By Paula Pant
You can do anything, but not everything … and definitely not everything at the same time.
How can you optimize your time and energy? How do you choose what’s worthwhile and what’s a waste of time?
How can you eliminate small decisions so that your mind is free to focus on the few choices that make a massive 10x impact?
How can you spend less time struggling with your Inbox, and more time on long-term projects that can boost your income?
By Paula Pant
Angelisa is a college senior with $30,000 in student loans. She has a part-time job, from which she’s saved $2,500. Should she keep saving money, or should she get a headstart on paying down her student loans while she’s in school?
Mackenzie is also a college senior with some student loans. She recently received a settlement from a car accident. Should she invest this money? If so, how?
Franchesca is 35 and is carrying $212,000 in debt, mostly student loans. Could she reach financial independence, even with a late start?
Erica wants to make environmentally-friendly investments. How should she approach this?
Caroline is 42 and has started making after-tax (non-Roth) 401k contributions. Is this a good idea?
An anonymous listener is curious about podcasting. How did I get started?
I answer these six questions on today’s podcast episode, alongside former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy. Enjoy!
By Paula Pant
Michelle Singletary learned everything she knows about money from her grandmother.
Well, okay, I shouldn’t say “everything” that she knows. After all, Michelle also has an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She writes about personal finance for the Washington Post. Her nationally-syndicated personal finance column, The Color of Money, is published in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She’s written three financial books.
Oh, and guess what? Her column was nominated for a Pulitzer.
Michelle has been learning, thinking, writing, researching and speaking about money management for decades. Yet the most important education she received, she says, came from the lessons her grandmother taught her.
By Paula Pant
Should Kim, an entrepreneur, invest in index funds or rental properties?
Should Nick, an MBA student, househack into a more-expensive home with stronger cash flow, or a cheaper home with more budgetary wiggle room?
Should Kelly, who is getting married soon, sell her current home and use the proceeds to buy multiple rentals? Or should she use her current home as a rental property?
Should Trayci and her sister invest in rental properties or bare land?
I answer these four questions in today’s episode.
We’re a weekly show, but on the first Friday of the month, we air a bonus episode. This is our December 2018 First Friday Bonus Episode.
Enjoy!
By Paula Pant
As an entrepreneur, Bob Lotich loves growing and expanding. But after a particularly stressful year, he realized he had burned out.
He woke up one Monday morning and, for the first time since he’d started self-employment, he realized he didn’t want to go to work. This was a new and uncomfortable feeling.
He decided to take a mini-retirement.
By Paula Pant
Does my employer match count against my 401k contribution limits? Should I invest in a Traditional or Roth TSP? Should I invest more aggressively in stocks right now, or should I hold cash and bonds until the next downturn? Should I get a mortgage or keep renting until I can buy a home in cash? Do you think index investing will dramatically change in the coming decades?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these five questions in today’s episode.
By Paula Pant
How will artificial intelligence, AI, impact jobs?
Former Harvard president and leading economist Larry Summers predicts that one-third of men will be out of work by 2050. Finance guru Suze Orman says not to be surprised if we see 25 percent unemployment by 2030. And major research institutions predict anywhere from 14 percent to 50 percent unemployment.
Even if we take the most optimistic prediction, that’s huge. Fourteen percent job loss would have massive ramifications on the economy, the stock market, the housing market, and every facet of our lives. Heck, even half of the most optimistic prediction would be an enormous game-changer.
By Paula Pant
In today’s episode, I answer two questions about financial independence and the FIRE movement, followed by four questions about rental property investing.
By Paula Pant
When Jonathan Mendonsa was 18, he researched which college degrees lead to the highest income.
Pharmacy was near the top of the list of high-paying degrees, so Jonathan decided to become a pharmacist. He wasn’t motivated by passion or calling. His decision was purely tactical. He wanted to make money.
He spent four years in college, followed by another four years of graduate school. By age 28, he held a Doctorate in Pharmacy and an astounding $168,000 in debt.
This debt burden might have been bearable if Jonathan loved his chosen profession. For people who love their fields, tuition is the price of being able to enjoy a lifetime of work they love.
By Paula Pant
Should a 36-year-old father of three invest primarily in Traditional or Roth retirement accounts? Should Rose, a grandmother of four, open a Vanguard account for each of her grandchildren?
Should Nancy, who lives overseas and is the sole breadwinner in her family, invest in a Traditional or Roth TSP?
Should Scott’s wife rollover her 403(b) from her former employer into an IRA?
Should Patrick, age 35, cancel his life insurance plan?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these five questions in today’s episode.
