or someone you know — might be extra-anxious to figure out how to make a little extra money right now.

That’s why we put together a guide that does two things:

  1. This guide gives you a framework for how to think about opportunities to make extra money. How to think about the tradeoffs, the pro’s and con’s, the priorities.
  2. This guide gives you those opportunities, organized along that framework.

Click here to see the full guide, complete with awesome offers and resources.

Keep reading...