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#499: Q&A: We Save $5,000 Per Month. Where Should We Invest It?

Eugene and his wife are retiring with a $10 million net worth and a guaranteed income that exceeds their annual budget. Do they still need things like life insurance and a financial advisor?

An anonymous caller’s HOA costs have doubled since she bought her condo. She’s wondering if it’s still a good investment. Should she keep it or sell it?

Nandini and her husband save tons every month toward no goal in particular. What should they do with all their extra cash?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#498: Harvard Business Professor Explains Investing in NFT’s

Financial literacy includes understanding NFT’s, DeFi, and cryptocurrency. But it’s hard to separate education from hype.

Harvard Business School’s Scott Duke Kominers, a professor in Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Management Unit, and a Faculty Affiliate of the Harvard Department of Economics and the Harvard Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, joins us alongside Web3 expert Steve Kacizinsky to explain the financial, technological and social significance of NFT’s.

NFT’s, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are a rapidly growing digital asset. Comprehensive financial literacy requires understanding NFT’s. While NFT’s are emerging opportunity for investment diversification, they are also highly speculative and volatile.

NFT’s also represent how digital ownership is evolving, and have implications for the economic futures of a myriad of industries. These assets stand at the intersection of art, technology and commerce.

This episode provides a deeper understanding of NFT’s, taught by a Harvard Business School professor and a Web3 expert.

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#497: Tribute to Dr. Daniel Kahneman, Who Won a Nobel in Economics Even Though He Never Took an Econ Class

Princeton Professor Daniel Kahneman never took an economics class. But he won the 2002 Nobel Prize in economics, thanks to his advancements in understanding the psychology of money.

In today’s episode, we pay homage to the late Dr. Kahneman, who passed away on March 27 at age 90.

We also discuss the jobs report, inflation data, the booming stock market, the next Bitcoin halving, Capital One’s acquisition of Discover, and the National Association of Realtors settlement.

Enjoy!

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#496: The Pay Cut Price of Freedom

How much of a pay cut would you take for a lighter workload?

Paul, 35, is grappling with that question. Like many of us, Paul says he loves his job, but the hours are demanding. He would love to work less. But he didn’t think the opportunity would come so soon.

You see, Paul is a dedicated saver. He’s spent years trying to build financial independence. He’s amassed a net worth of $910,000, with no debt.

His ideal early retirement, which would be filled with travel and hobbies, requires more money. Besides, he enjoys his career.

That’s why Paul thought he’d work full-time for several more years. He felt happy with that plan.

But an interesting opportunity recently arose.

Paul’s workplace has offered him the chance to drop his hours – and his salary – by 25 percent. He’d love to work less. But the salary cut is earlier than he’d planned.

Should he take it?

Today, we kick off the podcast episode with this question.

After that, we turn our attention to an anonymous caller. She and her husband want to retire at 55. They also want a bigger home, a better car, and to start growing their family. Can they afford it all?

Meanwhile, Tim spent his 20’s in medical school. He missed out on retirement savings during those years. He’s eager to catch up. What’s the shortest path to get there?

Finally, Matthew and his family dream of leaving Florida for the Pacific Northwest. Will they regret selling everything to start over?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#495: Cal Newport: The Shocking Secret of Productivity

Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She’s famous for her work in radioactivity.

Lin-Manual Miranda is a songwriter, producer and director who won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2016, as well as several Tony awards.

What do they have in common?

They lived a century apart. They innovated in disparate fields. But they shared a similar productivity practice.

Both achieved greatness by embracing the practice of slow productivity, says Georgetown computer science professor Cal Newport.

Slow productivity is a three-part practice, Newport explains: (1) do fewer things; (2) work at a natural pace; (3) obsess over quality.

We’re used to thinking of productivity as doing more in a short amount of time. This flips that idea on its head, focusing on doing less, but excelling.

Slow productivity is the practice of doing fewer tasks better.

In this episode, Newport explains how the practice of slow productivity diverges from the normal ways that people in modern society tend to work.

If you’ve ever been challenged by the increasing demands of a fast-paced world,

Life can be stressful. Your to-do list might feel never-ending. This episode can help you focus on the few things that matter most.

It can help you feel less stressed, less busy, and yet — paradoxically — more productive, at the same time.

Enjoy!

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#494: My Husband Makes Double My Income, But Saves Nothing! Should I Be Worried?

Tatyana is about to pay off her house at age 39! What’s next? Her husband, who earns twice as much (and whom she met after she bought the home), has no savings. They want a boat. Should she focus there?

Matthew recently ended a relationship that resulted in a real estate buyout with an 8.1 percent interest rate. With rates expected to decline, how long should he wait to refinance the loan?

Rachel’s friends know her as the finance gal, but she’s stumped about closed-end funds. What should she know about these investments?

Erin and Angelique call in with a loan strategy to tackle Steve’s double mortgage dilemma from Episode 487.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#493: Wall Street Secrets, with Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu

Do you ever wonder what happens behind closed doors on Wall Street?

Vivian Tu, also known as Your Rich BFF, is here to spill the tea.

Vivian grew up in a modest immigrant family. After college, she found herself working insane hours on Wall Street after college.

While working on Wall Street, Vivian saw some weird things.

Once, a coworker stumbled hungover into the office after a trip to Atlantic City, carrying a duffel bag with thousands of dollars in cash inside.

Vivian realized that there’s a group of high-income and high-net-worth people who handle money in drastically different ways than she learned in her frugal upbringing.

She learned about investing, taxes, legal loopholes. She discovered new ways of thinking about money.

She shares these insights — gleaned from her Wall Street days — in today’s podcast episode.

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#492: How Does Side Hustle Income Affect Retirement Contributions?

Christine’s business is struggling. She needs more income. If she adds a full-time remote job to her plate, how will her retirement and finances change?

Rob enjoyed a banner year in 2023. He made over $1 million. But the sting of income tax has him making moves that violate his investment strategy. Is his tax tail wagging the dog?

Gena is excited to make the most of business deductions. Can she contribute 100 percent of her wages to a 401k and have the company match that?

Christina is tired of living like a pauper in the name of student loan repayment. Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness the answer?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#491: Why Bitcoin is Back in the News | First Friday

Welcome, Emma Chamberlain’s fans!! Thanks for joining the Afford Anything community. You can find out how to escape the 9-to-5 grind at affordanything.com/escape

Once a month, on the First Friday of the month, we explore the hot economic and money stories that are dominating the headlines. These days, Bitcoin is back in the news. As of Friday morning, March 1st, its price ranged around $62,000, which is pretty darn close to its previous all-time high of $68,700.

But why?

Crypto was hot in 2020, but it faded from memory in recent years. What’s behind the comeback? And what does that tell us about how investments become fads?

Find out in today’s First Friday bonus episode.

Bonus listening: https://affordanything.com/325-bitcoin-for-beginners/ for a deep dive into understanding how Bitcoin works.

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#490: Inside the Mind of a Supercommunicator, with Charles Duhigg

Great communication will get you a raise.

It’ll get you promoted. You’ll land the corner office.

You’ll make friends and be the life of the party.

You’ll land business deals and form lucrative partnerships.

Supercommunication is a superpower.

But how do we build it?

Sometimes, you might walk away from a conversation with the joy of having made a cool new friend.

Or you snagged a critical piece of information that you realllllly needed. Or you successfully negotiated an extra $5,000 off your car.

On the flip side, sometimes you’ll walk away from a conversation, scratching your head and wondering … “What just happened?”

If either of these situations have happened to you, Charles Duhigg will help you understand WHY.

Duhigg is a Pultizer Prize winning reporter. He holds an undergrad degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. He wrote for the LA Times and New York Times, before landing at The New Yorker.

His first two books, The Power of Habit and Smarter, Faster, Better, have sold more than 5 million copies. Recently, he came out with a new book called Supercommunicators.

He chats with us today to discuss the power of communication.

Duhigg shares why communication is a critical component to happiness and success in every part of life. He discusses the different styles of conversations that people can have, which lead to either connection or disconnection. He also shares critical tips to help us all become supercommunicators and live richer lives.

Enjoy!

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